Why ToBaseline Exists

ToBaseline started with a simple problem: I needed to focus before a work presentation, between meetings, and I could not find the app I wanted.

I looked for something simple: Start a pomodoro session, take breaks, and get back to work without making the whole thing feel like another system to manage.

What I found was either too narrow or too much. One app for Pomodoro. Another for breathing. Another for mindfulness. Another for hydration. Another for standing reminders. Another for eye breaks. Most of them felt like separate tools for needs that are connected.

When I am trying to work, study, research, write, or prepare for something important, I do not want six apps reminding me to be a better person. I want one app that helps me to keep going.

Focus is not just time on a clock. It is also your eyes, your body, your breath, your attention, and whether you can come back without feeling worse.

I also kept running into the same frustration: basic things were often locked behind confusing paid plans. I could not always customize simple focus and break timers without paying, and some apps felt built around streaks, dashboards, pressure, and traps to get you to upgrade.

I liked some playful ideas, at first. Growing a tree or making donuts while finishing focus sessions was fun for a while. But, eventually I noticed the problem: what if I actually needed a break? Some apps made rest feel like I was slowing something down.

That is not how I wanted focus to feel. That is not what I wanted to build.

• A focus timer that does not feel like a streak machine.
• Breaks that support your eyes, body, and attention.
• Simple controls that do not punish you for being human.
• Useful free features, not a fake free tier.
• A calm app for real work, study, research, and recovery.

ToBaseline is built for the different ways people need to come back during a day.

Some days that means a focus session. Some days it means an eye break. Some days it means breathing for a minute, standing up, drinking water, or taking 90 seconds to unwind your wrists, neck, and shoulders.

The point is not to push until you are empty. The point is to come back.

Most productivity apps push harder. ToBaseline is built around a different idea: helping people come back to focus without being hard on themselves.

ToBaseline has a useful free version because I think people should be able to focus, take screen breaks, breathe, stand up, hydrate, reset, and protect their energy without first deciding whether an app is worth a subscription.

Pro is there for people who want more control, more customization, and to support the work of keeping the app alive. Apple changes macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS frequently. Good software needs care. Subscribing to Pro helps me keep improving ToBaseline, fixing what breaks, and adding the things that make it better.

• No fake urgency.
• No streak pressure.
• No guilt for taking breaks.
• No productivity-bro nonsense.
• No pretending your body is separate from how you work, study, or focus.
• No making the free version useless.

I built ToBaseline after using too many apps that were supposed to help, but ended up feeling incomplete, scattered, or like more work. I wanted one quieter, more useful place for focus, breaks, breathing, movement, and recovery, something more respectful of how people actually get through a day.

Use the free version. Change the timers. Take a break before you need one. Try Reset before a meeting, test, interview, or date. Try breathing. If ToBaseline helps, keep using it. If Pro feels worth it, upgrade. If not, no hard feelings.

Download Free