Deep in a project, it is easy to lose track of time — and forget to take care of yourself. Time Out gently reminds you to step away from your Mac, stretch, rest your eyes, or simply take a breath. Small pauses can become a welcome part of your day, without relying on you to watch the clock.
Start with the built-in Normal and Micro breaks, or shape a routine around the way you work. From a quiet reminder to a screen-filling escape, Time Out gives you the flexibility to make breaks something you look forward to. The core features are always free, with optional supporter and premium features to make your breaks even more personal.
![[A Time Out break with an underwater theme and floating break controls]](/timeout/images/scaled/break.png)
A longer Normal break gives you time to get up and move around; a brief Micro break reminds you to relax between them. Adjust their length and frequency, add your own breaks for lunch or a stretch, or disable any you do not need.
Go beyond a simple countdown: schedule breaks at fixed times or around calendar events, and limit them to particular hours and days. Time Out can recognize time away from your Mac as a natural break and adjust the next reminder, so you are not asked to take a break just after returning from one.
![[Time Out break scheduling and natural break options]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-break-schedule.png)
A good break reminder should work with your day. Use Rules to postpone or skip breaks when particular apps are in use, a calendar event is happening, or your Mac is in Focus or a fullscreen app. Meeting scripts can recognize active calls in apps such as FaceTime, Teams, and Zoom.
Choose how each rule behaves, including whether an activity should count as a natural break. You can also start a break yourself, pause reminders, or change when the next break is due from the menu bar. Keyboard shortcuts put frequently used commands within easy reach.
![[Rules for adjusting Time Out breaks around apps, calendar events, and Focus]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-options-rules.png)
Let your screen fade into a peaceful scene, a favorite video, an inspiring message, or your own photos. Browse and preview themes in Time Out, then click Get to download the ones you like. Choose a single favorite, rotate through several in order, or let a random choice bring some variety to each break.
Set up a different theme for each display, and customize the background with a fixed color, a random hue, or a blurred effect. Themes can use images, text, YouTube videos, websites, or local HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Create your own, or explore more contributions on the Time Out Extras page.
![[Browsing Time Out themes with previews and choices for each display]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-break-themes.png)
The floating break controls show your progress and let you postpone, skip, or end a break early when you need to. Prefer a quieter experience? Let the panel fade away until you move the pointer near it. Want to linger a little longer? Keep the break on screen until you click End Break.
If you find yourself dismissing reminders too often, set limits on postponing and skipping, briefly disable the buttons at the start of a break, or hide commands that make breaks easy to bypass. Choose the amount of encouragement that works for you.
![[Time Out break controls, mindfulness options, and postpone and skip limits]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-break-controls.png)
Give yourself advance notice, hear a spoken reminder, or play a soothing sound. Break Actions can run before, during, or after a break — or when you click a custom button in the break controls. Adjust the system volume, flash the screen, or run an AppleScript, shell script, Python script, or Automator workflow.
For example, pause Music when a break begins, play a relaxing sound, then fade it out and resume Music when you return. Browse descriptions and setup instructions for additional action and rule scripts within Time Out, download the ones you want, and add them when you are ready.
![[Break Actions configured to pause Music, play a sound, and resume Music after a break]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-break-actions2.png)
Optional Activity tracking gives you a picture of breaks taken, apps used, and time away from your Mac. Zoom in to explore a busy stretch or zoom out to see the rhythm of your day. The Statistics view helps you review your break habits over time.
![[Time Out Activity showing app usage, breaks, and time away from the Mac]](/timeout/images/scaled/light-activity-activity.png)
Ready to build a better break habit? Get Time Out for free and start with a routine that suits you. You can try supporter and premium features before choosing whether to purchase.
Need an older release? Download version 2.9.7 for macOS 10.15 or later.
![[4 Mice]](./images/other/macworld4.png)
The core features are always free. You can try the supporter and premium features for a trial period, then choose the edition and purchase option that works best for you.
Direct from Dejal
Free
Download Time Out and continue using its core features at no cost.
Version 3.1, for macOS 26.0 or later.
From Apple
Free Download
This edition is essentially the same as the direct edition, so you can choose which one you prefer.
Subscriptions and App Store purchases are managed by Apple from within the app.
With a Setapp membership
Subscription
Time Out is also included as one of the apps on Setapp, a popular third-party service where you can get many excellent apps for one low monthly price.