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A developer explains how he reduced compulsive scrolling not through willpower but by systematically adding friction to distracting websites—grayscale mode, browser-only access, custom scripts that strip away appealing UI—accepting that addiction requires environmental design, not discipline.
- Willpower fails repeatedly; the author overrode his own website blocker for 444 minutes in a single session, forcing him to abandon self-discipline as a strategy.
- Grayscale mode on his phone for two years proved more effective than app blockers because it kills appeal rather than just restricting access—there's no override button for "this looks boring."
- He built a layered system combining no native social apps, LeechBlock NG, a custom Tampermonkey script that grayscales and blurs images on distracting sites, and deliberately clicking "Not interested" on feeds—each layer makes the default path slightly more annoying rather than impossible.
+ digital-minimalism
attention-management
+ habit-design
+ internet-addiction
+ friction-engineering