RescueTime

RescueTime is a streamlined time and activity tracker application that can help users to more easily focus on their productivity and filter out an incredible amount of distractions that are just one click away.

Instead of wasting time on social network feeds, chain-reading Wikipedia entries, responding to never-ending chat messages, or wasting time on YouTube and other video hosting sites, RescueTime for Windows PC can help anyone to better organize their time, turn off distractions for just a bit or even longer, and produce comprehensive reports about the time spent doing the productive work.

RescueTime is distributed online not only as a standalone app but also as a Chrome extension. The core feature of the app is its ability to monitor the activity in all programs on the user's PC, enabling it to provide incredibly detailed analytics and reports on the daily productivity levels and presence of distractions.

For example, users can see reports about each of their workdays, how they have spent their time during each hour, and when their attention has drifted away from work apps such as Photoshop, coding apps, or reference/learning sessions to the entertainment and casual browsing. The app promotes the overall productivity score and can list all the activities it has ranked as distracting.

• Automatic Time Tracking (No Manual Entry!)
• Detailed Reports, Trends, and Insights
• One-Click Offline Time Tracking
• Block Distracting Websites - Rebuild Your Focus!
• Set Smart Goals and Real-Time Alerts
• Integrate With Your Favorite Apps

To focus on more productive activities during their working day, It can actively prevent users to drift away from their work apps. This protection can be done automatically via a built-in scheduler that can detect distracting websites, apps, and services, or manually by setting FocusTime timer to let’s say 30 minutes during which RescueTime will actively block the loading of distractions.

The app can even build better habits by reminding users how they have improved their work goals and attention over the previous period.

FREE “Lite” version of RescueTime offers basic support of most used features that can help anyone to set up their own distraction-free environment both at home, school and work.

Premium tier of service unlocks a full suite of tools that can help dedicated professionals to track work on projects and documents, get advanced reporting, real-time alerts, block various distractions (with a scheduler), and track their improvement with daily highlights, full historical data, and in-depth reports.

Alternatives

Time Doctor – Ready to reach new levels of productivity? Try it FREE!

DeskTime – An automatic time tracking and productivity analysis tool for freelancers and businesses of all sizes.

Toggl Track – Easy to use and streamlined time tracking app with powerful reporting.

Insightful Time Tracking – It helps organizations work more effectively and productively!

The full version of RescueTime can be tested for FREE during the initial 14-day TRIAL period.

PROS

• Automatic Time Tracking: Monitors and categorizes time spent on different applications and websites automatically.
• Detailed Reports: Provides comprehensive reports and insights on productivity patterns.
• Goal Setting: Allows users to set goals and track progress towards achieving them.
• Focus Time Feature: Enables blocking distracting websites to improve focus.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Available on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
• Alerts and Notifications: Sends alerts when users spend too much time on unproductive activities.

CONS

• Privacy Concerns: Continuous tracking can raise privacy issues for some users.
• Limited Manual Entry: Manual entry of activities can be cumbersome and is not the main focus.
• Paid Features: Advanced features require a premium subscription.
• Accuracy Issues: Automated categorization may sometimes misclassify activities.
• Resource Intensive: Can be resource-heavy, potentially slowing down older systems.
• Learning Curve: Initial setup and understanding the interface might be challenging for some users.

Note: 14 days trial version.

Also Available: Download RescueTime for Mac