What is the Norma disc made of?

Solid stainless steel, machined from a single piece. There is no screen and no plastic shell, just steel, cold and dense in the hand. The material is deliberate: a light plastic token is easy to ignore and easy to lose, while a weighted steel object stays where you put it.

How big and heavy is the Norma disc?

It measures 70 mm across and weighs 270 g. That is heavy for its size, and intentionally so. The disc is built to sit out on a desk or a nightstand rather than disappear into a drawer.

Does the Norma disc need a battery?

No. Inside the disc is a passive NFC tag (the same technology as tap-to-pay), so there is no battery, no screen and nothing to charge. Nothing runs and nothing is online: the disc can sit there for years.

What happens when you scan the disc?

The Norma app switches off the apps you chose, and they stay blocked until you scan again. The instruction lives on the disc rather than in a setting on your phone, so there is nothing on screen to talk yourself past. Leave the disc in another room and the block holds with no willpower at all.

Does Norma need a subscription?

No. Norma is a one-time purchase: no subscription, no account renewing in the background. It works on iPhone, and the same scan blocks distracting sites on your Mac.

The steel disc: why focus works as an object

Norma is a 70 mm disc of stainless steel that weighs 270 g. You scan it with your iPhone to start blocking apps and scan it again to stop. Because the off switch is an object rather than a setting, ending a session means getting up and finding the disc. That small effort is most of why the block holds.

An app can’t be picked up, and a setting can’t be left in another room. Norma takes the control that starts and ends a block and puts it in an object with weight and a fixed place in your home. Below: what the disc is made of, how a scan works, and why the object matters more than any feature list.

270 grams of stainless steel

The disc is machined from solid stainless steel: 70 mm across, 270 grams in the hand. That heft is deliberate. A light plastic token is easy to ignore and easy to lose; a weighted steel object reads as something that matters, and it stays where you put it. It’s built to sit out on a desk or a nightstand, not vanish into a drawer.

How a scan switches your phone

Inside the disc is a passive NFC tag, the same technology behind tap-to-pay, with no battery and nothing to charge. When you bring the top of your iPhone close, the phone’s field wakes the tag for a split second and reads it, and the Norma app flips your chosen apps off. Scan again to bring them back. The tag draws the tiny bit of power it needs from the phone itself, so it can sit there for years without running anything or going online.

The part that matters is where the off switch lives. Because the instruction is on the disc and not in a setting, there’s nothing on the phone to talk yourself past. That is where software focus tools fall short.

Key takeaways

70 mm, 270 g, solid stainless steel, built to sit out, not hide.
A passive NFC tag inside: no battery, nothing to charge, nothing online.
One scan blocks your chosen apps; scan again to bring them back.
The weight is deliberate: a heavy object is harder to ignore or lose.

Why an object beats an app

A phone is the most frictionless device you own. Every action is one tap away, including undoing your own focus. An object adds the one thing a phone removes: distance. Leave the disc in another room and the block stays in place with zero willpower, because getting back to the feed now means getting up. That small gap is usually enough for the urge to pass. How the disc compares to software blockers that keep their switch on-screen.

The short version

An app’s off switch is always one tap away, on the same screen you’re trying to leave. The disc’s off switch is wherever you left it, often across the room. That distance is what keeps the block in place.

Common questions.

What is the Norma disc made of?: Solid stainless steel, machined from a single piece. There is no screen and no plastic shell, just steel, cold and dense in the hand. The material is deliberate: a light plastic token is easy to ignore and easy to lose, while a weighted steel object stays where you put it.
How big and heavy is the Norma disc?: It measures 70 mm across and weighs 270 g. That is heavy for its size, and intentionally so. The disc is built to sit out on a desk or a nightstand rather than disappear into a drawer.
Does the Norma disc need a battery?: No. Inside the disc is a passive NFC tag (the same technology as tap-to-pay), so there is no battery, no screen and nothing to charge. Nothing runs and nothing is online: the disc can sit there for years.
How does a passive NFC tag work without power?: It draws the tiny bit of power it needs from the phone itself. When you bring the top of your iPhone close, the phone’s field wakes the tag for a split second and reads it. The tag has no power source of its own, which is why there is nothing to charge and nothing running in the background.
What happens when you scan the disc?: The Norma app switches off the apps you chose, and they stay blocked until you scan again. The instruction lives on the disc rather than in a setting on your phone, so there is nothing on screen to talk yourself past. Leave the disc in another room and the block holds with no willpower at all.
Does Norma need a subscription?: No. Norma is a one-time purchase: no subscription, no account renewing in the background. It works on iPhone, and the same scan blocks distracting sites on your Mac.