Block Apps on a Schedule

Q: Can a blocking schedule run overnight?

Yes — schedules can span midnight (say 9 PM to 7 AM) or run all day. Overnight wind-down blocks are one of the most effective setups, since late-night scrolling is where resolve is weakest.

Q: What if I genuinely need a blocked app today?

Use Skip Today — it pauses that schedule until tomorrow without deleting the routine, and there's an Undo if you change your mind. Designed exceptions beat abandoned systems.

Q: How many schedules can I have?

Up to 20 enabled at once — an iOS system limit that applies to all Screen Time apps. In practice, three or four well-chosen schedules cover a full routine, and overlapping schedules combine their blocks correctly.

The problem with tapping “Start Focus” every morning is the morning where you don't. Schedules remove the decision: the block arrives like an appointment, every weekday, whether today's willpower showed up or not.

Build a schedule in a minute

In Anchor's Schedules tab, tap +, name it (“Morning Focus”), and pick its apps and categories — each schedule carries its own selection.
Set the window: start and end times, including overnight spans (21:00–07:00) and all-day blocks.
Pick the weekdays — weekdays-only for work routines, every day for wind-downs.
Optionally add reminders — a heads-up X minutes before it starts (finish that reply) and a note when it ends.

From then on it just happens: at 9:00 the shield goes up, at 11:00 it lifts, and you spent zero decisions on it.

The four schedules worth copying

Morning Focus (9–11, weekdays): social + entertainment blocked for your best two cognitive hours.
No Phone at Lunch (12–1, weekdays): a small, radical act — eating without a feed.
Evening Wind Down (9–11 PM, daily): the doomscroll window, closed. Pairs with the doomscrolling guide.
Overnight (11 PM–7 AM, daily): the 2 a.m. wake-and-scroll never starts; the morning starts with you, not the feed.

Living with schedules, honestly

Skip Today exists for real life. A friend's in town, a work fire is burning — skip the schedule for the day (with undo), and it resumes tomorrow. Rigid systems get deleted; forgiving ones survive.
Overlaps combine. When two schedules run at once, everything either one blocks is blocked — build small, composable routines rather than one giant one.
Duplicate to iterate. Clone “Morning Focus” into a weekend variant with gentler hours instead of rebuilding.
Up to 20 can run (an iOS-wide limit) — but three good ones beat fifteen aspirational ones.

The compounding trick: a schedule you never think about is worth more than a focus button you press heroically. Automate the two windows that matter most, and let the insights tell you where a third would help.

Set it once. Focus daily.

Weekday routines, overnight windows, Skip Today grace. Free to try.

Download on the App Store

FAQ

Can a blocking schedule run overnight?

Yes — spans across midnight and all-day windows both work. Overnight is the highest-value block for most people.

What if I genuinely need a blocked app today?

Skip Today pauses that schedule until tomorrow, with undo. Exceptions by design.

How many schedules can I have?

Up to 20 enabled (iOS limit); overlaps combine correctly. Three or four is the sweet spot.