# Block one distracting digital route

Published by Pawel Jozefiak. [About this project](https://adhd100.jock.pl/about/), [How we check sources](https://adhd100.jock.pl/methodology/)

- Canonical: https://adhd100.jock.pl/block-one-digital-detour/
- Language: en
- First published: 2026-09-29
- Evidence checked: 2026-09-29, using AI-assisted source verification
- Clinical review: Not clinically reviewed
- Number 89 of 100 in the list: https://adhd100.jock.pl/#block-one-digital-detour

Put a small barrier between opening your work and sliding into an unrelated app or website.

**The number:** Use apps that block distractions ([Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/education/))

## The evidence

- How sure: Certainty of evidence: Not rated. Measured in people with ADHD.
- Evidence grade: C. Grade C: small or mixed studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Worth knowing, not worth betting on.
- Basis: ADHD-specific NHS study guidance recommends blockers; the measured trial is a general adult two-week full mobile internet block; no formal certainty rating.
- Benefit: 39/100. The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.

## Why it matters

In a general adult randomised trial, blocking all smartphone internet for two weeks, with calls and texts still working, improved sustained attention. Sticking with it was hard: only 119 of 467 people who agreed, 25.5%, kept the block on for most days, and the authors suggest less restrictive blocks may work better. NHS ADHD study advice recommends blocking apps for distracting sites, so a small, targeted block during one task is the practical version, and its ADHD-specific benefit is unmeasured.

## How to do it

1. Name the app or site that most often pulls you away from a task you chose.
2. Use a built-in limit or blocker for a short, planned work period.
3. Leave open the tools and contacts you actually need.
4. See whether the barrier helped before adding more restrictions.

## Putting it into practice

### Start now

- 1 minute: Name the one app or website that most often breaks into a task you want to finish.
- 5 minutes: Set one temporary limit using a tool you already have.
- 15 minutes: Test that limit during one small task and note what still needs to stay accessible.

### What it looks like

- Block a shopping site while you submit a work form.
- Limit a distracting feed during a planned study period, leaving course resources available.

### Common mistakes

- Block everything and the task becomes impossible. Allow the resources you need.
- Getting around a limit feels like failing. Shorten the period, or block a more specific distraction.

### A structured start

**Test a useful barrier**

1. Identify one recurring digital detour.
2. Try a limited block during one task.
3. Keep, adjust or remove the barrier based on what happened.

### Trusted how-to guides

- [Education (ADHD: while you wait)](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/education/), Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
- [Disconnection](https://oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/mindset/skills/concentration/disconnection/), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

## Sources

- [Education (ADHD: while you wait)](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/education/), Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39967678/), PNAS Nexus, 2025 (Tier 2 study)
- [ADHD in adults](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/adhd-adults/), NHS, 2025 (Tier 1 guideline)

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General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.

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Reuse: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/