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I find that it doesn't matter which app you use because at the end of the day you need the discipline to update your time tracking when starting and ending your

I find that it doesn't matter which app you use because at the end of the day you need the discipline to update your time tracking when starting and ending your work time. That's my biggest issue. I work in a chaotic way.

ghh 4y ago
Yes, see ManicTime [0], Timing [1] and ActivityWatch [2] for that. They passively record what you do, on computer and phone, and at the end of the day (or when invoicing is due) allow you to link what you did to projects. Use ManicTime if you're mostly on Windows, Timing appears to be good if you're mostly on OS X, and ActivityWatch takes the same approach in an open-source cross-platform project. I have ManicTime set to record a screenshot every 15 seconds, and record window title and document paths on every app switch. Invoicing still takes time, but knowing what you did and when helps to take all the guesswork out of it, especially for chaotic days. [0] https://www.manictime.com/ https://www.manictime.com/ [1] https://timingapp.com/ https://timingapp.com/ [2] https://activitywatch.net/ https://activitywatch.net/
yshavit 4y ago
I don't know if shameless plugs are allowed here (sorry if not!), but I have an open source project for Mac that's aimed at exactly this problem. Every ~10 minutes (configurable), it pops up an unobtrusive prompt to ask you what you're working on right now. It then has some basic reporting and aggregating functionality. It's not specifically targeted for consulting / invoicing (I made it because I often ended my day wondering what the heck I'd done all day), and it's sometimes a tad rough around the edges, but it could help. https://whatdid.yuvalshavit.com https://whatdid.yuvalshavit.com / https://github.com/yshavit/whatdid https://github.com/yshavit/whatdid (I'm newish to HN, so please let me know if this message is inappropriate!)
- INTPenis 4y ago
  For my specific work flow I was actually thinking of scraping all my git repos to see my activity. Because I'm always working in a git repo, or mostly. I actually already did try using some sort of recursive git status/log viewer that I can't remember the name of now. Didn't keep it up but I think a program that scrapes my git repos, and perhaps aggregates with other activity logs, would be the best fit.
  - yshavit 4y ago
    Ah, gotcha — my app won't help with that, then, sorry! :-)

ghh 4y ago

Yes, see ManicTime [0], Timing [1] and ActivityWatch [2] for that. They passively record what you do, on computer and phone, and at the end of the day (or when invoicing is due) allow you to link what you did to projects. Use ManicTime if you're mostly on Windows, Timing appears to be good if you're mostly on OS X, and ActivityWatch takes the same approach in an open-source cross-platform project. I have ManicTime set to record a screenshot every 15 seconds, and record window title and document paths on every app switch. Invoicing still takes time, but knowing what you did and when helps to take all the guesswork out of it, especially for chaotic days. [0] https://www.manictime.com/ https://www.manictime.com/ [1] https://timingapp.com/ https://timingapp.com/ [2] https://activitywatch.net/ https://activitywatch.net/

yshavit 4y ago

I don't know if shameless plugs are allowed here (sorry if not!), but I have an open source project for Mac that's aimed at exactly this problem. Every ~10 minutes (configurable), it pops up an unobtrusive prompt to ask you what you're working on right now. It then has some basic reporting and aggregating functionality. It's not specifically targeted for consulting / invoicing (I made it because I often ended my day wondering what the heck I'd done all day), and it's sometimes a tad rough around the edges, but it could help. https://whatdid.yuvalshavit.com https://whatdid.yuvalshavit.com / https://github.com/yshavit/whatdid https://github.com/yshavit/whatdid (I'm newish to HN, so please let me know if this message is inappropriate!)

INTPenis 4y ago
For my specific work flow I was actually thinking of scraping all my git repos to see my activity. Because I'm always working in a git repo, or mostly. I actually already did try using some sort of recursive git status/log viewer that I can't remember the name of now. Didn't keep it up but I think a program that scrapes my git repos, and perhaps aggregates with other activity logs, would be the best fit.
- yshavit 4y ago
  Ah, gotcha — my app won't help with that, then, sorry! :-)