REMINDERS · PLAIN ANSWERS
What is a good reminder app for work?
It depends on what you need reminding of. For tasks and deadlines, the Reminders app already on your iPhone is free and lets you set a date, a time and a repeat for each item, and if your team already shares a to-do list or calendar, reminders kept there are easier to keep up with. For breaks from the desk, a task list is the wrong tool: a break reminder such as Pause reminds you every 45, 60 or 90 minutes only within the working days and hours you choose, quietly, and opens on a short guided break when you tap it.
By Pause · KCO Partners LLC · Published September 16, 2026
Part of Workplace stretching, the Pause workplace stretching series.
Tasks and breaks are different jobs
A task reminder points at one thing at one time and waits until you tick it off. A break reminder repeats through the day, should stop when the working day ends and should be quiet enough for an office. Using one for the other tends to fail: an hourly repeating reminder in the Reminders app runs on a fixed clock, with no setting to keep it inside your working hours, and every one sits in your list until you clear it.
For tasks, start with what you have
Reminders on iPhone is free, needs no account beyond your Apple Account and keeps items in lists, each with an optional date, time and repeat. Meetings are usually better as calendar events with an alert. If your workplace already uses a shared task or calendar tool, putting reminders where the work already lives saves keeping two systems in step.
For breaks, what Pause does
In Pause you choose working days, a start and end time and an interval of 45, 60 or 90 minutes. The first reminder comes one interval after you start and none arrive outside those hours. Reminders are delivered quietly, with no sound or badge, and do not break through a Focus mode. Tapping one offers “Start my break” or “Snooze 10 minutes”, and nothing starts until you tap. Workplace guidance from CCOHS suggests a short break from the workstation every hour.
Common questions
Is there a free reminder app for work?
Yes: the Reminders app on your iPhone is free. In Pause, reminders and guided breaks require a paid Pause Plus subscription: US $4.99/month or $12.99 every three months, billed by Apple.
Can Pause remind me about tasks or meetings?
No. Pause’s reminders are only for breaks, on the schedule you set. Keep tasks and meetings in Reminders, your calendar or your team’s tool.
Will Pause remind me at weekends?
Only if you pick weekend days. Pause suggests Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, and reminders stay off until you turn them on.
Background: CCOHS stretching at the workstation · HSE display screen equipment breaks. These organisations do not endorse Pause. Product details describe Pause’s current iPhone build. These pages are general wellness information, not medical advice, and Pause’s routines have not been clinically validated.