Distraction shield
An allow list that keeps the apps the work needs and puts the rest away.
The shield works by permission, not prohibition. Instead of naming everything you want to avoid — a list you will never finish — you name the few apps the task actually needs, and Porotimer puts the rest away for the length of the session.
Allow lists
A list is a named set of apps. Keep several and switch between them, because what counts as a distraction depends on the work: a browser is essential for research and fatal for writing.
The built-in starting points are Default, Work Focus and Study Focus, and you can add your own. One toggle at the top turns the shield on and off without disturbing the lists themselves.
Turning it on for a session
The Block control under the timer applies the active list to the running session. It lifts when the session ends, so the shield is scoped to the sprint rather than to your whole day.
Put a tool on the list because the task needs it, not because you expect to want it. The list stays honest when you write it before a session rather than during one — mid-sprint, everything feels necessary.
Why an allow list beats a block list
A block list is a negotiation you have to win repeatedly. Every new app, every new site, every "just this once" is a fresh decision, and you are making those decisions at exactly the moment your judgement is worst — when the work has got difficult.
An allow list moves the decision to a calmer moment and makes the default answer no. That is the entire mechanism. It is not willpower; it is deciding once instead of forty times.