Focus Session
Start a focus timer and prepare your Mac workspace
Use this Rule to combine the setup and ending reminder for a focused writing or study period. A confirmation dialog comes before the app-closing Actions, so you can cancel without starting the session.
When: Press Option + F. Do: Ask for confirmation, quit Messages and Mail, open ~/Documents, launch TextEdit, delay for 50 minutes, and show a completion notification with sound. There is no If Condition and no repeating work/break cycle.
Configure and try it
- Import using Open this Rule in Rulr and choose the shortcut. Review both Quit Application Actions before running the sample.
- Select your work folder and writing or study app. Save work in apps you intend to close.
- Adjust the Delay duration and update the confirmation text to match. Allow Accessibility for the hotkey and Notifications for the reminder.
- Temporarily use a short delay to try the sequence. Check cancellation first, then confirm a session and inspect the setup and final notification. Restore your intended duration afterward.
Requirements and limits
The sample’s components are available without Pro. Rulr must keep running for the delayed notification, whose visibility and sound also depend on macOS settings.
This Rule quits the selected apps once; it does not block them from reopening, enable macOS Focus, or display a live countdown. It does not reopen the closed apps when the session ends. For closing an app at a fixed clock time, see Quit an App on a Schedule.
Can I use a 25-minute focus session?
Change Delay to 25 minutes and update the confirmation message to match. The completion notification follows that delay. This times one work block; it does not automatically start a break or repeat a Pomodoro cycle.