Why look for a Strict Workflow alternative in 2026?

Strict Workflow is a clean free Pomodoro extension, but it does one thing: 25-minute work intervals that block your sites, then 5-minute breaks that don't. If you want blocking that runs for hours or days instead of resetting every break, or you want an attempt counter, scheduling, or a desktop app that covers the whole machine, you'll bump into its ceiling fast. Focuh is a free Strict Workflow alternative built for long continuous challenges rather than short timer cycles.

Is Focuh a free Strict Workflow alternative?

Yes. Focuh is a genuinely free Chrome extension — no account, no email, no telemetry, no ads, and no cap on how many sites you block. Like Strict Workflow, it runs locally in your browser and never sends your blocklist to a server. The difference is the model: Strict Workflow blocks in Pomodoro intervals, while Focuh blocks continuously for a challenge of 30, 91, or 180 days, or a custom length you choose.

What's the main difference between Focuh and Strict Workflow?

Strict Workflow ties blocking to a Pomodoro timer — sites are blocked only while the 25-minute work interval runs, then unblocked on every break. Focuh decouples the two: you start a challenge and your blocked sites stay blocked for its whole length, breaks included. Strict Workflow suits people who already think in Pomodoros; Focuh suits people who want a distraction simply gone for weeks rather than allowed back every twenty-five minutes.

Does Focuh have a Pomodoro timer like Strict Workflow?

Not in the Chrome extension — it's a focused blocker, not a timer. Strict Workflow's whole identity is the 25/5 Pomodoro cycle. If you want a Pomodoro timer alongside blocking, the free Focuh desktop app for Mac includes a focus timer with a menu-bar countdown. For a pure in-browser Pomodoro with nothing else installed, Strict Workflow is genuinely good and there's no reason to switch just for that.

Can Focuh block apps and other browsers when Strict Workflow can't?

Not the Chrome extension — no Chrome extension can, including Strict Workflow. An extension only controls Chrome. But the team also ships a free Focuh desktop app for macOS that blocks at the operating-system level, covering Safari, Firefox, Arc, and native apps during a session. So you can run the free extension for the browser and the free Mac app for everything else, which Strict Workflow, as a browser-only tool, has no answer for.

Does Focuh track how often I get distracted?

Yes, and it's the feature Strict Workflow doesn't have. Every time you try to open a blocked site, Focuh counts the attempt and redirects you to a quiet page. Seeing that you reached for YouTube eighteen times on Monday and four times by Friday is concrete feedback that the habit is fading. Strict Workflow's interval model just blocks and unblocks on the timer — it never shows you how often the urge actually hit.

Is Strict Workflow still worth using?

Yes, for the right person. If you want a free, no-account, single-purpose Pomodoro extension that blocks sites during work intervals and nothing more, Strict Workflow does that cleanly and there's nothing wrong with it. Switch to Focuh only if you want long continuous challenges instead of timer cycles, an attempt counter, or a free OS-level Mac app to back up the browser block. Pick the model that matches how you actually work.

How do I move from Strict Workflow to Focuh?

It takes a couple of minutes and you don't have to uninstall Strict Workflow first. Install Focuh from the Chrome Web Store with no account, open the icon, and add the same sites you had in Strict Workflow's blocklist. Instead of setting a 25-minute interval, pick a challenge length — 30 days to start. Start the challenge and your sites stay blocked continuously rather than only during work timers. Run both for a day if you want to compare the two models.

Strict Workflow Alternative

Best Strict Workflow Alternative for Chrome (2026)

A free Strict Workflow alternative: Focuh is a Chrome extension built for long focus challenges, with no account, no telemetry, and a free Mac app.

June 11, 2026

Why Look for a Strict Workflow Alternative?

Strict Workflow is a good free Chrome extension, and that's not faint praise. It pairs a 25/5 Pomodoro timer with a blocklist: while the work interval runs, your distracting sites are blocked; when the break starts, they open back up. No account, no telemetry, no upsell. If the Pomodoro model fits how you work, it does its one job well.

The reason people search for a Strict Workflow alternative is usually that one job. The interval model means your sites unblock on every break, which is exactly when the "quick check" sneaks in and eats the next twenty minutes. There's no scheduling, no analytics, and no way to block continuously for a long stretch. And like every browser extension, it stops at the edge of Chrome — Safari, Firefox, and native apps are untouched.

Focuh is built around a different idea: instead of blocking in short cycles, you block continuously for a challenge you choose.

How Focuh Compares to Strict Workflow

Where Strict Workflow hands you a timer, Focuh hands you a commitment. You pick a length — 30, 91, or 180 days, or a custom range — and your blocked sites stay blocked for the whole thing, breaks included.

Continuous challenges, not intervals. Strict Workflow unblocks your sites every five minutes by design. Focuh keeps them blocked for the length of the challenge, so there's no recurring window where the habit slips back in.

An attempt counter. Every time you reach for a blocked site, Focuh counts it and redirects you to a quiet page. Watching that number fall over a week is feedback Strict Workflow's on/off timer never gives you.

Genuinely free, no account. Both tools are free with no signup, no email, and no telemetry. Your blocklist lives in local Chrome storage on your own device.

A free desktop companion. Strict Workflow is a browser extension and nothing else. Focuh ships a free Mac app that blocks system-wide.

Feature	Focuh	Strict Workflow
Price	Free, no tier	Free
Account required	No	No
Telemetry	None	None
Blocking model	Long continuous challenges	Pomodoro intervals (25/5)
Site cap	Unlimited	Unlimited
Attempt counter	Yes	No
Pomodoro timer	In Mac app	Yes (in extension)
OS-level desktop app	Yes (free, macOS)	No

What Focuh Does Better

The biggest gap is the model itself. Strict Workflow's breaks are a feature for someone who works in disciplined Pomodoros, but for many people the five-minute window is where focus quietly leaks away — the timer flips, a tab opens, and the next work interval starts late. A continuous challenge removes that recurring temptation entirely. The site is just gone for the duration, and there's no scheduled moment when it comes back.

The second gap is the desktop companion. Strict Workflow can't touch anything outside Chrome — switch to Safari or open a native app and the block evaporates. Focuh ships a free desktop app for Mac that blocks at the operating-system level using macOS Accessibility APIs, so a session covers every browser and every native app at once. Run the free extension for in-browser blocking and the free Mac app for the rest. The system-level vs browser blocking guide explains why that matters once browser-only blocking starts failing you.

The attempt counter is the quiet third advantage. Distraction is easier to beat when you can see it. Strict Workflow blocks and unblocks silently; Focuh shows you the urge as a shrinking number, which is oddly motivating in the first week.

Where Strict Workflow Still Wins

A fair comparison admits where the alternative loses. Strict Workflow's Pomodoro timer lives right in the browser, and Focuh's timer lives in the Mac app instead. If you specifically want a 25/5 Pomodoro with blocking inside Chrome and nothing else installed, Strict Workflow does exactly that, and switching tools just to get a worse fit makes no sense.

It's also dead simple. There are no challenge lengths to pick, no desktop app to install — you click start and work for 25 minutes. For someone who only wants Pomodoro structure, that simplicity is the whole appeal, and Focuh's challenge framing would be overkill. If the Pomodoro method itself is what you're weighing, timeboxing vs Pomodoro vs time blocking breaks down when each one fits.

How to Switch from Strict Workflow to Focuh

Moving over takes a couple of minutes, and you don't have to uninstall Strict Workflow first — run both for a day to compare the models.

Install Focuh from the Chrome Web Store. No account, no email.
Open the Focuh icon and add the same sites you blocked in Strict Workflow — youtube.com, reddit.com, x.com, or whatever your list was.
Instead of a 25-minute interval, pick a challenge length: 30 days to start, or 91 or 180 if you're committing.
Start the challenge. Your sites now stay blocked continuously, and the attempt counter starts tracking your urges.

The mental shift is the part worth naming. Strict Workflow asks "how long is this work interval?" Focuh asks "how long am I going off this site for?" If your focus tends to leak out during Pomodoro breaks, the continuous challenge closes that gap. And if the urge follows you out of Chrome — into Safari or a native app — the free Focuh Mac app picks up where no extension can reach.

Who Should Switch and Who Shouldn't

Switch to Focuh if you want continuous blocking instead of Pomodoro intervals, you'd find an attempt counter motivating, or you want a free OS-level Mac app behind the browser block. For the wider field, the best free website blocker for Chrome guide lines up the options side by side, and the StayFocusd alternative covers another common switch.

Stay on Strict Workflow if the Pomodoro model fits you, you want the timer inside the browser, and you don't need anything beyond Chrome. It's a clean, honest free tool and there's no shame in keeping it.

If you want long-challenge blocking that also covers your whole Mac, install Focuh free — and add the free Mac app when the browser block isn't enough on its own.