6 Simple Personal Time Tracking App to Improve Productivity

Do you always remain busy but get fewer things done at the end of the day? Are you struggling to stay on top of everything? Then you must audit time or use a personal time tracking app. It will help you understand how you spend your time. Also, you’ll identify the areas to improve your efficiency and productivity.

For instance, you may spend too much time on social media and little time on essential tasks. When you use a time tracking app, you’ll get insights into your working habits. Then you can set goals for essential tasks and focus on the tasks that matter most.

In this post, you’ll learn the advantages of using a time tracking app for personal use, a list of useful apps, and how to use them for better time management and productivity.

Let’s get started.

Benefits of using a personal time tracking app

A personal time tracking app can help you improve your productivity and measure your success. In addition, you can improve your efficiency. There are many benefits of using time tracking apps. Here are some of them included.

Increase productivity: By tracking your activities, you can identify areas to be more productive. You’ll spend less time on minor activities and avoid procrastination.
Improve time management: When you know how you’re spending time and where you’re wasting time, you can manage time better and make changes to be more efficient.
Track progress: In a time tracking app, you can set and track goals. In addition, you’ll have an overview of the time for each task. This information will help you estimate the time for task completion in the future.
Establish accountability: By tracking time and activities, you are more likely to stay on track and avoid distractions. It will help you focus on the tasks to meet your goals.

List of time tracking apps for personal use

There are hundreds of apps available to track time. Thus, it is confusing to select one that fits your needs. Here six of them have been picked to help you start using a time tracker. If you are looking for a time tracking app for personal use, you can choose one of them. These apps are simple to start, and you can begin with their free versions.

1. RescueTime

This app runs in the background on your computer or mobile device. It tracks the time you spend on different applications, documents, and websites. With the RescueTime time tracking app, you can get an overview of your productivity level and duration of time in various categories from its dashboard. Also, you will get a weekly report in an email that includes a summary of activities and productivity scores.

Key features:

Activity Dashboard and Summary Reports
Reporting/Analytics and Statistics
Activity Tracking and Historical Reporting
Automatic Time Capture
Progress and Milestone Tracking
Timesheet Management
Idle time monitoring
Employee Database

Pros:

Automatic tracking – no manual input needed
Easy-to-use interface
Goal setting and alerts to help you stay on track
Provides a clear understanding of how you spend your time
Improves personal and professional accountability
Works on multiple devices

Cons:

Limited customization options for tracking specific activities
Lacks Offline Time Tracking and Clock In/Out features

2. Rize.io

An intelligent time tracker that is specially designed to improve productivity. With this AI-powered time tracking app, you can regain focus and build better work habits. The app automatically tracks your activity in real time, and you can see how many hours you’ve worked. In addition, it shows focus score, context switching events, and interrupters. If you are looking for an app developed only for personal productivity, Rize is an excellent option.

Features:

Automatic Time Tracking
Customizable Categories
Customizable Tracking Schedule
Daily & Weekly Reports
Break Notifications
Calendar Integrations
Focus Time Analysis
Project Tagging
Session Timer

Pros:

No need for a Pomodoro timer because of the break notification
Overworking Notification prevents burnout
The focus score gives a gamification feel
Get reports on time breakdown and productivity metrics

Cons:

Limited features and integration facility

3. Paymo

This app is mainly used to manage projects but works impressively for personal productivity because of its Pomodoro feature. With this app, you can manage tasks, prioritize them and set alerts. For time tracking, you can track work time from anywhere via a desktop or mobile tool. Get insights into your performance from reports and timesheets.

Key Features:

Automatic time tracking
Time & Expense Tracking
Time Tracking by Project
Billable & Non-Billable Hours
Customizable time reports
Real-Time Monitoring
Timer and Reminders

Pros:

The Pomodoro feature is included in the desktop widget
You can track time by projects and tasks
You can see progress on each task
Includes Invoicing and expenses module

Cons:

Too many features made it complex for individual use.

4. HoursTimeLord

A simple time tracking app that is designed for individuals and teams. Ideal for people who do not need advanced features. Although it offers a free plan, the paid version is affordable, and a full year’s cost equals one month’s cost of other apps.

With HoursTimeLord, you can monitor your progress and manage time better. It allows you to track time for multiple projects and quickly switch between tasks.

Features:

Visual timeline
User-friendly interface
Color-coding for tasks
Billable & Non-Billable Hours
Online Time Tracking

Pros:

Displays different tasks in different colors
Categorization and tagging options for tracking time
Manual time entry for offline activities
Provides reports and productivity insights

Cons:

Limited features
Limited integration with other tools

5. Qbserve

It is built specifically for Mac users. This intuitive time tracking app runs in the background and tracks your work hours and websites or apps. It provides productivity reports and alerts you when you spend too much time on distractions. Qbserve lets you know about your daily browsing habits and productivity killers. Also, you can generate various reports, timesheets, and invoices.

Features:

Automatic Time Capture
Billable & Non-Billable Hours
Online Time Tracking
Billing & Invoicing

Pros:

Simple and easy to use
Time tracking based on keywords
Affordable, No monthly fee required.
One-time payment for the paid version.

Cons:

Mac Only does not work on other platforms
Limited integration with other tools

6. Timing App

Another Mac-only time tracking app that automatically records apps, documents, and websites used. No need to switch on and off timers manually. But you can approve or edit your time logs and add offline time such as meetings. It gives comprehensive reports on productivity and allows you to export data for further processing. This app is a simplified but powerful analytical tool for productivity tracking.

Features:

Automatic Time Capture
Activity and Project Tracking
Time Tracking
Timesheet Management
Online and Offline Time Tracking
Web API
Calendar and Zapier Integration

Pros:

The productivity score gives a gamification feel
Privacy-friendly time tracking
Detailed analytics and productivity insights
Sync your data across the devices

Cons:

Mac only
Need to integrate with an additional app for billing and invoicing

How to select the best personal time tracking app for you

Choosing the right app depends on various factors. Identifying the purpose is essential to consider. When you know the purpose of its use, you can determine what features you need from an app. If you want to track your activities and time only, a simple tracking app is enough to get started.

However, when you need to track billable hours and invoicing features, you should look for time tracking apps for freelancers.

Here are some factors you need to consider when you select a personal time tracking app for you.

Features: Time tracking apps come with different feature combinations. Some apps offer many features, while others are more basic.

When selecting an app, consider what features are important to you. Select the app that includes the features you need. Here are some key features to look for in a personal time tracking app to monitor productivity and performance.

Real-time and manual tracking
Offline time tracking
Applications and website monitoring
Insightful reports
Intuitive features
Manual time editing
Idle time detection
Integrations
Invoice processing

Price: This is the most essential factor to consider. Although you can start using the free version, you may need to go with the paid version for advanced features later. Thus, compare the price among the apps and choose one that includes the required features and fits your budget.
Easy to use: Look for an app that is easy to use and set up. Also, its interface should be user-friendly. You don’t want to spend hours learning how to use them.
Device and compatibility: Make sure your desired app runs on your device. Some apps are made only for Mac. Therefore, consider the device and compatibility with your device and browser.

Last but not least, consider a superior customer support system. So that you can talk to them if you have any questions or problems after using the app.

Tips for using time tracking apps effectively

To get the most out of a time tracking app, here are a few things to follow:

Select the right app: Out of hundreds of personal time tracking apps, choosing one that fits your needs and budget is essential. Also, it should be easy to use.
Set clear goals: Before you choose and start using a time tracker app, it is vital. Set clear goals about what you want to achieve by using the app.
Track time consistently: Consistency is one of the keys to success. It is applicable in time tracking also. Track your time every day. It will establish accountability and keep you motivated.
Review data regularly: Time tracking apps have reporting features. Review your reports and analyze data regularly. The data will give you an idea about your working habit, and you’ll understand where you need to improve. Thus it is essential to review data regularly.
Make changes to your workflow: Once you have the data and identify the areas to improve, your next step is to make changes (where needed) to improve your productivity and use time better.

By following these tips, you can use the time tracking app more effectively and reach your goals in less time.

Conclusion

There are more uses for time trackers. Besides monitoring personal productivity, you can use them to monitor employees’ performance, track billable hours and send invoices to clients, track employees’ location, etc. Personal time tracking apps listed above are picked for personal use.

However, you can read this post if you need more features and want to explore more time tracking apps – An Epic List of Time Tracking Apps