Short answer: Stop making the feed one tap away. Start with a friction pause (one sec; a 2023 PNAS study found ~57% fewer problematic opens). If you wait out the pause, block the apps during work with Screen Time or a blocker. If you keep disabling the blocker, use a physical tag.

People are not weak. The feed is designed to be easier than the work. The average owner is on the phone 4+ hours a day (Backlinko, 2026).

1. Add friction before the app opens

one sec (and similar) insert a breath or delay. That is enough for a twitch. It is not a wall. Hardcore Focus vs one sec.

2. Block the apps while you work

Settings → Screen Time → App Limits for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, X. Or run a session blocker so those apps do not exist until the timer ends.

Hardcore Focus is built for that session: focus timer + Shield + Gatekeeper if you try to sneak back.

Practical how-tos: block Instagram, block TikTok.

3. End the day on purpose

A shutdown ritual (capture leftovers, glance at tomorrow, close the laptop) is boring and it works better than “I’ll just check one more time.” Hardcore Focus has a Shutdown flow for that. The method does not require our app.

4. If you keep cheating

You will. Plan for it. Can you bypass iPhone app blockers? — Settings is the hatch. Brick is the hardware answer. Gatekeeper is the software answer for the mid-session unlock, not for deleting the app.

What not to do

Do not download a fifth habit tracker and call that a doomscrolling strategy. The feed is still on the home screen. Remove the icon, block the app, or leave the phone in another room. Tools only encode that decision.