ImpulsePause
A speed bump for impulsive browsing
I’ve tried most website blockers.
Cold Turkey. Freedom. Extensions that lock you out.
They work… until they don’t.
I always ended up uninstalling them.
Not because they were bad.
Because they removed choice.
And when you remove choice, you create resistance.
So I built something simpler.
ImpulsePause started as a small speed bump —
a 5–8 second pause before distracting sites.
No lock.
No guilt.
Just a moment to decide.
But while building it, I realized something:
Scrolling isn’t the real problem.
Starting is.
Now ImpulsePause does three things:
• Adds friction before impulsive sites
• Shows your real time spent (not what you think you spent)
• Interrupts hyperfocus at 25 and 40 minutes with a simple check-in
And I’m rebuilding the next layer:
task initiation.
Instead of just pausing distractions,
it will help break a task into 3–5 tiny steps you can actually start.
Because most of the time, the issue isn’t discipline.
It’s paralysis.
I'm actively testing whether small behavioral nudges work better than hard blocks.
If you’ve struggled with focus tools —
what actually helps you start?
👉 Try it: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/impulsepause/gocaomeiiiklamefgepgncanogddcijo
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