Beams

Working from your Mac just got smarter with Beams, a thoughtful menu bar app designed to help you work better, not more. This productivity tool sits quietly at the top of your screen and gently guides you through your workday with intelligent suggestions and seamless integrations.

Beams connects with Google Calendar, Slack, and Gmail to create a unified workspace experience. Whether you need to join a meeting with one click, enter distraction-free focus mode, or track your daily goals, this app makes it simple.

Built by productivity experts who understand the challenges of modern work, Beams helps reduce context switching and eliminates the constant notifications that fragment your attention, allowing you to accomplish more meaningful work.

Beams is a Mac menu bar productivity app that transforms how you navigate your workday by providing intelligent assistance right from your screen's top bar. Think of it as your personal work assistant that understands your schedule, habits, and priorities.

The app integrates seamlessly with Google Calendar, Slack, and Gmail to offer real-time insights about your day. It shows upcoming meetings, suggests focus time based on your calendar gaps, and helps you join video calls instantly with keyboard shortcuts. Beyond basic calendar management, Beams includes smart features like automatic Slack status updates during focus sessions, daily goal tracking, and meeting preparation reminders.

Founded by Berlin-based team Mihri Minaz and Jana Schellong, Beams focuses on mindful productivity principles. The app learns your work patterns and provides personalized suggestions to help you maintain better work habits while reducing stress and distractions.

Getting started with Beams is straightforward and requires minimal setup. First, download the app from the Mac App Store and grant it access to your Google Calendar account. The app will immediately appear in your menu bar, showing your daily schedule.

Here's how to maximize Beams:

• Meeting Management: See upcoming meetings at a glance and join with Command+Shift+J shortcut or single click

• Focus Mode: Click the focus icon or use shortcuts to enter 30-minute distraction-free sessions that automatically update your Slack status

• Daily Goals: Set up to three priority goals each morning and track completion throughout the day

• Smart Notifications: Get gentle reminders about meeting prep, unread emails from participants, or schedule changes

• Calendar Health: Review weekly insights about meeting patterns and time allocation

The app works best when you connect all three integrations (Calendar, Slack, Gmail) for complete workflow automation. Beams learns your patterns over time and provides increasingly personalized suggestions for better work habits and improved focus periods.

Beams offers comprehensive features designed to enhance your Mac productivity experience. The core functionality centers around intelligent calendar management with real-time meeting overview, one-click meeting joins, and automatic video call detection for various platforms.

Key features include:

• Smart Focus Mode that blocks distractions, updates Slack status, and creates calendar blockers for deep work

• Daily Goal Setting with up to three priorities and reflection tracking for mindful productivity

• Meeting Intelligence that shows unread emails from participants, agenda updates, and prep reminders

• Calendar Health Analytics providing insights into meeting patterns, focus time, and work habits

• Slack Integration for automatic status updates and focus time communication

• Gmail Integration for meeting-related email notifications and participant updates

• Keyboard Shortcuts for quick access to all major functions without mouse interaction

The platform also includes work journal features, meeting cost calculations, and personalized productivity recommendations. Tool insights help identify SaaS usage patterns and optimize your digital workspace for better efficiency and reduced tool switching.

Beams follows a freemium pricing model designed to accommodate different user needs. The basic version provides essential features like calendar overview, meeting management, and basic focus mode functionality at no cost.

Free Plan includes unlimited meeting joins, basic focus sessions, daily goals, and standard calendar integration. This plan is perfect for individual users who want to try the core productivity features.

Premium Subscription unlocks advanced features including multiple calendar support, detailed analytics, enhanced focus mode customization, and priority support. The premium plan is available through monthly and yearly subscriptions via the beams business plan.

Enterprise Options are available for teams requiring additional collaboration features, admin controls, and enhanced security. Pricing varies based on team size and specific requirements. All plans include the core Mac menu bar experience with Google Calendar, Slack, and Gmail integrations for seamless workflow management.