Staying focused with so many distractions is challenging, but what if you could use one of the most distracting apps to help you focus? Stop scrolling through endless videos and start using YouTube for focus. It takes some discipline, but it’s well worth it.

Table of Contents

• Turn YouTube into a Tool Versus Entertainment
• Create Timer Playlists
• Curate the Perfect Focus Music List
• Use Work/Study With Me Videos
• Avoiding Distractions on YouTube

Turn YouTube into a Tool Versus Entertainment

YouTube can be nearly anything you want. It’s not just for entertainment. Many people use it to help them sleep better, learn new things, and even stay more focused while studying or working.

When you stop seeing YouTube as an endless stream of entertaining clips and craft carefully curated focus playlists, YouTube becomes one of your most powerful productivity tools.

The idea is to use it to create the perfect work and study environment wherever you might be.

Create Timer Playlists

YouTube is filled with study and focus timer videos. I had no idea until I ran across a cute Animal Crossing inspired Pomodoro timer. Instead of downloading Pomodoro timer apps (or even Flowmodoro apps), I just use timer videos on YouTube.

You’ll find a wide variety of timers with different lengths for work and break sessions. There are also endless themes, such as coffee shops, video game inspired, lo-fi, jazz, large clocks, and more. I personally enjoy the lo-fi and video game inspired options as they tend to keep me more focused.

For best results, look for the work/break lengths you want, such as “pomodoro timer 25/5” or “study timer 45/15.”

Add multiple time videos to a single playlist. Then, instead of browsing YouTube when you’re ready to work, open your playlist, choose a video, and let it play.

Curate the Perfect Focus Music List

You don’t need YouTube Music, Spotify, or any other music streaming service for focus music. Just use YouTube for focus music.

I recommend creating several focus music playlists. Have one for each type of task you need to focus on. For instance, I have one just for research, another for writing content, and yet another when I’m testing out apps and products. I even have a relaxing list as background noise for reading.

By using the same type of music for a set task, you train your brain to focus when it hears that music or sound.

I use lo-fi, coffee shop jazz, binaural beats, ambience videos, and nature sounds mostly. All of these work well to keep my mind focused, yet aren’t distracting like listening to your favorite music playlist.

Aim to create playlists that are several hours long at least. Or, simply search for a YouTube focus video when you sit down to work or study. Many of these videos are anywhere from 2-12 hours long.

My personal favorite channel for work is Lofi Girl. Many other lofi channels use the free music from this channel.

Use Work/Study With Me Videos

When you’re working at home alone, you’ll find any distraction possible to procrastinate. Sometimes, the feeling of having someone else there helps you to be more accountable and stay focused on work.

These videos are designed to mimic working alongside someone else at home, in an office, at a coffee shop, or even out in nature. Sometimes you see an actual person, but in other videos you may just see their hands typing away. There are even video game-inspired work with me videos for focus.

Many of these videos use ambient noise, soft music, and even Pomodoro timers. Just search for “work with me” or “study with me” to find incredible options. I’m currently using Emmalilyn’s 4-Hour Late Night Study With Me while writing this.

I suggest picking one or two creators and stuck with them for a more consistent feel.

Avoiding Distractions on YouTube

I know how tempting it is to just click a few videos that pop up when you first open the app. But to make YouTube a focus app, you have to avoid the distractions. One of the easiest method is to have a separate YouTube account just for your focus playlists and videos. Then, your recommendations are all focus-related. And, you’re not distracted by your favorite channels on your other account.

Or, consider using a browser extension to block YouTube distractions like live chat, comments, suggested videos, etc. My personal favorite is Unhook. It offers over 20 options to block to customize your experience. It’ll even hide the home feed.

If you don’t want to install an extension, create a list of bookmarks to your YouTube focus playlists. This lets you avoid the home feed and go straight to the videos that help you most. I like using Raindrop to sync my bookmarks across all devices, no matter what browser I’m using.

In addition, while playing the focus playlist, you might encounter the “Video paused, Continue watching?” message that cause you to break your focus. You can fix it with an extension.

It’s also a great idea to look for videos with “no mid-roll ads.” Nothing pulls you out of deep focus mode more than a blaring ad in the middle of some peaceful lofi music or ambience sounds. For me, I just subscribed to YouTube Premium to skip all the ads since I use YouTube for hours every day for work, relaxing, and entertainment.

It only took me about a week to create eight YouTube focus playlists. Each has its own theme. Since creating these, I stay more focused and seem to work faster.