Dock timer hack: Break email addiction with macOS automation
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Every time I finish a task, my cursor drifts to that Superhuman icon like a moth to flame. It’s not even conscious — just muscle memory from years of inbox-as-default-state. The worst part? I know it’s happening but can’t stop myself.
Notification settings don’t work when the problem is me, not the app. Focus modes feel like overkill. What I needed was friction at exactly the right moment — something that breaks the automatic click without requiring willpower.
So I remove Superhuman from my dock for exactly one hour:
# Install dockutil if you haven't
brew install dockutil
# Remove Superhuman
dockutil --remove 'Superhuman'
# Add it back after timer
(sleep 3600 && dockutil --add /Applications/Superhuman.app) &
That & at the end is doing the heavy lifting — it backgrounds the whole thing so I can keep working. When I finish a task and reach for email, there’s… nothing. Just empty dock space where my bad habit used to live.
By the time it reappears, I’ve usually knocked out 2-3 focused work blocks.
Sometimes the simplest hacks are the best hacks!
