How I Coded My Way Out of Distraction — And Into Open Source

In this session, I’ll take you through the journey of building Make Me Productive – YouTube Focus Buddy, an open-source Chrome extension crafted to help users reduce distractions and focus on educational content.

The talk begins with the motivation and problem statement — how endless scrolling and algorithm-driven distractions inspired the need for a mindful tech intervention. Then, we’ll dive into the technical foundation, covering how I implemented the extension using Manifest V3, content scripts, DOM manipulation, and permissions management, while ensuring privacy, performance, and compliance with Chrome’s latest security model.

I’ll also share how I published it on the Chrome Web Store, handled policy challenges, and made it fully open-source for others to learn from or contribute to. The session closes with reflections on balancing usability, user trust, and ethical tech, encouraging developers to build tools that improve digital well-being — not just add to screen time.

This 25–30 minute talk will blend technical depth, design insights, and open-source values, offering actionable takeaways for anyone looking to create impactful browser extensions or productivity tools.

Key Takeaways

• Deep Dive into Manifest V3: Understand the architecture, service workers, and how it differs from previous versions.

• Practical Chrome Extension Development: Learn about content scripts, messaging, DOM manipulation, and permission handling.

• Open-Source Development & Collaboration: Explore how open-sourcing the project shaped community learning and contributions.

• Privacy & Policy Compliance: Discover lessons from navigating Google’s extension publishing and data protection policies.

• Tech for Digital Well-being: Reflect on how developers can use open-source innovation to build tools that improve focus, balance, and productivity.