Soft boiled: 6 minutes. Medium: 9 minutes. Hard: 12 minutes. You know the numbers by heart, but every time you put eggs on the stove, starting a timer is the hard part. Your phone is in the other room. The Mac is right here, but opening an app, finding the timer tab, and scrolling wheels to set 9 minutes feels absurd for something this simple.
An egg timer was one of the first single-purpose gadgets ever made — a twist of the wrist and it starts ticking. Setting a timer on a computer should be at least that easy.
Why digital timers lost the plot
Physical egg timers required one action: twist. Digital timers on macOS require finding an app, choosing a mode, inputting a duration with precise controls, and pressing Start. The interaction went from one step to four or five. It is not that any single step is hard — it is that the total friction adds up to "I'll just guess when it's done."
And guessing means overcooked eggs half the time.
The fix: Tickpull
Tickpull brings back the one-action timer. Drag from the menu bar icon to set the time — a short drag for 6 minutes, a longer drag for 12 — and release to start. It feels close to twisting a physical timer dial. A ring fills in the menu bar as the eggs cook, and a haptic tap tells you when they are done.
Soft, medium, or hard boiled
You don't need to type "6" or scroll to "0 hours 6 minutes." Just drag to roughly 6 minutes and release. The drag gesture is forgiving — close enough is good enough for eggs, and the visual feedback confirms the duration before you let go.
Breakfast multitasking
Eggs in one pot, oatmeal in another. Start two timers with two drags. Each ring fills independently in the menu bar so you know at a glance which one finishes first.
Tea, coffee, French press
The same gesture works for any kitchen timer. Four minutes for a French press. Three minutes for green tea. Drag, release, done. The simplicity of a physical timer, with the reliability of a notification you won't miss.