Why it matters
More people sit at desks than ever. It is getting worse.
The shift is structural.
64% of the U.S. workforce is now in sedentary or light-duty roles. If you work at a desk, you likely spend most of your day sitting. Remote and hybrid work, now the norm for 80% of desk-capable workers, moved the commute, the coffee run, and the walk to the meeting room onto your screen too.
BLS, 2025 · Gallup, 2025
AI added screens, not freedom.
The tools got smarter. The workday didn't get shorter. People spend more time at their desks than a year ago, not less. The breaks that used to happen naturally between tasks are disappearing into faster context-switching.
ActivTrak, 2025 · Microsoft, 2025
Your body is keeping score.
81% of office workers now report musculoskeletal pain. Lower back, neck, shoulders, in that order. Low back pain alone affects 619 million people worldwide. It is the leading cause of disability on earth.
Scientific Reports, 2025 · The Lancet, 2023
A day with Pebl
Not just “take a break.” A whole companion.
A cream card slides into the corner of your screen. One sentence. You do it or you don’t. Either way, Pebl adjusts.
Between meetings, a water reminder. Not during — Pebl stays silent through Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, and every other call app. After.
At the end of the day, a warm glow and a few stars. How many breaks you took, what you tried. Then: “See you tomorrow.”
Stretches, breathing, eye rest, hydration, posture, mind resets. 20 packs, 168 tips.
How it works
What Pebl actually does, in three steps.
Step 01
It watches your screen
Pebl polls the frontmost app every few seconds. When it sees Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, or any fullscreen app, it goes completely silent. When your call ends, it starts watching again.
Look away for 20 seconds.
Your eyes have been on screen for an hour.
Step 02
It nudges at the right moment
At a natural pause — not mid-meeting, not mid-thought — a cream card appears at the corner of your screen. One sentence. You accept, skip, or ignore it. Pebl adjusts next time.
Your back will thank you.
47 minutes since your last break.
Step 03
It explains itself
Every nudge has a "Why now?" link. Tap it and Pebl shows you exactly why it interrupted you — the time elapsed, your setting, what it saw. No black box. Hover the card to try it.
macOS 12+ · Free · No account needed
What it looks like
Three moments from a typical Tuesday.
From a gentle whisper to a burnout alert — three moments across a typical workday.
Look away for 20 seconds.
Your eyes have been on screen for 40 minutes.
Whisper
A soft cream card appears at the corner of your screen. One sentence. Never blocks your work.
Breathe in
0:42
Break
Fullscreen. Warm light. A breathing orb. Sixty seconds of nothing else.
That's 3 hours straight.
You've earned a break.
Burnout alert
Three hours without moving. The dot turns red. A visible signal you can choose to listen to or ignore.
How Pebl thinks
Pebl is not a timer. It pays attention.
Five things happening in the background, every time you open your Mac.
It stays silent during calls.
When Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, Discord, or any fullscreen app is running, Pebl goes quiet. When the call ends, it picks back up.
It explains every interruption.
Every nudge has a "Why now?" link. Tap it and Pebl tells you: how long you've been working, what it saw. No black box.
It learns your rhythm.
Pebl tracks which suggestions you accept and which you skip. After a few days, it adapts — spacing nudges based on what works for you.
It knows your body.
Tell Pebl about a pregnancy, high blood pressure, a back issue, a neck issue, or vertigo. Five safety filters that automatically remove any exercise that could be wrong for you.
It notices when you've been going too long.
Three hours of continuous work triggers a quiet alert. The threshold is learned, not arbitrary.
Before I wrote Pebl.
A few decisions I made early and stuck with.
No streak.
Miss a day? Pebl won't mention it.
Body-aware.
Tell Pebl about a pregnancy or a disc. It filters what would be wrong for you.
Local only.
No account. No cloud. Your data stays on your Mac.
Easy to leave.
One drag to the Trash. No survey. No account to cancel.
I believe a break should feel like relief, not guilt.
I believe your data is yours.
I believe software should be easy to leave.
I believe the best companion is one you forget is there. Until you need it.
Download free for Mac.
No account needed.
Prefer a direct download? GitHub releases ↗
Don’t like it? Drag to Trash. No account to cancel.
Why Pebl?
Pebl. Like pebble, minus the extra letter. Small, smooth, always in your pocket. You don’t think about it until you need it. That’s the whole point.