slowdown

A Web Extension that adds deliberate loading times to potentially-distracting sites

Why?

Convenience makes distractions easier. This extension gives you time to reflect and be more deliberate about how you spend your time.

What works so far

Go to a distracting site and click the Slowdown extension button, then click "Add site". Now the extension will display a "Loading..." dialog whenever you load or navigate around that site.

If you find yourself mindlessly clicking a distracting link, you can click "Cancel" to go back to the page you were on.

Installing

(This is currently in a functional-but-still-rough state, so it's not published on extension stores yet.)

To install in Chrome:

1. Download the source code
2. Go to "Manage extensions"
3. Turn on "Developer mode"
4. Click "load unpacked"
5. Open the Slowdown source code directory (the directory containing the manifest.json)

TODO list

• bare minimum functionality
• can click "cancel" to go back
• Verify it works in SPAs
• disable "cancel" button before new page loads
• don't display loading dialog immediately after clicking "cancel"
• add button to remove from a site
• styling
• display your current Trickle task in an iframe
• make it compatible with strict CSPs (don't use innerHTML or injected <style> tag)
• random variation in loading time
• icons