Ways to use Microsome
The same site can be focus for one person and a trap for another. Microsome decides at the page level — not the domain — so it follows what you are actually trying to do. Here's how that plays out for different kinds of people.
Archetypes
Entrepreneur
Stop comparing yourself on LinkedIn. Ship the thing others scroll past.
Academia
No more Reddit rabbit holes. Study hard and write the paper people cite.
Designer
Close the inspo tabs. Make the work that fills someone else's.
Engineer
Tutorials and teammates ship you forward; comment threads don't.
Families
Healthy limits for the kids — block distractions before they become habits.
Content creator
The feed is your research — the inbox is the distraction. Microsome knows which.
Corporate
Stop drifting between tabs. Close the inbox, not just the browser.
Entrepreneur
A founder's biggest leaks look like work. The LinkedIn feed and Hacker News feel productive but quietly become comparison and procrastination — while the social posting that everyone else calls a distraction is your actual marketing channel.
| Page | Usually treated as | For a founder | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
linkedin.com/feed/ | Productive — networking | Comparison spiral over rivals' launches | Limit |
news.ycombinator.com/news | Productive — industry news | Infinite scroll while you should be shipping | Limit |
x.com/compose/post | Distraction — social | Build-in-public marketing is the work | Allow |
linkedin.com/messaging/ | Distraction — social | Investor & customer conversations | Allow |
Academia
For a student or researcher, "looking something up" is where the hours go. A subreddit feels like learning but becomes a venting thread — while a recorded lecture on YouTube, normally lumped in with the rest of the site, is exactly the thing you should be watching.
| Page | Usually treated as | For a researcher | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
reddit.com/r/GradSchool | Productive — peer community | Venting rabbit hole, not the assignment | Limit |
youtube.com/shorts/ | Distraction — short video | Pure time-sink between study blocks | Block |
youtube.com/watch (lecture) | Distraction — video site | An assigned lecture is study | Allow |
scholar.google.com/scholar | Productive — research | Core to the literature review | Allow |
Designer
Inspiration is the designer's favourite excuse. Dribbble and Behance masquerade as research while the deadline slips — but a Pinterest board built for a live brief, or the "social" platform you're designing assets for, is real work.
| Page | Usually treated as | For a designer | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
dribbble.com/shots/popular | Productive — inspiration | Endless inspo browsing instead of making | Limit |
behance.net/galleries | Productive — inspiration | Same trap, different feed | Limit |
pinterest.com/pin/ | Distraction — browsing | Moodboard for the brief you're on | Allow |
figma.com/file/ | Productive — design tool | The canvas itself | Allow |
Engineer
When you're stuck, the algorithm un-sticks you — or eats your afternoon. A build tutorial on YouTube and a Stack Overflow answer move the ticket forward, while r/programming and the HN comments just feel like they do.
| Page | Usually treated as | For an engineer | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
stackoverflow.com/questions/ | Productive — reference | Unblocks the bug you're on | Allow |
youtube.com/watch (tutorial) | Distraction — video site | A build walkthrough is the work | Allow |
reddit.com/r/programming | Productive — dev community | Comment-thread procrastination | Limit |
news.ycombinator.com/item | Productive — tech news | "Just one more thread" all day | Limit |
Families
Parents set the goal, the model holds the line. The same video site that hosts Shorts also hosts the Crash Course your kid was assigned — Microsome opens one and closes the other, instead of an all-or-nothing block on the whole domain.
| Page | Usually treated as | During a homework window | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
youtube.com/shorts/ | Distraction — short video | Off-task scrolling | Block |
roblox.com/games/ | Distraction — games | Not homework | Block |
youtube.com/watch (Crash Course) | Distraction — video site | The assigned lesson | Allow |
khanacademy.org/ | Productive — learning | Exactly the goal | Allow |
Content creator
For a creator the rules invert. Instagram Reels and the TikTok feed are research and competitive analysis — real work — while the inbox and Slack, normally "productive", are the avoidance that keeps you from editing and posting.
| Page | Usually treated as | For a creator | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
instagram.com/reels/ | Distraction — social feed | Studying your niche and your own reach | Allow |
tiktok.com/foryou | Distraction — social feed | Trend research before you post | Allow |
mail.google.com/mail/ | Productive — email | Inbox doom-refresh instead of editing | Limit |
app.slack.com/client | Productive — messaging | Channel-hopping during an edit block | Limit |
Corporate
In a deep-work block, the busywork is the enemy. Constantly refreshing email and Slack feels like staying on top of things but is really avoidance — while an assigned training video, or the doc you're actually writing, is the point.
| Page | Usually treated as | During a focus block | Microsome |
|---|---|---|---|
mail.google.com/mail/ | Productive — email | Inbox-refresh avoidance | Limit |
linkedin.com/feed/ | Productive — networking | Doomscroll dressed as work | Limit |
youtube.com/watch (training) | Distraction — video site | An assigned training module | Allow |
docs.google.com/document/ | Productive — docs | The deliverable you're writing | Allow |