Focus App for Mac
Free · No account needed · macOS 15 or later
WorkNook is a focus app for macOS. Design a focus session once, name the apps that count as work, run it from the menu bar, and get statistics that count only the time you actually focused. No special permissions, no account needed.
A gentler kind of app blocker
A nudge when you stray, not a lock you have to fight.
App blockers for the Mac tend to lock you out, which works until the one time you genuinely need the thing they locked. WorkNook takes the other route. Each focus set lists the apps that count as work. Switch to anything else during a focus block and a small overlay appears with three honest choices: return to work, allow this app for the rest of the session, or carry on anyway. Every detour is counted in the session's score, so the statistics stay truthful even when you chose to wander. During breaks the guard stays away, and it can be switched off for any set.
Allowed Apps
Each set names its own apps, from lists you reuse: one for coding, one for writing.
Breaks Are Yours
No monitoring and no nagging while you're on a break.
Your Call
Return, allow for the session, or continue. The choice is always yours.
Focus sessions built for the way you work
Work and break blocks, in the order you drag them.
A focus set is a timeline of blocks, a list of allowed apps and a name. Start from a template: Deep Work 90 for one uninterrupted stretch on a hard problem, Pomodoro Classic for four 25-minute sprints, 52/17 Rhythm for two long stretches around a real break, or Study Session for two 45-minute halves. Or build your own, block by block, with a sound at the end of each. Start a set from the dashboard or the menu bar, and the countdown stays in the menu bar while you work. Sleep pauses the session; a crash or restart offers it back.
Templates
Pomodoro Classic, Deep Work 90, 52/17 Rhythm or Study Session, one click away.
Menu Bar
A live countdown up there, so the window can be closed.
Never Lost
Sleep auto-pauses the session, and an interrupted one is offered back.
Statistics that count only focus
Breaks, pauses and idle time never inflate the total.
Most focus timers report how long the clock ran. WorkNook reports how long you were in an allowed app. Every session gets a focus score from 0 to 100, judged Simple, Balanced or Strict, and re-scored the moment you switch. The daily goal ring fills with focused minutes only. The weekly report shows hours by day against your goal, and Insights, on Pro, draws a heatmap of when your focus actually happens, names your strongest set and tracks how often you finish what you started. Days without data show as gaps, not zeros.
Focus Score
0–100 for every session, with your detours and idle time in the math.
Streaks
Day streaks and milestones, with your personal best beside them.
Peak Hours
A heatmap built from when you focus best, by weekday and hour.
Private by design
An account is optional. Without one, everything stays on this Mac.
No Special Permissions
No Accessibility, no Screen Recording, no system prompts.
Only the App in Front
During a session WorkNook notes which app is frontmost, never keystrokes, screen contents or window titles.
Export Anytime
Your whole history as JSON or CSV, free on every tier.
Two Macs, One Session
Signed in with Apple, your sets and history follow you, and a running session can be picked up on your other Mac.
Thirteen Languages
From Deutsch and Español to Українська, 日本語 and 简体中文.
Free, Forever
Two focus sets, the templates and weekly statistics, with no time limit.
FAQ
Does WorkNook block apps or websites?
No. It is a nudge, not a lock. When you switch to an app that is not on the set's list during a focus block, an overlay offers the way back, lets you allow that app for the session, or lets you carry on. It sees which application is in front, not which website is open, so a browser is either on the list or not.
Does it need Accessibility or Screen Recording permission?
No. WorkNook asks for no special permissions. It notes the name of the frontmost application during a session, only on your Mac, and never keystrokes, screen contents or window titles.
Is WorkNook free?
Yes. Two focus sets, the templates, the menu bar countdown, the distraction nudge and daily and weekly statistics are free with no time limit and no account. Pro adds unlimited sets and timelines, an app list for every kind of work, your complete history and the Monthly and Insights screens: $39.99 a year, $4.99 a month, or $79.99 once.
Can I use it as a study timer?
Yes. The Study Session template is two 45-minute halves around a 10-minute break, and any set can list the apps you study in. The weekly report shows the hours you actually studied, not the hours the timer ran.
What if I step away from the keyboard?
By default the session keeps counting. Turn on idle subtraction in Settings and any stretch of three minutes or more without input is taken out of the focused total, unless an app is keeping the display awake, such as a video call.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. There is no iPhone or iPad version.
Just want the technique? See WorkNook as a Pomodoro timer for the Mac, or the Support page.
Start your first session.
Free on the Mac App Store.
Free · No account needed · macOS 15 or later