# Build a focus routine

Choose manual or scheduled sessions and understand focus, breaks and locks.

For Meoz 1.1.334 · macOS

Use a Flex Session when you want to start now. Use Scheduled Sessions when you want a recurring routine. You can use both without switching to a different app mode.

## Start now

For Meoz 1.1.333 on macOS. Manual Flex Sessions do not require Pro. Start while no session is running; **a second session cannot run alongside the first**.

- Open the cat menu or menu bar and choose **Start Focus Now**.
- Select a duration or **Until I stop**. If an eligible saved scheduled block is underway, **Until scheduled block ends** joins that block as a Scheduled Session instead.
- Enter a concrete goal, or use **Choose from Tasks**. Confirm **Start Focus Now**. Where offered, **Start without a goal** starts without assigning an old goal. **Cancel** creates no manual session.
- Check the session's source and ending time, separately from its Focus/Break phase countdown. To finish early, choose **End This Session** and confirm when it is available.

If **Start Focus Now** is unavailable, check whether a session is already running. A lock can prevent ending it early. A timer alone does not prove Guardian is ready: [check AI and browser access](/docs/troubleshooting). Breaks and **Pause Focus** do not extend a fixed session's ending time.

## Work to a schedule

For Meoz 1.1.333 on macOS. Scheduled Sessions do not require Pro. Schedule editing can be restricted during Scheduled Focus or Commitment Lock; read the explanation beside Save.

- Open **Scheduled Focus** from the menu, or **Settings → Focus Sessions → Scheduled Focus**.
- Choose working days, time ranges and the schedule time zone. Review the next eligible start.
- Turn on **Start sessions automatically** in the draft, then click **Save & Enable Automatic Starts**. For an already-enabled routine, use **Save Schedule** after edits.
- Check the saved confirmation and **Currently active schedule**. **The draft switch alone does not activate the routine**.

Enabling a routine while idle waits for the next new block; it does not start halfway through the current block. Use **Start Focus Now** to begin immediately. If Save is disabled, correct invalid days/times/time zone, resolve a changed-schedule conflict with **Discard Changes** and reload, or wait for the displayed editing restriction to end. Discarding loses the unsaved schedule draft.

Editing a future schedule does not change the deadline of a session already running. Ending a Scheduled Session does not delete your saved routine.

## Understand breaks and snooze

For Meoz 1.1.333 on macOS. Focus and Break phases structure an active session. Open **Settings → Focus Sessions → Focus & Breaks** to review the cycle. During an eligible Focus phase, **Pause Focus** temporarily pauses Guardian and the Focus timer; **Resume Focus** resumes when available. The pause allowance and locks can limit this action. During a break, **Skip Current Break** is the separate action to return early.

Check the phase and Guardian status after using a control. If a button is disabled, read its restriction instead of changing the saved routine to try to bypass it. Break and pause are not **End This Session**, and do not extend a fixed session's deadline.

The separate Network Blocker can remain active during a break or snooze. [Learn how blocking differs](/docs/blocking).

## Before using a lock

For Meoz 1.1.333 on macOS. **Focus Lock** requires Pro. From the full Meoz menu, open **Focus Lock** and review the applicable option before confirming.

- **Lock Current Session (This Sprint)** requires a running session and prevents pausing or ending it early.
- **Lock Today's Schedule (Until Midnight)** is Commitment Lock. It can be activated from an eligible running Scheduled Session, not from Flex. Read the displayed expiry and restrictions before confirming.

Commitment Lock prevents schedule changes, **Pause Focus**, early ending and normal quit until expiry. If that Scheduled Session ends naturally, a later Flex Session remains subject to the active daily lock. Disabled controls explain why an action is unavailable; do not force-quit or delete settings to bypass it. Lock does not start a session by itself or guarantee distractions are impossible.

Completing a task and ending a session are separate actions. Your focus history reflects observed activity rather than simply the duration you scheduled.