How I broke free from YouTube’s grip 😵‍💫

George Karaan
March 18, 2025 • Reading Time: 3 minutes

This used to be me:

💡 “Let me just check YouTube real quick for help with this task…”

New tab.

(Homepage loads… temptation everywhere.)

I open 2… 5… maybe 10 new tabs 🙈

“Just one won’t hurt,” I tell myself. “The rest? For later.”

I hit play.

An hour flies by.

I’m left staring at the screen, filled with regret, trying to remember why I even opened YouTube in the first place.

My Frenemy

YouTube is a gold mine of content.

It’s also a trap.

My Dryptonite.

Dryptonite a.k.a Digital Kryptonite

The digital habit or platform that drains your time, focus, and energy more than anything else.

Without guardrails, YouTube becomes a vortex.

No other platform pulls me in like it.

Usually, with social media, I catch myself after 5, 10, 15 minutes — awareness kicks in, I close the tab, move on.

But not on YouTube.

There, I can lose hours, completely zoned out, entertained, perplexed, etc…

Uncontrolled YouTube time means:

❌ More regret
❌ Lower focus
❌ Less productivity

Especially, on a work day. That’s when it hits the hardest.

Unhook — a free browser extension that saved me.

I’ve been using it for well over a year now. It’s amazing.

Here’s how it works:

🛠️ Unhook lets you hide distractions on YouTube — think:

Let me show you:

Now, I go to YouTube, search for exactly what I want, watch it, and bounce.

No rabbit holes. No wasted hours. No Dryptonite.

You can also customize it to your liking:

Don’t get me wrong.

YouTube still has value.

Just yesterday, I used it to figure out how to fix the blinds in my Airbnb. 🙌🏻

It’s educational, entertaining, and sometimes even essential.

I only use Unhook on workdays, to ensure I don’t fall victim to the mighty force.

Find what works for you.

Until Next Monday,
George