Expert's Rating
Pros
- Flexible scheduling system
- Modeled after a popular Firefox add-on
Cons
- Can be easily circumvented
Our Verdict
This add-on for Google Chrome and Apple Safari lets you set time limits for browsing distracting websites, but if you aren’t careful you can disable its features.
“Just five more minutes,” you say to yourself. Five more minutes of YouTube, or your favorite news site, or a gorgeous design blog–anything, as long as it’s not work. But those five minutes all too often become 30 minutes or more, and suddenly you realize that you barely got any real work done. Free Chrome add-on WasteNoTime tries to save you from that moment by helping you limit the amount of time you spend on distracting websites. The add-on works well, but does not always achieve the intended outcome.
One of WasteNoTime’s few interface shortcomings is the lack of visual indication when browsing a blocked website. On Google’s browser, to verify that the current website is indeed blocked and check how much time is left, you must click the WasteNoTime button on the Chrome toolbar.
Just like LeechBlock, WasteNoTime lets you protect the options screen with a long string of randomly generated letters and numbers. If you want to change the options (to unblock a website, for example), you’ll have to type that case-sensitive string without making any mistakes. This takes a moment and gives you a chance to think about what you’re trying to do, and resist temptation.
Unfortunately, all it takes to foil WasteNoTime is just a single keystroke — Ctrl+Shift+N. This key combination instantly launches Chrome’s Incognito mode, and by default, add-ons don’t run in this mode.
As soon as it becomes a game of “You vs. Add-on,” procrastination wins. But if you remember why it’s there, WasteNoTime can be a helpful way to bolster your willpower.
Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor’s site, where you can download the latest version of the software appropriate to your Google Chrome or Apple Safari browser.
—Erez Zukerman