I have an idea for a plugin that would help manage distractions by tracking the websites you visit, and then charging you every time you open a site that wastes your time. For example, if I visit Facebook, I would be charged a penny. If I clicked on any page on Facebook, I would also be charged a penny.

You could set a certain amount of page exemptions for specific sites (ie I could read 10 Hacker News articles a day without being charged), and you could set your own price for each page click (if you're wealthy, you're probably not going to care about a penny and may instead want to do 5 cents or more). Basically, the structure of the app is completely in your control. You can even turn it off or on depending on your schedule.

My initial thought (and only basing this on me so far) is that this would be better than apps like SelfControl because it wouldn’t be completely denying the behavior. With SelfControl, I get pissed that the app is telling me what I can and can’t do. With this app though, I would still have complete freedom, it would just be coming at a more apparent cost.

Proceeds of the app would just go to me. Rather than feeding a charity where you might feel “good” about yourself in spite of wasting time reading worthless crap on the internet, it should be an additional incentive that you’re just feeding me, the selfish developer.

It seems to me like this community would be the target audience for this type of thing. I want to get an initial sense though if people are receptive before I build a test version and see how users respond. So what do you guys think? Would you use it, or is it addressing the symptoms of distraction moreso than the problem?