Want to be productive? Let the Productivity Owl guide you to accomplishment.
*** WARNING: This extension is very annoying. The owl is flying across your pages, annoying you, criticizing you, giving you psychological exercises, and closing your tabs. If you are not serious about being productive, this extension may not be for you.***
Do you need a new boss when working from home? Meet the Productivity Owl.
The owl is very strict. He will berate and mock you. You'll be forced to complete tasks to earn break time. If you do consistent work, use the timeboxing scheduler for work/vacation, and complete the owl's psychological exercises then you might be able to earn the owl's respect.
Just like the first version, the owl has 3 types of websites: Allowed, Blocked and Countdown. If a website is not on the allowed/blocked lists, you'll get a certain amount of time to get the information you need before the owl closes the tab. You can still use the scheduler to schedule free-time, and now you can also schedule work time. Version 2.0 introduced a task manager, and you get rewarded break minutes for each task you complete. There are also psychological interventions and browsing statistics in this version.
Although it is technically possible to earn the owl's respect - it's highly unlikely. The owl is very judgmental. It may take years before anyone earns the owl's "ultimate respect." Of course if you uninstall the extension or disable it, all respect is lost.
*************** APACHE 2.0 LICENSE OPEN SOURCE ***************
Since this extension is on every webpage you visit, I wanted to let everyone know there are NO TRACKERS or DATA COLLECTORS in the owl. The owl is 100% open source. You can view the source code on Github: https://github.com/mrieck/productivityowl
*Thanks to everyone who has been using the Productivity Owl over the years. He's been helping me be productive for the last 8 years. Hope he can help you too.
Latest reviews
- (2023-05-18) Jose Manuel Alarte Cruz: Maldito buho!!!!! Nada, hace muy bien su funcion y me gusta mucho tanto los horarios como el tiempo libre. Muy recomendada para quien quiera ser mas productivo
- (2023-05-08) Jayden Pham: I LOVE THIS !!!!!!
- (2023-04-03) Captain Pylon Leg: Everything is good, although there should be an option to only block blacklisted websites. It is very annoying adding every single website to the allowed list.
- (2022-08-05) victor agbeo: Very helpful app that's a step above a pomodoro clock! It was a pleasure chatting it up with you at the library btw
- (2022-07-21) G M: I like the extension but it could be improved. I don't use the task or breaks option, I just want to reduce my useless screen time overall, even during my free time. However, sometimes I'll need to access social media for work-related purposes, and because it's blacklisted I have to unable the extension just to check it for a minute. I wish the "make an exception" option would actually work instead of just telling you "I make no exceptions".
- (2022-05-23) Rohan Kayani: This app saved my college. 10/10
- (2022-04-10) Francis Blondin: I give it 4 star because I'm thankful it was made, but unfortunately I won't be using it. It's too harsh for me. Please just add more options! Like the option to allow for more than 3 minutes of surfing on a non-white listed website. The option to use different time limits for different websites (say you want to be allowed 20 minutes of Facebook and 15 minutes of Youtube a day). And the option to have all websites be white-listed by default, except for those you specifically want to see be restricted or blocked.
- (2022-04-06) Miranda Carter: I agree with other reviews criticizing the 3 minute timer for websites that aren't blocked but also aren't whitelisted. I have ADHD and really struggle with staying focused when it comes to reading so things will take me longer to find when doing research and constantly having to look at the countdown to see if the page needs a refresh does not let me focus fully on what I'm trying to read. Just a blacklist would've been preferred, sometimes I need to leave a page open for a long time but will never visit that site again afterwards so I don't want to bother with whitelisting it. The owls branch often blocks buttons on sites like Netflix during my freetime so I can't even enjoy my break without some annoyance. I do really like the concept of this extension with the browsing stats, to do list, reward times, and autoblocking of goof off sites but the 3 minute timer is really a deal breaker, I get stressed even just thinking about trying to browse to do any research so until this feature is removed I can't recommend this extension.
- (2022-01-25) Liliana Kahn: Overall the extension works and I like it expect for the fact that it closes tabs when I am not looking or am not on them. This can get pretty annoying when I am doing research or anything. I still use the timer and I can find the information I need within the time I have set on the timer. But for example I go back to my document and I still want to keep the research study around for referencing and copy paste, but the tab's timer keeps ticking and then in the background it closes. Could a option be added on whether the tabs timer is only active if the tab is active? I think Leechblock, which I also use, by James Anderson has a similar function "Count time spent on these sites only when browser tab is active". I definitely would prefer to having this option rather than having to schedule free time almost constantly which sort of defeats the purpose. On the positive side your task manager is great.
- (2022-01-18) Leonard Burca: I can't imagine how many hours this extension saved me over the years. To the dev: Thanks for giving me some peace of mind and the tool to fight this intrusive technology in my life. You rock
- (2021-12-11) Esteban Rivera: I really like gamification and I wanted to like this extension, but the fact that the owl considers every unlisted website in the settings as something bad that must be closed makes it unusable for everyday web browsing. Yes, I agree with closing social networks and e-shopping websites, but there are millions of other websites that do not need to be closed, and users do not have the time to add the whole internet to the settings of the app.
- (2021-11-11) Tristen Canfield: This is very helpful. I appreciate that I can earn time to use on my blocked sites by doing the things I need to do. The only thing I wish it could do that it doesn't right now is give me the option of rewards for time spent on certain sites. If I could build up reputation or earn break time for interacting with my homework web pages, that would be a hoot!
- (2021-08-26) Najla Nur Ariqah: I just like the way you can drag the owl everywhere on the screen when he block a website.🤣
- (2021-07-05) Mr Cool: The owl being skeptical and annoying is what made me love this application. It is one of the best blocking software's out there
- (2021-05-23) Reese Tuinstra: Mostly good, but it conveniently "forgets" I've timeboxed weekends free. Putting in extensions such as .org and .edu does seem to let all such common research websites work consistently. It's just really annoying to be sitting around on a Sunday not being able to screw around on random websites because I apparently have to time box every Sunday ahead of time, even though I don't have to reenter the free time I plugged in for weekdays.
- (2021-04-24) Binamira, Wilson: Perfect
- (2021-04-14) Tristan VN: Great app, totally recommended.
- (2021-04-09) Lobna Ahmed: تصاوير..
- (2021-02-27) Felipe Gil: I mostly liked. It's very nice to block some websites, but as the app says, it will close every tab that is not on your "allowed" list. That said, studying can get really complicated when you search google for something, because that new tab will not be on your allowed list, so IT WILL BE CLOSED. Even if you're not on the tab the countdown will start, sometimes you open it up just to see it being closed.
- (2021-02-19) Mike Sinn: I love this. It would be even more fantastic if you could automatically sync your settings between browsers.
- (2021-02-03) Agnieszka GÅ‚uszkowska: Best
- (2021-01-29) Jordan D.: I started to use this extension before the big update and already found it very useful, but after the addition of all these new features I'm finding this extension more useful than ever!
- (2020-12-17) Wiljan Linders: De uil is streng, de uil heeft humor, de productivity owl is geweldig
- (2020-12-17) Fleur: Very useful for people like me who both have ADHD and are very good with computers! if i were to try and use an application that forces me off of the distraction, i can always just remove it. even ones made specifically to be extremely hard to remove while on block! but this one just gently reminds me in a way where i find it useful. the respect function is also motivating! best productivity app ive used.
- (2020-12-17) Lucas Bohn Gass: Great work on the 2.0! Very useful and helpful, thank you very much!
- (2020-12-07) Celeste Medina: It's great! Honestly I love everything about it, it was exactly what i needed. The only problem is that no matter what I do, sometimes it doesn't block certain websites (i don't know why it doesn't block twitter but it's fine, it isn't like i use it as much). Also, I don't know to increase my respect level!! It's a bit disappointing, but anyway. Apart from that, it's amazing!
- (2020-10-21) Vladimir BoB Belyaev: Very useful thing. I recommend this plugin
- (2020-08-21) Uday Waghmare: Greate extension, fits exactly what I was looking for. Great options to customize schedule. Helps me keep focused rather than surfing garbage during work hours.
- (2020-08-05) Fernando Palácio: Não nos deixa na mão
- (2020-07-27) Nayara Ferreira: é bom se você que se manter focado, porém tem um problema.Toda vez que eu vou imprimir algo aparece FREETIME na folha de impressão cortando o que eu queria imprimir. Tá bem irritante esse erro.
- (2020-07-10) Marcio Junio: Muito Bom, útil demais!
- (2020-03-16) Heather Ross: Have I really never reviewed this extension before? I've used it on and off for years now. I *love* it!! I mainly use it to keep myself from getting distracted while working on my novels, which means that I haven't actually used it much the past year while going through a huge writer's block. I also don't use it constantly or really use the 'free time' feature, when I'm done working for awhile I just turn the extension off. Which I guess could be an easy way to 'cheat' as well, but I've never turned it off for that. I used a few writing-productivity extensions before finding the Owl and this one actually worked for me! In fact roughly 90k words of a specific novel were written while this Owl was blocking things! I see a lot of reviews talk about the aggressiveness of this extension as a bad thing, but isn't that kinda the whole point of the Owl? Seems like this extension is specifically made for hardcore procrastinators that other milder options haven't worked for. I guess it could get frustrating trying to figure out how to research school or work related things if you need to open a lot of random sites, but I only have about 5-6 writing-related websites that I need so I just put those in the 'allowed' box.
- (2020-03-15) 黃伊平: I am so happy to finally find an extension that suits my needs after spending so much time looking for one. Thanks for Productivity Owl team!
- (2020-02-28) themighty phone: Afer using it for a while I have a few suggestions. If you whitelist a certain website that you need for work it doesn't automatically whitelist all the subdomains and you have to manually whitelist them which is not practical at all. Also, the maximum time allowed is to big I can just set it to 2000000 seconds and the owl will just sit there. Also there should be a settings lock option for the biggest procrastinators :)
- (2019-11-18) sun king: I like it! it's simple but i like when i type the blocked site. the owl comes up with image and says go back work. i wish it also has some sound that can be added or customized. so it can be some alarming and also bigger reminder that i am wasting time one web surfing. ^^ just a small suggestion.
- (2019-10-16) Tomáš Vician: Error handling response: ReferenceError: respsonse is not defined at chrome-extension://eoagmdboiealblmpaahjlhajggndaahi/contentscript.js:128:7 Edit: still not fixed
- (2019-09-27) Gregorio Praciano: I really liked all the idea and concept, and it's working very fine. The only thing that bothers me is I don't find an option to hide the owl that appears on right down corner showing me that "FREETIME" everytime, or the seconds that are left on given site. I'm then forced to block the owl when I need to reach certain site because that bothers me very much, thus reducing its usefulness since I don't remember to turn it on everytime. tl;dr: is there any way to hide the owl that appears in the right down corner?
- (2019-09-12) Austin Haspany: Kind of works. Blocks most websites but wont block 4chan. I tried putting every combination of url that 4chan uses but still refuses to block it.
- (2019-08-28) Casaira: Lacks an option to have the owl timer working only on certain websites.
- (2019-08-27) Vince Paul: I'm giving it a four, so as not to gush. Initial impressions I like it. The owl gives me a bit of warning, it is ominous, and it reminds me that I don't need to be spending this time on most if not any of these sites. I don't feel that it is stopping more than making me aware. I guess to this owl I look like a mouse in a field who has spent too much time sitting still in the open. It may be a primal instinct that makes this effective. On another note I have also noticed it seems to be in an anti-desperation mode as the timer decreases when I reopen a tab - usually for a legitimate reason, knowing that I can finish my business and get out. Okay I am adjusting downward to a three, more like a 3.5 however it would be a 4.5 if only the "anti-desperation mode" switch worked. It seems to be on no matter how the switch is selected. And it looks like we're years in between updates. Oh well. Five stars and a sandwich for the dev if this issue is addressed. Would also be good to have a quick ad button so we don't have to keep copy pasting to allow sites we need to keep open.
- (2019-08-08) Christoffer Brobäck: Love it!, super cute! realy helps me stay focused
- (2019-07-17) Henry Adams: I looked through the code, and I'm pretty sure you will never gain respect ever. Other than that, this is the best productivity app I've found. I used a much more popular and polished one for a few minutes until I realized it couldn't be customized the way the Owl can.
- (2019-05-14) Emily Richardson: excellent app, and i figure i'll find it very helpful when i get used to it. one tiny problem- on my conmputer screen, you can see everything else on the homepage, but not the save button, so it took me a very long time to discover it. obviously a very niche problem, and this is a pretty old computer, but it would be helpful if you could put the save button at the top to save people the headache. thanks, love the app :)
- (2019-05-11) Rachana Kapadia: fantastics
- (2018-12-20) Ryan wallage: it sucks!!!! no wikipedia and a student can hack it supereasy
- (2018-11-27) Nelson Wang: Love in first sight
- (2018-11-04) Jan Heriban: I love this thing! Make me productive ane is extremely time saving :)
- (2018-10-30) Cristian Negraia: Good concept, not working. It started closing pages by itself. Not pages that I set as denied but random pages. Deleting it now.
- (2018-10-08) Nicholas Bridgemohan: I've never written a review for an app here, but i really love this! Really does what i need it to do
- (2018-07-07) Be Kind: Afrontosa ela haha adorei, não deixa passar uma mesmo.
Statistics
Installs
7,000
history
Category
Rating
3.9497 (378 votes)
Last update / version
2021-03-16 / 2.0.3
Listing languages
en