What if your distractions could clean the ocean?

I built a free browser extension to find out.

Dear friends,

This one is a little different. I'm so glad you're here for it.

Today, I'm launching a browser extension that turns your distractions into trees planted and plastic removed from the ocean.

Together, our moments of distraction can contribute to a better planet.

It’s free and it’s called Mindful Block.

Keep reading to find out:

• What Mindful Block is and how it works;

• The personal story about why I built it;

• How you can help it have impact.

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Mindful Block turns distracted browsing into something good. Blocked sites redirect to Ecosia and OceanHero, search engines that plant trees and clean the ocean.

Most site blockers just say no. Mindful Block says: go here instead.

Every time you try to visit a site you’re trying to avoid, you get redirected to a search on Ecosia or OceanHero. Those searches plant trees and remove plastic from the ocean. Your distraction becomes a small act of good.

Works on Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers like Brave, Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi.

How it works

• Add the sites that distract you to your block list

• When you visit one, Mindful Block redirects you to a mindful search on Ecosia or OceanHero

• The search query is drawn from your own list of Search ideas — things you actually want to explore

• You can customise both lists at any time

Features

• Calm Guard — the main on/off toggle for redirects, pauseable with one click

• Right-click the extension icon to pause or resume without opening the popup

• Ecosia and OceanHero both enabled by default — use one or both

• Optional image search mode

Disclaimer

This extension has no affiliation with Ecosia or OceanHero. It simply redirects to their public search pages.

Feedback, support, and questions

Send me an email at mindfulblock@calmfluffy.cloud

<3

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How my one-month no-news challenge led to this

This winter, I’ve been feeling inspired by a radio program on Dutch public radio called Vroege Vogels (Early Birds). The 3-hour radio program is broadcast early every Sunday morning and has reporters explore nature in The Netherlands, mixing field reports and listener call-ins with columns, classical music, and lots of nature sounds.

After a few weeks of going for walks in my local park, listening to the radio program in one ear and birdsong in the other, the warmer weather made me decide to deepen my commitment.

So, over the past month, I’ve gotten up early on Saturday morning and cycled to Berlin’s Grunewald forest, finding a bench with a table where I like to meditate, read, draw, listen to birds, take in a new or familiar ambient music release, and maybe journal.

It’s wonderful. The first time out there this season, I saw migrating crane birds, ravens, butterflies, and trees older than my great-grandparents.

On February 28, I decided to cycle through to where the forest meets the water. On a hill overlooking the lake, a centuries-old oak stands with a bench facing it.

I sat down to admire the tree and all the life it sustains: moss, insects, birds, and other plants.

After a moment, I reached for my phone and checked the news.

Bombs. War. Geopolitical conflict. It was the first day of attacks on Iran.

My heart broke. Anxiety arose. My focus shattered.

Two thoughts appeared almost simultaneously:

1. Why did I need to bring that into this moment? Was that really the best moment to fill my mind with ‘the news’?

2. How had I, a compulsive news checker, actually managed to make it to the early afternoon without being aware of the latest crisis?

I put my phone away and made a decision right there on that bench, with the gnarled oak as my witness: this month, I will not read the news.

I have taken breaks in the past. My thinking was always this:

I can only live each moment once. I need mental presence to make the most of it. Being in a state of distraction will not help. If something truly important happens, the news will reach me.

The privilege I have is that I do not need to fill my mind with the details of a war. In fact, having a clear mind would aid my ability to effectively oppose wars and have a positive impact on the planet and the beings that inhabit it.

I’ve been reading the news daily for 20+ years, with a short gap here and there. It started with newspapers, then websites on my computer, and eventually mostly on my phone. On some days, I check more than ten times.

So I kicked off the experiment.

One month, no news. Or rather, not mindlessly visiting news websites.¹

That evening, I met a friend to go see some jazz. Later, on our way home, she remarked on Khamenei’s death. I hadn’t heard yet. The important news had found its way to me. A few minutes later, we cycled past a big crowd of people waving Iranian flags, celebrating.

The next day, I blocked my favourite news websites on my phone. And as I was figuring out how to do the same on my laptop, a thought struck me:

If I believe managing my focus can benefit the world, can I make it even more beneficial?

I started brainstorming how to direct distractions towards better options and, in the end, landed on Ecosia and OceanHero, which dedicate their profits to improving the planet. In recent years, OceanHero has typically prevented around 1 to 1.5 million ocean-bound plastic bottles from reaching the seas every month. And Ecosia finances the planting of 1-3 million trees each month, as well as funding other climate impact projects.

To fund these initiatives, search engines serve ads within search results. So when the extension blocks a distraction, it redirects to a search result page for maximum impact. Which led me to another challenge: what would be good, meaningful search results?

So I made a list of 100 search ideas centred on curiosity, well-being, and the world around you. Some examples from the extension’s search ideas list:

• simple breathing techniques for stress

• how to reduce food waste at home

• tiny habits for personal growth

• how to plant native species garden

• science of deep breathing

Here’s how it works:

And it has worked well for me over the past weeks, so I’m excited to see and hear how it works on a larger scale.

Imagine the impact we can have together.

Making the most of it

If you use ad-blockers like Ghostery or uBlock, please consider disabling them on Ecosia and OceanHero. This way, your searches contribute more directly to these organisations’ goals.

You can create accounts on Ecosia and OceanHero to track your personal impact. Since using the extension over the past weeks, my estimated impact is:

• 2 trees planted

• 760 Wh of energy generated

• 1 hour of tree planting efforts

• 11 recovered plastic bottles

You can customise the extension to best fit your intentions. Remove searches that are not helpful to you. Block sites that distract you (note: news sites are not in the default block list). Add new searches that inspire you.

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Imagine the impact we can have together

Here’s how you can help.

You can spread the word by sharing the extension with your friends.

Link them to either:

• The Mindful Block landing page: https://mindfulblock.calmfluffy.cloud/

• Mindful Block in the Chrome Web Store (link)

You can also share this post if you think they’re interested in the backstory.

Leaving a 5-star review helps the extension stand out in the Chrome Web Store. If it’s not worth 5 stars in your view, I’d love to hear why. Drop me a message or leave a comment.

More is coming. To celebrate the 100-install milestone, I want to run a small brainstorm to generate more inspiring search ideas for new users. If you're not already following this newsletter, now is a good time.

Stay Calm & Fluffy.

Lots of love,

Bas

1. I still catch the news through podcasts and newsletters I follow, as well as the radio news bulletins while listening to Vroege Vogels on Sunday mornings. I’m definitely not advocating for closing oneself off from the world. As a matter of fact, Mindful Block does not block any news websites by default.