Susie Alegre blocks social media access on her phone when she needs to focus on her work for as long as she needs.

Alegre, a human rights lawyer and author in London, says shutting off in this way helps her concentrate.

Having a smartphone and not wasting a lot of time on it is hard by willpower alone, she says.

Ms Alegre uses Freedom. Turn off internet access or block specific social media sites.

Choose how long you want the blocking to last. Later, you can change your mind and cancel. If you select “locked mode,” your block cannot be overridden until the scheduled time has passed.

Ms Alegre says she uses the Freedom app when she needs to be reachable, but does not want to be distracted, rather than simply turning off her phone. Blocking apps like ColdTurkey, FocusMe, and Forest are now popular. Many people are looking for ways to resist the urge to constantly check notifications and scroll through social media feeds with the proliferation of social media platforms and devices.

The monk mode approach to productivity has gained popularity this year. No distractions, just one task at a time.

77 million people have viewed videos marked with #monkmode on TikTok, up from 31 million in May.

The Freedom app helped Alegre focus on writing her book, Freedom To Think, a work of non-fiction.

“My book is about the challenge of focusing in the digital age, and how technology interferes with our thought processes,” she says.

According to Grace Marshall, an author and productivity coach, switching off from social media and the internet isn’t easy. Numerous studies show their addictive nature in recent years.

A ping creates an open loop, says Marshall. We get a dopamine hit when we close the loop by looking at the notification because it makes us feel good.”