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Pause before opening distracting apps

By Rolet, founder · Updated for version 5.11 · September 2026

To add a pause before an app opens on Android, use Mindful Pause in Yin Yang Launcher. Choose the apps, and each time you tap one, a short breathing animation plays first. Wait it out and the app opens. Close it and you're back on your home screen.

On this page
  1. Why it happens
  2. How it works
  3. Set up a pause
  4. Tips
  5. Related
Tap a paused app, breathe, and it opens.

Why you open apps you didn't mean to

You pick up your phone to check the time, and a minute later you're in Instagram. You didn't decide to open it. Your thumb did.

Opening a familiar app is so fast that there's no moment to ask whether you want to. A few seconds of pause puts that moment back. Most of the time you'll still open the app, and that's fine. Sometimes you'll notice you didn't need to, and close it.

How it works (Mindful Pause)

  • You choose the apps. Only those apps get a pause. Everything else opens as usual.
  • Tap one, and a breathing screen appears with a countdown and the line "Take a deep breath and relax."
  • Wait, and the app opens by itself when the countdown ends.
  • Close it, and you're back home. No message, no judgment.
  • You set the length, anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds. Ten is enough to break the reflex. Longer gives you more time to think.
  • Pick a breathing guide to breathe along with, from Mindful Me to Chill Chimp, Foxy Flow and Moo-tivation.

If an app also has an app timer, the pause comes first, then the timer.

Set up a pause

  1. Install Yin Yang Launcher from Google Play and set it as your home screen. Yin Yang is a home-screen app (a launcher), so this works because it replaces your home screen. You can switch back anytime.
  2. Swipe left from the home screen to open Mind Space.
  3. Open the Action tab and tap Mindful Pause.
  4. Under Paused apps, tap Add more, choose your apps, and tap Select.
  5. Set the Pause Duration.
  6. Tap the breathing guide to choose your breathing guide.

Now open one of those apps from your home screen, app drawer or search, and the pause appears. The Mindful Pause screen also shows how long you've spent in each paused app today, and how many times you opened it.

Choose apps, the pause length and a breathing guide.

Tips

  • Start with the one app you open most without thinking. You can add more once you see how it feels.
  • Start at 10 seconds. If you find yourself waiting through every pause without a second thought, try 20.
  • Closing the pause isn't a win, and opening the app isn't a loss. The point is that it's your choice.
  • Want a daily limit on top? Pair it with an app timer.
  • Need a longer step away? Use the app blocker to block an app for days.