Pausette

What it does

Pausette lives in the menu bar as a small ring that fills up towards your next break. When one is due it asks gently first, then dims the screen for the break itself, with a countdown and something to do with the time.

• Eye breaks: the 20-20-20 rule. Every twenty minutes, twenty seconds looking at something far away.
• Stretch breaks: every fifty minutes, a few minutes to stand up and move, with simple moves shown one step at a time. Both can be changed or switched off.
• Only time at your Mac counts. Step away for as long as a break lasts and that counts as the break, so you never come back from lunch to a reminder.
• It waits for your calls. While a microphone is in use, the break holds until the call ends. Pausette sees only that the microphone is in use, never what it hears.
• It waits for full-screen video and presentations. While the front app fills the screen, a due break holds until you leave full screen. Pausette sees only that the front app fills the screen, never what is on it.
• Never in your way. Every break can be snoozed or skipped, and Esc always ends it.

Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Today and this week, at a glance

Click the ring to see when each break is due, take one early, pause for half an hour or until tomorrow, and see how many breaks you took, how many happened on their own while you were away, and how long you have been at your Mac today. The This week card shows the breaks you rested on each of the last seven days, and your time at the Mac.

Privacy in one paragraph

Pausette notices only three things: whether you are using your Mac, whether a microphone is in use, and whether the front app is full screen. It has no network access, no account and no tracking, and the last 30 days of break counts stay on your Mac. The full privacy policy says the same at more length.