How to Count Time to Date in Your Mac’s Menu Bar
I’ve been thinking a lot about countdown timers lately, partly because I’m always curious about how much time is left until the next big holiday (like the debut of Star Wars: Episode IX ), and partly because Lifehacker editor-in-chief Melissa stumbled upon the Progress Bar app and I was curious if there is a cheaper way to do the same.
For those who don’t know, Progress Bar is a $ 5 app that puts a cute little progress bar on your Mac’s menu bar. Over time, the scale fills up. You choose an interval: day, month, year, or (estimated) lifetime. If you need a daily reminder of your own mortality, or you are counting the days until a fun weekend , this is better than just opening your calendar and doing some mental math.
I’ve found many apps similar to Pomodoro that allow you to set a timer in the menu bar, which is useful if you’re trying to take a break every half hour (or want a more detailed countdown for your work day). This includes apps like the easy-to-use Horo , which I really like. I haven’t been able to find the perfect free match for the Progress Bar – especially one that allows you to watch your entire life progress – but I’ve found one reasonable alternative if you don’t feel like coughing up $ 5 (at first).
The app, appropriately named Countdowns , is free to download and use. Install it and you will get a small icon in the menu bar. Click on it, select the Quick Add option, and you can choose from a list of pre-populated dates ranging from annual holidays to critical events (like in the aforementioned Star Wars movie):
Choose a pre-set date, or create your own, and a large text countdown will appear on the menu bar. You can carve out seconds if you don’t want to get into details, but you still have days, hours, and minutes to look at. You can’t replace text with pretty graphics, but the countdown timer does everything you expect from it – nothing more, nothing less.
When you download the app, you get one free countdown timer. If you want more, you’ll have to pay $ 2 a month for a subscription (don’t do that) or $ 10 for a one-time lifetime subscription (much better). This makes the app more expensive than the progress bar, but at least you can customize what you count down to – that is, beyond the main exit.