Deep work needs long, uninterrupted stretches where your attention belongs to one thing. Your phone is the most common interruption — not because it rings, but because it offers something easier to do at the exact moment your work gets hard.
AuraLock’s Deep Work Aura is a whitelist-first environment built for exactly this. Here is how to set one up that works.
Step 1: Choose your purpose
When you create an Aura, AuraLock asks what this Aura is for. Choose Deep Work. This frames everything that follows. You are making space for meaningful work, not just avoiding distractions.
You can also use the Home screen’s one-tap Deep Work preset, which gives you 45 minutes with just the basics, and refine the Aura to your exact needs afterward.
Step 2: Choose what stays alive
This is the most important step. Search your installed apps and select only the ones that genuinely support deep work. A good starting set:
- Your writing or code editor
- A notes app
- A reference site you actually need, not one you browse
- A calm music or ambient app if it helps you enter flow
That is it. The apps you did not choose wait outside your Aura until the session ends. They are simply not part of this moment.
Free plan tip: the free plan keeps 3 apps alive — enough for editor, notes, and one reference. If your deep work genuinely needs more tools, AuraLock Pro allows unlimited apps.
Step 3: Set your boundary
Two boundary strengths are available.
A Standard Aura lets you pause, extend, or end your session. It suits most days, when you want a supportive boundary with room to adjust.
A Strict Aura holds until the Aura ends. This is for the sessions you have promised yourself, when an easy exit would defeat the purpose. For deep work that matters, Strict is worth considering. The confirmation step before ending gives you a moment to reconsider, and most people find it restores their focus.
Step 4: Set your duration
Deep work sessions often need at least 60 minutes to reach meaningful flow. AuraLock’s named durations make the choice easy:
- Sprint (10 min) — for a quick reset or shallow tasks
- Pomodoro (25 min) — classic sprint intervals
- Deep Work (45 min) — a solid work block
- Flow (60 min) — a strong starting point for meaningful work
- Block (2 hours) — for long-form writing, coding, or analysis
Free sessions cap at 60 minutes. Longer durations, up to 24 hours, unlock with Pro. If you plan to extend past an hour regularly, that is the upgrade to consider.
Step 5: Enter your Aura
Tap Enter Aura. Your phone becomes the environment you chose. A timer ring shows your remaining time, and the apps you selected are the only ones available.
During the session
When you reach for something outside your Aura, AuraLock shows a boundary screen: “This app is outside your Aura.” You are not punished or shamed. You simply have a moment to decide whether this is really what you need.
If you opened a whitelisted app by accident, or want to switch between them, you can. AuraLock only guards the boundary you asked for.
If you are deep in flow as the timer winds down, use Extend time to keep the same boundary going, with no gap and no restart.
Step 6: Close the loop
When your Aura completes, AuraLock shows you what you protected: the session length and the apps that stayed alive. Take a moment to finish the loop.
Write a one-line Journal entry about what you accomplished and how it felt, with a mood tag. Watch your daily goal progress and streak build in Goals. Review your insights later to see your best focus hours and weekly patterns.
Over time, your history and insights give you an honest view of how your focus has been.
Make it a rhythm
Deep work becomes a practice when it repeats. Add a schedule, such as Deep Work Mornings (Mon–Fri, 7–10 AM) or your own window, so the environment is ready before you are. Schedules on the free plan are limited to 2; Pro allows unlimited.
Deep work depends more on the environment around you than on willpower. AuraLock lets you build that environment in under a minute, and a schedule keeps it ready when you need it.