Commitment
Beeminder
Graph your goal, stay on the road, or your card gets charged. Commitment devices with escalating real-money stakes.
Website
Cold Turkey Blocker
The nuclear option for desktop distraction: blocks you cannot cancel, up to freezing the whole computer.
Focus To-Do
Pomodoro timer bolted onto a proper task list, on every platform, for pocket money. Cluttered but capable.
Focus timer
Forest
Plant a virtual tree; leave the app and it dies. Simple, charming, and surprisingly effective phone deterrence.
Cross-device
Freedom
One blocklist, every device: Freedom's sessions sync across your computer and phone simultaneously.
Gamified habit
Habitica
Your chores become quests, your avatar levels up, and skipped habits cost you health. Silly on purpose, and it works for some.
Timeboxing
Llama Life
One task, one timer, one screen: turns an overwhelming list into a runnable sequence with an end time.
Microsoft To Do
Free, everywhere, and built around a daily list that resets each morning. Unremarkable and quietly good enough.
All-in-one
Notion
An all-in-one workspace that can organise your whole life, or become the most productive-feeling way to avoid actual work.
Friction
one sec
Not a blocker: a speed bump. A forced breath before Instagram opens kills the autopilot open.
Phone app
Opal
Polished iPhone app blocking with Deep Focus sessions that resist the tap-through escape.
RescueTime
The mirror, not the hammer: automatic logging of where your hours actually went, minus the self-report lies.
Commitment
stickK
Sign a commitment contract, appoint a referee, and stake money that goes to a cause you hate if you fail. Loss aversion, weaponised.
Visual daily
Structured
Your whole day on one vertical timeline, tasks and calendar together. Time blocking for people who hate spreadsheets.
Task manager
Things 3
A beautifully quiet to-do app for Apple devices. One-off purchases, no subscription, and a Today list that stays short on purpose.
Task manager
TickTick
A to-do app with the anti-procrastination bits bolted on: Pomodoro timer, habits and calendar in one place.
Visual planner
Tiimo
A gentle visual planner designed for neurodivergent brains: icons, colour, visual timers, and no guilt mechanics.
Task manager
Todoist
The low-friction task capture standard: type a sentence, get a scheduled task, see only today.
Time tracker
Toggl Track
One-click time tracking. Not a blocker or a timer method, just an honest record of where the hours went.
Compare every tool at a glance
| Tool | Category | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beeminder | Commitment device / quantified goal tracker | Free to start; you pay pledges when you derail; optional premium plans (check current pricing) | Web, iOS, Android; integrations with many trackers and apps |
| Cold Turkey Blocker | Website and app blocker (hard blocker) | Free tier blocks websites; Pro is a one-time purchase, around $39 (check current pricing) | Windows, Mac (desktop only) |
| Focus To-Do | Pomodoro timer + task manager | Free tier; premium around $1.99/month, $9.99/year or ~$11.99 lifetime (check current pricing) | iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chrome extension |
| Forest | Focus timer / phone deterrent | iOS one-off ~£3.99; Android free tier + Pro | iOS, Android; Chrome extension |
| Freedom | Cross-device website and app blocker | Subscription, around $8.99/month or ~$40/year; one-time Forever plan often discounted (check current pricing) | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension |
| Habitica | Gamified habit tracker / to-do list | Free; optional subscription ~$5/month or ~$48/year for gems and cosmetic perks (check current pricing) | Web, iOS, Android |
| Llama Life | Timeboxing / focus timer | Subscription, around $6/month or $39/year, free trial (check current pricing) | Web, iOS, Android |
| Microsoft To Do | Task manager / to-do list | Free with a Microsoft account | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, web |
| Notion | All-in-one workspace / notes and tasks | Free for personal use; paid plans from around $10/user/month (check current pricing) | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| one sec | Friction / mindfulness-based app deterrent | Free for one app; Pro subscription roughly €14.99/year, lifetime option (check current pricing) | iOS, iPad, Android; web extension |
| Opal | Phone app blocker / screen time | Free tier; Opal Pro subscription around $99.99/year (check current pricing) | iOS, Mac; limited Android app |
| RescueTime | Automatic time tracking / analytics | Limited free version; Premium around $12/month or $78/year (check current pricing) | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android; browser extension (no iOS tracking) |
| stickK | Commitment contract platform | Free to use; you set your own stakes (minimum $5 per reporting period on staked contracts) | Web, iOS, Android |
| Structured | Visual daily planner / time blocking | Free tier; Pro subscription roughly $20-30/year, lifetime option available (check current pricing) | iOS, Mac, Android, web |
| Things 3 | Task manager / to-do list | One-off per device: ~$49.99 Mac, ~$9.99 iPhone, ~$19.99 iPad (check current pricing) | Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro; no Windows, Android or web |
| TickTick | Task manager with focus timer | Free tier; Premium around $35.99/year (check current pricing) | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Tiimo | Visual planner for neurodivergent users | Free tier; Pro around $7.99/month or $79.99/year, varies by region (check current pricing) | iOS, Android, Apple Watch, web (Pro) |
| Todoist | Task manager / to-do list | Free tier (5 active projects); Pro around $5/month billed annually (check current pricing) | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, browser extensions |
| Toggl Track | Time tracker | Free plan (up to 5 users); Starter ~$9/user/month billed yearly, Premium ~$18 (check current pricing) | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, browser extensions |