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Mornings often start with a flurry of reaction — email, social media, news — before the first cup of coffee is finished. One weekly plan with a protected morning block turns that around: distractions are simply unavailable until your deep work is done.

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The routine

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Setting up the Morning Focus plan

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Create the plan

On the Plans tab click Add a Plan and name it Morning Focus.

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Choose what to block

Step 1 What to block, Websites tab

  1. On the Websites tab, add the sites that pull you in first thing: social media, news, your webmail domain
  2. Switch to the Applications tab and add chat and email apps you want closed
  3. If there is a site you need for the work itself, switch the segmented control to Allowed and add it there

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Draw the morning block

Step 2 When it runs with Weekly Schedule

  1. On When it runs, choose Weekly Schedule
  2. Click the Weekdays preset, then drag the block on each day so it runs from 08:15 to 11:15. With every weekday selected, the label reads Editing: … (changes apply to all selected days), so one edit covers them all
  3. Leave the rule mode on Block
  4. Tick Auto enable daily so the plan comes back every morning even if you stopped it the day before
Prefer a sharper rhythm inside the block? Split it into two blocks, 08:15 – 09:45 and 10:00 – 11:15, and take your screen-free break in the gap. Or run a separate Pomodoro plan on top for sprints and short breaks.

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Make it hard to bail

Step 3 How strict with the preset cards

Mornings are when willpower is freshest and excuses are cheapest. On How strict, pick Lock it Down: stopping takes a 10 minute wait, then 25 random characters typed perfectly, with no pauses. By the time you have waited it out, the urge has usually passed. If you want no exit at all, click Customize and set Protection when active to Enforced. The plan then cannot be stopped until the block ends at 11:15.
Enforced really means it. Make sure the allow list contains everything your morning work depends on, and keep the block to the hours you can commit to.

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Review and enable

Check the Blocks, Schedule and Protection rows on Review, then click Create & Enable. Tomorrow at 08:15 the plan starts on its own.

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Optional: a shallow-work timer

For the 11:30 – 12:00 email and planning slot, create a second plan called Shallow Work:
  1. Block the same sites and apps, but keep your email and calendar on the Allowed list
  2. On When it runs, choose Quick Timer and set 30 minutes
  3. Give it Gentle Guidance and click Create & Enable
Press play when you sit down to email; the timer keeps the session honest. See Use a Quick Timer.

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Tips

  • Leave the phone elsewhere. FocusMe protects the computer; the phone is up to you.
  • Review weekly. Open the Activity tab to see where the mornings went and whether the block needs to grow or shrink. See Activity.
  • Set an end date if you need an escape hatch. With Enforced protection, Set end date on the schedule page guarantees the plan eventually lets go.