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K386 Apps Refocus
User guide

Refocus User Guide

How to use Refocus 1.01. Every setting is in the menu that opens when you click the eye mark in the menu bar.

1. Getting started

Getting started

  1. Install and launch

    Open the downloaded DMG, drag Refocus into the Applications folder and launch it. See How to install for details.

  2. Find the eye mark in the menu bar

    Refocus has no Dock icon and appears only in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The eye mark and the time left appear on the right, and the countdown starts right away.

  3. Choose a language if you like

    The app starts in English. To use Japanese, click the eye mark and choose “日本語” under “Language”. The menu, prompts, notifications and help switch at once, and your choice is remembered.

Midori

After that, a break cue comes every 20 minutes on its own.

After that you don’t need to do anything: a break cue comes every 20 minutes. To change the interval or length, see Settings.

2. Basics

Basics

The menu bar shows an eye mark and the time left. The eye outline never changes; only what is inside it does.

DisplayMeaning
Round irisPlenty of time before the break (over 15 minutes left with a 20-minute interval).
Iris waning from the topThe break is getting closer. With a 20-minute interval it shows three-quarters at 15 minutes or less, half at 10 or less, and a quarter at 5 or less.
Outline only1 minute or less left. It looks like this even with “Countdown Before Break” turned off.
Two bars, “Paused”The timer is stopped with “Skip For” in the menu.
Hollow ring, “Away”The countdown is stopped because there has been no input.
Hollow ring, “Waiting for you”You are back, and it is waiting for you to choose whether to continue or reset.

With a longer interval such as 30 minutes, the steps switch at the same proportions. The display normally updates every 20 seconds, and every second during the final minute.

How a break works

  1. One minute before: a small window at the top of the screen counts down the seconds. Hover over it to choose “Break now” or “Skip”.
  2. Break: at zero, a break screen appears on every connected display, showing the seconds remaining and “Look at something 20 feet away until the break ends.”
  3. End: when the break time is over, the break screen closes on its own and the next countdown begins.

If “Countdown Before Break” is off, the small one-minute window does not appear. Instead, a macOS notification says “20 seconds left for next break” 20 seconds before the break.

Skipping a break

If you need to keep working, press Esc or click “Cancel Break” on the break screen to close it immediately. “Skip” in the one-minute countdown window also skips that break.

Pause, resume and reset

  • Skip For: before a meeting or presentation, choose 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours. The timer resumes on its own afterwards.
  • Resume Timer: ends the pause early and starts counting from the full interval.
  • Reset Active Timer: restarts the countdown from the full interval.

When you step away

With “Pause Timer When Away” on, the countdown stops when there has been no keyboard or mouse input for the time set in “Consider Me Away After” (2 minutes by default). What happens when you come back depends on how long you were away.

  • 5 minutes or more: the countdown starts over from the full interval, without asking.
  • Less than 5 minutes: a “Timer Paused” prompt appears. Choose “Continue (time left)” or “Reset (interval)”.

The 5-minute mark is fixed and does not change with any setting. “Pause Timer When Away” is off by default; while it is off, the countdown keeps running when you are away.

3. Settings

Settings (menu items)

Listed in menu order. The Japanese names shown when the app is set to Japanese are in small print. “Settings Help…” in the menu shows the same explanations inside the app.

ItemDefaultWhat it does
Reset Active Timer
タイマーをリセット		—Restarts the countdown from the full interval.
Launch at Login
ログイン時に起動		OffStarts Refocus when you log in to your Mac. Requires macOS 13 or later.
Language
言語		EnglishEnglish / 日本語. Switches the menu, prompts, notifications and help immediately.
Pause Timer When Away
離席時にタイマーを一時停止		OffStops the countdown while there is no input (see When you step away).
Consider Me Away After
離席とみなすまで		2 minutes1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes without input before you count as away. Available only while the item above is on.
Break Interval
休憩までの時間		20 minutes20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Changing it restarts the countdown from the new interval.
Break Duration
休憩時間		20 seconds10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds. How long the break screen stays. Applies from the next break.
Countdown Before Break
休憩前のカウントダウン		OnCounts down the final minute in a small window at the top of the screen.
Lock Screen Background
ロック画面の背景		Standard“Choose Image…” sets the break screen background. “Preview Lock Screen” shows how it looks (Esc to close), and “Remove Image” goes back to the standard look. The macOS lock screen is not changed.
Skip For
一時停止		—Stops the timer for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours.
Resume Timer
タイマーを再開		—Ends a pause early. Available only while paused.
Settings Help…
設定のヘルプ…		—Opens a window explaining each item.
Check for Updates…
アップデートを確認…		—Asks k386.sub.jp whether a newer version exists (see How to update).
Quit
終了		—Quits Refocus.
4. Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Midori

Can’t see the icon? Look on the right side of the menu bar.

I can’t find the eye mark

Refocus appears on the right side of the menu bar at the top of the screen, not in the Dock. If the menu bar is crowded, it may be hidden depending on your screen width. Reducing other menu bar icons, or switching to an app with fewer menus, can make it visible. Refocus never runs twice at once, so launching it again does not add a second icon.

I want to close the break screen right now

Press Esc or click “Cancel Break”.

I don’t want the break screen during a meeting

Before the meeting, choose a duration under “Skip For” in the menu. Choose “Resume Timer” to come back when you are done.

The menu bar says “Away” or “Waiting for you” and nothing moves

“Away” means the countdown is stopped because there has been no input; use the keyboard or mouse and it resumes. “Waiting for you” means the prompt shown after you came back is still open; choose “Continue” or “Reset” in it.

I can’t select “Launch at Login”

This item works only on macOS 13 or later. On macOS 12, open Refocus from the Applications folder when you want to use it.

I chose a background image but my Mac’s lock screen didn’t change

“Lock Screen Background” is the background of the Refocus break screen. The macOS lock screen itself is not changed.

I see a “20 seconds left for next break” notification

This is the warning shown when “Countdown Before Break” is off. Turn it on to get the one-minute countdown at the top of the screen instead.

Anything else

Please send bug reports and questions to info@k386.sub.jp. Including your macOS version and the Refocus version (such as 1.01) helps. As an independent developer, I may take a few days to reply.

5. Glossary

Glossary

20-20-20 rule

A well-known habit for resting your eyes: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (about 6 m) away for 20 seconds. Refocus gives you cues to keep it up. This is not medical advice and no effect is promised.

Menu bar

The strip along the very top of the screen. Icons such as the clock and Wi-Fi sit on its right side.

Break screen

The Refocus screen that covers every display during a break. The app also calls it the “break overlay”. It is separate from the macOS lock screen.

Away

A state in which there has been no keyboard or mouse input for the time you set.

Notarized by Apple

Means the app passed Apple’s automated check for known malware. It does not guarantee the app’s quality or behavior.