LookAway
A native macOS menu bar eye break reminder
A macOS menu-bar app that reminds you to rest your eyes using the 20-20-20 rule, Pomodoro, deep-focus, or fully custom work/break timers, with a live countdown always visible in your menu bar.
LookAway is a small macOS app that sits in your menu bar and reminds you to take eye breaks while you work. It follows the 20-20-20 rule by default: focus for 20 minutes, then rest for 20 seconds. When the timer runs out, a pop-up window appears to prompt you to look away from the screen.
The menu bar icon shows a live countdown and a progress indicator so you always know how much time is left in the current session. Clicking the menu bar icon gives quick access to pause, reset, skip to break, open settings, or quit the app without navigating anywhere else.
Beyond the default 20-20-20 rhythm, LookAway supports a Pomodoro schedule (25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes of rest), a deep focus mode (50 minutes on, 10 minutes off), and fully custom intervals where you can set hours, minutes, and seconds for both the focus and rest periods. Custom schedules can be named and saved so they persist between sessions. The app also tracks how long you have focused and rested today, and it supports launching automatically when you log in.
Because the app is unsigned, macOS may warn you the first time you open it. The README explains how to bypass that warning using right-click and "Open" in Finder.
Where it fits
- Protect your eyes during long coding or writing sessions by getting reminded to look away every 20 minutes.
- Follow a Pomodoro or deep-focus work rhythm with automatic break prompts built into your menu bar.
- Track how much time you have actually focused versus rested across the working day.
- Set a fully custom work-and-break schedule that is saved and reused every time you open the app.