Updated
How to Get a Reminder to Take a Break on Mac
With Pandan
- Open Pandan. The time that you have used the Mac shows in the menu bar.
- Open its settings, and choose an interval in “Show a gentle reminder”, like every 25 minutes.
- In “Type”, choose how the reminder shows: a popover, a notification, or a HUD in the middle of all screens.
Pandan knows that you are away when you do not use the keyboard or the mouse, and it starts a new session when you come back, so a break resets the time. Set how long you must be away in “End session when idle for”. On a video call, where you only listen and talk, make it longer, so the call does not end the session.
The reminder can also play a sound, or run a shortcut from the Shortcuts app, like one that plays your own sound. The “History” window shows your sessions of the last 120 days.
Get Pandan
Time awareness in your menu bar
Free
- Platform
- macOS
- Requires
- macOS 26 or later
- Category
- Health & Fitness
- Released
- May 2021
- Privacy
- No personal data collected
- Updated
- September 2026
- Version
- 1.18.1
- Size
- 6 MB
Without an app
macOS has no reminder to take a break. Screen Time shows how long you used the Mac each day, but it does not remind you to take breaks. To get a reminder:
- Open the Clock app, and choose “View › Timers”.
- Set the time until your next break, like 25 minutes, and click “Start”.
A notification appears when the timer ends. Apple’s instructions. But the timer does not know if you were away from the Mac, so you must start it again after each break.