Why YouTube Might Be Ruining Your Focus Without You Realizing It

I used to rely heavily on YouTube for ambient sounds while working.

Rain sounds, café noise, nature loops - the usual.

But over time, I started noticing something frustrating.

Even on videos where creators haven’t monetized their content, ads still show. You can’t really avoid them anymore.

So a typical “focus session” ends up looking like this:

rain… rain… rain…
sudden loud ad
rain… rain…

That alone is enough to break any kind of deep focus.

But it’s not just ads.

There’s also:

• no real control over mixing different sounds

• repetitive loops

• constant tab switching for timers or tasks

At some point it made me rethink the whole idea of productivity tools.

Most tools try to improve focus by optimizing tasks - better to-do lists, better timers.

But they ignore the environment you’re working in.

And that’s probably the bigger problem.

So I started building something for myself.

A space where I could:

• mix soundscapes the way I want

• use visuals that actually feel immersive

• remove interruptions completely

That’s how SootheScreen started.

Still early, but one thing is clear:

Focus isn’t just about discipline.
It’s about environment design.

Curious — what actually breaks your focus the most?