A 20-20-20 eye break reminder for Mac
Long stretches of looking at a screen can leave your eyes tired and dry. A simple habit helps, and your Mac can remind you of it.
The 20-20-20 rule
Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds. Eye doctors often suggest it for digital eye strain. Blinking a few times during the break helps too, because we blink less while staring at a screen.
The hard part is remembering. macOS has no built-in break reminder: Screen Time limits apps, but it doesn't tell you to rest your eyes.
Eye breaks in UtilityPad (free)
UtilityPad is a small menu bar app, mostly known for trackpad gestures, with a free eye-break reminder built in.
- Download UtilityPad (free) and open it.
- Open its Settings › Eye care and switch on Eye breaks.
- Choose how often (every 10 to 90 minutes of screen time) and how long each break lasts (10 seconds to 5 minutes).
When it's time, every screen softly blurs and a countdown asks you to look far away and blink. Then it clears by itself. You can skip, press Esc or snooze for 5 minutes.
It only counts real screen time: step away from your Mac for a couple of minutes and the timer starts over, so it never nags you right after you come back. You can also set a trackpad corner to start a break whenever you like.
This is a reminder, not medical advice. If your eyes hurt often, see an eye doctor.
UtilityPad: Your trackpad's edges become controls. Free · Pro $2 once.
Download UtilityPad free Version 1.6.0 · macOS 13 or later · MacBook trackpad or Magic Trackpad · Apple silicon and Intel · See the app