A lightweight Python app that enforces the 20-20-20 rule for eye health on Windows.

Every 20 minutes, a blocking popup appears with a loud alarm. You cannot dismiss it until a 20-second countdown finishes. No cheating.

The 20-20-20 rule says: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Every reminder app I tried was too easy to dismiss. This one isn't.

[20 min timer] --> ALARM fires --> Blocking popup appears
                                        |
                                   20-sec countdown
                                        |
                               "Continue" button unlocks
                                        |
                              Click Continue --> back to work
                              Click Stop    --> session ends

• Runs silently in the system tray
• Loud beeping alarm on every trigger (no audio files needed)
• Popup is always-on-top and the X button is disabled
• "Continue" button locked until full 20-second countdown completes
• System tray icon with right-click Quit option
• Built-in test mode (5-sec interval) for quick verification

• Windows
• Python 3.8+
• pystray and Pillow (for system tray icon)

Core functionality (popup + alarm) works with zero installs. Tray icon needs the two packages below.

pip install pystray pillow

python eye_reminder.py

The app starts immediately. Popup fires after 20 minutes.

To verify it works before committing to 20-minute waits, set TEST_MODE = True at the top of the file:

TEST_MODE = True   # popup fires in 5 seconds, countdown is 5 seconds

Flip back to False for normal use.

1. Press Win+R, type shell:startup, press Enter
2. Create a shortcut in that folder pointing to:

   pythonw C:\path\to\eye_reminder.py
   

   Using pythonw hides the terminal window.

Download write_shortcut.py from this repo and run:

# Step 1: generates the PowerShell setup script
python write_shortcut.py

# Step 2: creates the startup shortcut
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Users\<you>\EyeReminder\make_shortcut.ps1"

eye-reminder/
├── eye_reminder.py       # main app
├── write_shortcut.py     # helper: creates Windows startup shortcut
└── README.md

Blocking the close button

win.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", lambda: None)

Overrides the X button with a no-op. The window cannot be closed until you click a button.

Locked Continue button

continue_btn = tk.Button(..., state="disabled")

def tick():
    remaining["s"] -= 1
    if remaining["s"] <= 0:
        continue_btn.configure(state="normal", fg="#44ff88")
    else:
        win.after(1000, tick)

Button stays grey and unclickable until the countdown hits zero.

Alarm (no audio files)

import winsound

for _ in range(6):
    winsound.Beep(1000, 300)
    time.sleep(0.1)
    winsound.Beep(1400, 300)
    time.sleep(0.1)

Uses the Windows built-in winsound module. No mp3, no wav, no external deps.

At the top of eye_reminder.py:

MIT