Designing for focus: Building personal Chrome extensions to stop mindless browsing

Over a timespan of 6 month I iterated on Chrome extensions to prevent myself from doomscrolling. I started this project after reading Stolen Focus by Johan Hari.

Timer Chrome extension

Bringing screen time into real-time context

The first step was simple: raising awareness. In a world of constant distraction, even a gentle nudge can bring us back to the present. So I built a plugin that surfaced my screen time, quietly, in real time, as I scrolled. A subtle shift, designed to create just enough awareness to break the loop.

Inspired by built-in screen time features that deliver weekly reports, I wanted to bring that delayed awareness into context – while scrolling was actually happening. So I built a small timer that sits on top of selected websites: always visible, yet never too intrusive. A gentle reminder to help me stay conscious of how I spend my time online.

After weeks of use, this plugin helped to raise my awareness of scrolling time but didn't significantly reduce it. I realized that awareness alone is not enough to change my behavior. So I kept iterating.

Grayscale Chrome extension

Grayscale everything

Next, I built a concept around removing visual stimuli, the colors and contrasts that subtly pull us in. I was hoping to reduce screen time if removing visual stimuli helps reducing screen time.

So I designed a plugin that renders everything in grayscale. By stripping away color, the content becomes less stimulating, hence, less tempting to engage with. A calmer screen, built to invite less.

This version worked better—and revealed something unexpected: I realized my scrolling wasn’t mainly driven by visual stimuli, but by my muscle memory.

A mindful break in motion

Adding friction

Once I realized that muscle memory was driving my scrolling, I knew I needed to add friction in order to interrupt my autopilot browsing, not with force, but with space. A pause long enough to break the rythm. Just enough friction to wake me up mid-habit.

So I built an intentional break for a few seconds before a site loads. This tiny interruption is simple, deliberate, and it creates room for a few seconds of reflection, which is often all it takes to shift from autopilot to intention.

Adding restrictions

After some time in use, I started to occasionally bypassing the block by removing websites I added to the plugin, so I implemented a 24-hour restriction on changes.

This virtual pause button has proven to be by far the most effective plugin I still use those plugins on a daily basis.

The Timer plugin is publicly available. The others may follow soon.

Download Minute Chrome Plugin
Github