Take a Break: JustFocus

All too often we find ourselves busier than we intended to be that day. Fires to be put out. Spontaneous projects landing on our desks. Cramming for a test. “Maybe I’ll stay late and work on the project tonight.” As the old adage goes, “There’s always work to do. I’ll rest when I’m dead.” If this behavior goes on for too long, it can lead to burnout, both mental and physical, or worse.

JustFocus is a beautifully designed freeware application for the Mac to help find some balance in your work. It runs in your menubar and supports three configurable time periods: short breaks, long breaks, and the pomodoro technique. This last option is a fixed timeframe to work, configurable up to two hours, then you are “rewarded” with a break. You can even show the timer in the menubar.

When the timer goes off, you are presented with a random image from Unsplash, a motivating quote if you like, and a timer for how long this break is. You can also manually initiate a long or short break, for those impromptu coffee breaks! Check it out and start relaxing a bit more.