I have always struggled to take breaks while working. I've tried many macOS applications from the App Store, but they all use fixed timers, which don't work well for me. I wanted an app that requires minimal user interaction and is minimally disruptive. So, a year ago, I decided to build one myself. This was my first experience developing applications on the Apple platform, and it has been quite a journey.

TotalPause primarily reminds me based on my activity level and offers advanced do-not-disturb features to detect when I'm using certain apps (it can even match specific browser windows) or watching videos. This approach has worked well for me, and it's now available on the Mac App Store [1].

I also wrote a detailed personal blog post about why and how I created this app: "Reminding Myself to Take a Break - The Hard Way" [2].

[1]: https://apps.apple.com/app/totalpause/id6482185943

[2]: https://blog.damnever.com/en/2024/reminding-myself-to-take-a...