Whether you’re a freelancer or someone working a 9-5 job, you know you have to keep your productivity up. There are so many distractions out there, especially when you’re working at home, that can seriously put a dent in the amount of time you have until a project is due.
It all starts when your friend posts something interesting on Facebook, you suddenly remember a YouTube video you’ve been wanting to watch, then you get carried away, and suddenly you realize that the hour you just allocated for yourself disappeared into the abyss. Little do you know that you can actually use the same computer that distracts you to keep track of your online time. There are online time tracking applications that let you focus on what you have to do with amazing results.
List of Online Time Tracking Apps
- Tick – Web-Based Time Tracker: Tick is a very nice application for simple time management. The only pet peeve I have with this is that it sits in a tab on your browser. There’s nothing you can do to put any focus on the time you have left to complete something without going to the page itself. It’s useful, though, if you’re not good at working under pressure, since it doesn’t bother you all the time with a ticking clock. You can see the app here.
- Toggl (Comes With A Desktop Version): Toggl is a unique time tracking system designed to cater to a freelancer who’s billing by the hour. That’s not necessarily its only use, though. Let’s say you’re curious about how much time you’re taking up on a project. You can time yourself and find out! The application is both web-based and runs on a desktop. If you like Tick, you might want to try this one out. The desktop version can help you focus better on how much time you’ve been using. However, I still don’t like the fact that it doesn’t count down. This time manager only counts up from the moment you punch the clock. It can be useful if you’re curious about how much time you’re taking up on a task, but it’s not useful if you want to hurry yourself up. Psychologically, you’re still going to take all the time you need if you don’t see a clock ticking backwards. If you like what you hear, you can find out more on their website.
- Focus Booster: This is, by far, the most powerful timekeeper I use. Focus Booster not only has a neat non-intrusive desktop version, but it also counts down from the time I set it at. This time manager can help you put on your thinking cap and flex your muscles. Its desktop version is also always on top by default, showing you its clock menacingly at all times. It’s a perfect application for someone who’s known to slack a bit once in a while, and the color is enough to tell you how much you have to hurry up. It transforms from a light green to yellow, to orange, to red as the timer gets closer to its finishing point. Focus Booster works as the perfect coach for people who are obsessive enough to complete a deadline when faced with a ticking clock, but don’t have the motivation necessary to get on the grind continuously. You can also specify how long you want your breaks to be, so you don’t have to go through burnout from “all work and no play.” If you want something like this, visit Focus Booster’s site.
If you know any other better timekeepers, leave a comment below for all the readers to check it out! Don’t forget to include a URL!
Hours Tracking is another great option. It’s simple to use and ultra-affordable for freelancers and small to mid-sized teams ($1 per user, per month).
http://hourstracking.comToggl is one of the best time tracking software I’ve tried before but I realized I need to have a complete attendance system for my on-site and offshore workers, something that is capable of generating productivity reports of your employees etc. I read this blog last week and I was about to get the software they were talking about since most of their reviews were good but I need your suggestions guys. What do you think?
I’ve checked the apps featured on this article and it is good. I have been working as a virtual assistant for a year now and we are using Time Doctor http://www.timedoctor.com as our time tracking software and I find it very effective to manage not only our remote staff but our work activities and time management as well.
I suggest using Replicon's hassle free cloud based time tracking software – http://www.replicon.com/time-tracking-softwares.aspx that can be used from anywhere. Making all our time management needs much easier and efficient.
For Android devices the best time tracking app is Timesheet from LlamaLab. It’s a free app with alot of features; overtime calculation, expenses, mileage, automation, time & expense reports as PDF, Excel, CSV and much more. It also has QuickBooks integration. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.llamalab.timesheet.free
For time reporting, you should also check out TimeSheet Reporter (
www.timesheetreporter.com), which allows you to register time via your Outlook calendar.I would add
http://www.timeneye.comto the list, it made my company’s life a lot easier by providing project managers with nice reports and users with a software they really use. A plus is its smooth integration with Basecamp and Redbooth.All three apps are good. Thanks for sharing. I want to suggest another tool for your list i.e ProofHub.
Also try Replicon cloud based time management software!!
I’d like to also recommend MinuteDock – we’re built from the ground up to be super simple and super efficient for individuals and teams to track and bill their time!
Thanks!
Nice list, but I have one more to add — Mobile Worker (http://www.mworker.com). It’s a free one-click time tracker, which has project document sync with Dropbox/Google Drive, expense tracking, invoicing, and other regular functions. Available for Android only. If you’re looking for something light and simple-to-use, you might want to give it a try.
Hi, thank you for explaining about all these software I want to add one more to your list that scopidea this is also very easy and web-based software with multiple functionalities and the best part in this software is it is user friendly you don’t require any professional training any basic knowledge of computer person can also use it very easily.