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Awesome read! I've been tracking all my time, also at a 15-minute resolution, for the past 24 months. It seems to make new habits so much easier to adopt. The

Awesome read! I've been tracking all my time, also at a 15-minute resolution, for the past 24 months. It seems to make new habits so much easier to adopt. The biggest surprise was how effective pre-tracking my time (aka time-blocking) was at programming myself to do things. Making things concrete and easy to visualize definitely helps in preventing procrastination. I see that you used Google Sheets for time tracking. Did you consider using any other tools in conjunction, such as Google Calendar or automatic time-trackers such as ActivityWatch, RescueTime, Timing, ManicTime, or Memory? I have managed to automate 80% of my time tracking.

Lightbody 6y ago
Shameless plug for those interested in time blocking: my startup, reclaim.ai, offers Google Calendar time blocking for recurring events (Habits) and todos (Tasks), as well as some other calendar power features. What's extra cool is we manage the free/busy time based on how much your schedule fills up, providing a bit more flexibility over static time blocking.
rorykoehler 6y ago
How do you deal with project deadlines?
karmelapple 6y ago
Thanks for the recommendations! I have been using RescueTime for years, and it's been great to see trends in my use of various apps. At the new year, I analyzed how my Facebook use changed over the years, and it's been great to see it come down so much.
sxg 6y ago
Huge fan of time blocking! It's been a game changer for me. Time blocking (pre-planning my daily schedule) eliminates the need to figure out what to do next, which I realized was a big source of procrastination. If my next steps/actions are unclear, it's easier to just take a break or default to doing something pseudoproductive (e.g. organizing my calendar, todo list) rather than take on a meaningful new project.
ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago
Does one of those allow easy input of activity with a single button click without required login and cloud use? Also are they free? I tried to find an easy tracking workflow a few years back but all the apps had hidden dark patterns so I gave up.
- gingerlime 6y ago
  I'd be happy skipping the free part for something that preserves my privacy. Off the list GP posted, the first name -- ActivityWatch -- seems to hit the mark? open source, privacy-first, cross-platform according to the homepage[0]. Never even heard of it until now, but I might give it a try :) [0] https://activitywatch.net/ https://activitywatch.net/
  - axetheone 6y ago
    I've picked up ActivityWatch an year ago precisely due to those factors and I'm quite happy with it.
  - miguelrochefort 6y ago
    ActivityWatch is the one I'm using. It even runs on my Android phone.
  - ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago
    I couldn't find a way to add a task on the android version, only the ability to sort automatically tracked phone usage into categories. I don't mind paying a one time fee but those I had seen used a subscription model.

Lightbody 6y ago

Shameless plug for those interested in time blocking: my startup, reclaim.ai, offers Google Calendar time blocking for recurring events (Habits) and todos (Tasks), as well as some other calendar power features. What's extra cool is we manage the free/busy time based on how much your schedule fills up, providing a bit more flexibility over static time blocking.

rorykoehler 6y ago

How do you deal with project deadlines?

karmelapple 6y ago

Thanks for the recommendations! I have been using RescueTime for years, and it's been great to see trends in my use of various apps. At the new year, I analyzed how my Facebook use changed over the years, and it's been great to see it come down so much.

sxg 6y ago

Huge fan of time blocking! It's been a game changer for me. Time blocking (pre-planning my daily schedule) eliminates the need to figure out what to do next, which I realized was a big source of procrastination. If my next steps/actions are unclear, it's easier to just take a break or default to doing something pseudoproductive (e.g. organizing my calendar, todo list) rather than take on a meaningful new project.

ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago

Does one of those allow easy input of activity with a single button click without required login and cloud use? Also are they free? I tried to find an easy tracking workflow a few years back but all the apps had hidden dark patterns so I gave up.

gingerlime 6y ago
I'd be happy skipping the free part for something that preserves my privacy. Off the list GP posted, the first name -- ActivityWatch -- seems to hit the mark? open source, privacy-first, cross-platform according to the homepage[0]. Never even heard of it until now, but I might give it a try :) [0] https://activitywatch.net/ https://activitywatch.net/
- axetheone 6y ago
  I've picked up ActivityWatch an year ago precisely due to those factors and I'm quite happy with it.
- miguelrochefort 6y ago
  ActivityWatch is the one I'm using. It even runs on my Android phone.
- ad404b8a372f2b9 6y ago
  I couldn't find a way to add a task on the android version, only the ability to sort automatically tracked phone usage into categories. I don't mind paying a one time fee but those I had seen used a subscription model.