How to audit the time you spend at work (and play) online

Posted by Jim Stroud

May 30, 2008

If you are like me, you are online a lot; okay, if you are like me, then you are online a WHOLE lot. And you may find yourself glancing at the clock on the wall and thinking (as I often do), “Its 2am! Where did the time go?” Well, if that is you, then you are going to adore this product I stumbled across today. Its called “RescueTime.” What does it do? This is what RescueTime has to say about itself:

RescueTime is a web-based time management and analytics tool for knowledge workers who want to be more productive.

What do I have to say about it? In a word… Wow, Wow, Wow. (Okay, so that’s 3 words.)

In a nutshell, you download their gadget to your computer, sign in and then work as you normally would. Rescue Time will look at what you do, how long you do it and when you do it, then give you an array of pretty charts and graphs on your activity.

This is what it looks like from the perspective of a single user.

This is some of what you are looking at:

A ratio of your productivity verses your efficiency.
Progress towards the goals you have set.
How much time you have spent on each task
What programs you use the most and what websites you frequent the most

This is what it looks like from the perspective of a group of users.

I can see my Productivity / Efficiency ration compares to the other members of my team
I can see which of my teammates is a workaholic, a goofing off, or something in between.
I can see how many of my co-workers are in attendance.

Ooohh… the possibilities. With Rescue Time:

I can see where I am spending my time. (I already said that.)
If I am billing multiple clients, I can see how long I worked on a particular project.
If I managing a contingent workforce, I can see who is being the most productive.

Now although the RescueTime application is on your computer, the data is sent to the RescueTime website where you must log in to review the data. If you are concerned about your privacy, RescueTime lets you delete whatever has been added. According to their FAQS page, they only monitor the apps, the websites and the time of use, so no worries about salesmen calling you or spamming you. “Hey, I heard you were a power user of application X. Boy, have I got a deal for you.” (Well, at least I hope not. I may ask them myself.)

On the surface, it works GREAT! I have not experienced any sluggish performance on my PC since I added the RescueTime tool, of which I am very grateful. I also have signed up to receive updates in email about my activity, so whenever I want to audit myself I will have records to refer to. (Hmm… I wonder if I should put this on my daughter’s computer?)

RescueTime is a free tool and service, provided that you are using it for your personal gratification. With this option, your data is kept online for 3 months and then its deleted. If you subscribe to the “Team Plus” plan, then you get the first 30 days free, an unlimited amount of users, your data stored for forever (and even more goodies) for a monthly rate of $7.95 a month per user (although the first 5 are free, the minimal with this plan is 6).

Well, that’s it for now. Try it out and let me know what you think. As for me, I am so curious as to how much of my time is actually spent on blogging. Time will tell.

Stay productive people!

-Jim Stroud