Hacker News has a feature they call “noprocrast”, which works like this:

1. The first time you visit the site, it starts a timer. The duration of this timer is configurable (the setting is called “maxvisit”). You’re allowed to use the site unrestricted until this timer is up. The timer keeps ticking even when you’re not using the site.

2. After that hour is up, it locks you out of the site and starts another timer. The duration of this timer is also configurable (called “minaway”). It only unlocks the site after this second timer is up.

It’s simple, but I’ve found it’s the most effective tool I’ve ever found for controlling usage of this kind of site. It is so useful that I deliberately created a custom iOS Shortcut (using the Global Variables feature from Toolbox Pro) that mimics its behaviour, and haven’t yet bought one sec pro largely because one sec will conflict with it.

Why is it so useful?

Makes you think before you open

Because the timer starts right when you first access the site, it forces you to think hard before you access it: “I’ve budgeted only an hour per day for this, am I sure I want to blow that hour now, or am I just opening this out of habit/impulse?”

This strikes me as exactly the kind of response one sec is aiming for.

“Defragmenting” of time

The fact that the timer keeps going even when you’re not using the app/site makes you use those apps/sites differently. If you open the app and then go off to do something else, too bad, your time limit is going to be over anyway.

This shifts your usage pattern of the app. It goes from something you might check semi-randomly for 5 minutes at a time, to something that you intentionally choose to access and spend dedicated time on.

And if it’s not worth spending dedicated time on? Then why are you using it in the first place?

Flexibility

Lastly, it’s flexible. If you want to limit it so that you’re accessing the site an hour a day, set “maxvisit” to an hour and “minaway” to 12-20 hours. If you want to allow yourself to have a longer period twice a day, set “maxvisit” to 2-3 hours, and “minaway” to something like 8 hours.

This is a lot more flexible than blocking sites/apps at specific times of the day. It lets you adapt your usage to whatever you need that day, and still lets you be somewhat spontaneous, but in a less-damaging way.

How might this feature look like within one sec?

I picture this as an app/site-specific setting that lets you define a “session length” and “gap between sessions”. The intervention would then have a “start session” button that starts the timer.

Once the session timer is up, the app would be blocked until the “gap” timer runs out, either by graying it out or by presenting you with an intervention that cannot be bypassed.

This would also pair really well with one sec pro’s existing features like re-interventions. Re-interventions could help enforce the session timer, kicking in when it’s over.

I think this could be a really great addition to the app overall, and would likely push me over the edge towards buying a lifetime subscription.