Time is the only resource you can’t make more of. Streamlining your to-do list can certainly help, but when you’re sending out a time management SOS, you need a tool like RescueTime to throw you a life preserver.
Time-tracking software is a must-have for true productivity, and that’s where RescueTime comes in. It functions as a time tracker and timesheet tool with a dose of structure, insight, and helpful but pesky reminders to keep you on track. 🏃
Like any productivity tool, RescueTime has its pros and cons. If you aren’t sure whether it’s worth your time (see what we did there?), check out this RescueTime app review. We’ll explain how RescueTime works, its pros, cons, and pricing. Plus, we’ll share a great alternative to RescueTime if you decide it’s not your thing. Let’s get to it!
RescueTime Review to Create Timesheets in 2024
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Is RescueTime?
RescueTime is a time-tracking tool designed to help you master time management. Sure, it tracks your time, but this all-in-one productivity tool does more than that. It provides comprehensive insights into how you spend your time.
Whether you’re a freelancer who needs to create accurate timesheets or a team leader who needs to boost productivity levels, RescueTime offers the insights you need to set and meet goals. 🏅
The tool runs quietly in the background on your computer or mobile device, whether it’s Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android, gathering data on your activity. It then compiles this data into detailed reports and graphs showcasing your most productive times, distracting websites, and how you distributed work hours between tasks.
RescueTime is different than other productivity and time-tracking tools because it gives you a productivity score (which it calls the productivity pulse). This score measures how efficiently you use your time. You can also set goals for your focus time and block distractions to stay in the zone.
Key RescueTime Features
There’s a lot to love about RescueTime. Compared to competitors like Toggl and Clockify, it offers a more robust way to track your time and improve time management. Optimize your work hours and say bye-bye to distractions with RescueTime’s time-saving features.
1. Focus Sessions
RescueTime’s main feature is Focus Session, a Pomodoro-like work sesh where you set aside a block of time for focused work. The goal is to get into a mental flow state by mono-tasking, which is the key to real productivity. 🧠
We like that RescueTime doesn’t just throw you into a Focus Session. Their setup wizard takes you through a helpful prep session that includes a body check-in, reminding you to go to the bathroom or grab water. RescueTime also asks you to go through a quick mental reset, take a deep breath, and commit to your Focus Session before you click the “start” button.
Users say they like the prep checklist and the Focus Sessions themselves. You’re free to customize the session however you see fit. For example, RescueTime integrates with Spotify to personalize the experience without opening another app.
Also, every Focus Session tells you how many other workers are in Focus Sessions worldwide in real time. Body doubling, or feeling more motivated when someone works alongside you (in person or virtually), helps you get even more out of these Focus Sessions.
2. RescueTime Assistant and AI (beta)
All RescueTime accounts come with an Assistant, which gives you a customized morning forecast of the day’s meetings and to-dos. Not only that, but the RescueTime Assistant also looks at your schedule and tells you the best time for focused work in between meetings and events. 🔎
This feature is still in beta, but RescueTime is also rolling out an AI-powered assistant. Currently available only for timesheets, the AI automatically divides time between projects and clients, improving the accuracy of your time-tracking. However, the AI needs a lot of data to do this for you, so set aside plenty of time to train the model.
3. Distraction alerts and blocking
How often have you sat down intending to work, only to find yourself scrolling through Instagram? It happens to the best of us. 🙈
Sometimes, you need to take care of business, and in a world where distractions are just a tap away, you need to take more extreme measures.
What sets RescueTime apart from other time-tracking apps is its ability to block distractions. Tell it which apps or websites are your Kryptonite, and it will block them during every Focus Session.
If you “forget” and try to access distracting websites anyway, you’ll get a pop-up from RescueTime displaying your timer, time management goals, and a healthy guilt trip to remind you to return to work. 👀
4. RescueTime community sessions
RescueTime is a wiz at implementing body doubling. For extra motivation, join one of its community Focus Sessions. These are Pomodoro-style one-hour or two-hour Focus Sessions happening live worldwide.
If you don’t want to join the all-hands-on-deck RescueTime sessions, you can always create a shared space with coworkers, colleagues, or strangers while you work. This tricks your brain into thinking other people are holding you accountable and working alongside you, which works wonders for productivity.
5. Time metrics
Awareness is a great time management technique. At the end of every Focus Session, RescueTime will send you detailed reports and graphs illustrating your productivity pulse.
These reports break down your activities into categories such as “very productive,” “productive,” and “distracting,” allowing you to see where your time is going at a glance. RescueTime will even rank your distractions so you can pinpoint the culprits more quickly. 📌
RescueTime Pricing
- Free version
- Monthly: $12/month
- Annually: $6.50/month, billed annually for $78
Summarize this article for me pleasePros of Using RescueTime
Choosing RescueTime as your go-to time-tracking tool comes with plenty of benefits. While RescueTime might not be right for everyone, loyal fans love the app for several reasons.
Improved self-awareness
RescueTime’s metrics, notifications, and distraction reminders make you more aware of your daily routine. Its detailed reports clarify how you spend time, making it easier to identify bad habits and spot opportunities for improvement. It might sting a little to get a slap on the wrist for goofing off when you’re supposed to be working, but it’s all for the sake of boosting your productivity.
Fewer distractions
Other time management tools might say, “Hey, you’re distracted!” However, RescueTime takes things a step further by literally blocking distractions. 🛑
It blocks distracting websites and apps during your designated focus time so you can preserve concentration. This feature is heaven-sent for anyone easily sidetracked by social media and other online distractions, ensuring you give your undivided attention to the most important tasks.
Automation
RescueTime also has an automatic time-tracking feature that eliminates manual time entries, boosting the accuracy of your timesheets. That’s particularly helpful for freelancers who must provide precise time reports to clients or teams needing to track project management progress.
Goal-setting
RescueTime differs from other solutions because it allows you to set and achieve goals in record time. Set goals for your productive time and get alerts to stay on track. It’s fully customizable, too, so you’re free to make the platform your own.
Smart integrations
RescueTime eliminates the headaches of hopping back and forth between solutions, tools, and platforms. Integrate it with Slack, your calendar, or other project management software to streamline your workflow.
Summarize this article for me pleaseCommon Pain Points RescueTime Users Face
As much as folks love RescueTime, it has a few setbacks. Users commonly mention these pain points.
Lots and lots of data
RescueTime can initially seem overwhelming. It generates impressive data about your habits, but it takes time to make sense of the detailed reports. Like any platform, new users frequently complain about RescueTime’s learning curve. Take time to familiarize yourself with the dashboard and reports and learn how to interpret your metrics correctly. 📈
Privacy concerns
RescueTime tracks everything you do across all of your tracked devices. Some users rightfully worry about privacy, especially regarding tracking features like screenshots or detailed logs of the websites they visit. RescueTime has robust privacy policies for data governance, but you need to give up some privacy to get the full benefit of the platform.
Limited free features
The free version of RescueTime doesn’t have the advanced features you’ll get in RescueTime Premium. You won’t have as much freedom to customize goals, block distractions, or generate in-depth reports, which can be a drawback for anyone on a budget. 💸
Syncing issues
You’ll probably see syncing issues using RescueTime across multiple devices, like your desktop and phone. There are occasional delays or inconsistencies between the desktop and mobile apps, which could give you an inaccurate picture of your productivity.
Summarize this article for me pleaseRescueTime Reviews on Reddit
What do the people of the internet really think about RescueTime? We took to Reddit to weigh the good, the bad, and the ugly of this productivity tool.
Some users say RescueTime does a great job, but several had issues with the price of RescueTime Premium ($78 annually). They also mentioned they didn’t think the premium version was much better than the free version.
Other users noticed RescueTime had some pretty big time-tracking discrepancies. “ActivityWatch tracked 17m; Rescuetime said I spent only 8 minutes, which is wrong by a margin. Also, note that they haven’t made significant changes to the Windows app since 2020/05/19. Like WHAT?” one user said.
Some folks said the free version worked just fine, while others liked the premium features but not the premium price. Many users mentioned switching to RescueTime alternatives because of tracking discrepancies and out-of-date apps.
Summarize this article for me pleaseAlternative Time Management Tools to Use Instead of RescueTime
RescueTime has much going for it, but it isn’t the be-all, end-all. This time log tool lacks many features, so you’ll likely still be flipping between different tools to do your work.
Enter ClickUp, an alternative productivity and work management platform that offers time tracking, project management, and much more. 🎯
Smart project time tracking
How much time do you spend on each project, task, or client? You’ll never know for sure without ClickUp project time tracking.
This project time-tracking features allow you to track time, create estimates, add notes, and more. Whether it’s the free Chrome extension, mobile app, or desktop site, you get an accurate view of your work in a single report. 📝
Speaking of reports, ClickUpTime Tracking cards are perfect for monitoring timesheets, estimates, billing, and more. Build a custom dashboard with Time Tracking cards of your choice to get a high-level view of your most important productivity metrics in one place.
Solid time management
Time tracking is one thing—time management is another beast entirely. That’s why ClickUp also includes tools for time management and goal-setting. Add time estimates to any task or split time between team members to manage expectations and keep your team on task.
If you’re a visual worker, ClickUp also has something for that. Toggle between Calendar view, Gantt view, Timeline view, or Workload view for a bird’s-eye look at what’s on your plate. 🤩
Time-saving templates
Hey, do you know what RescueTime doesn’t have? Templates.
Guess what ClickUp has? Templates by the pound!
You’re in the driver’s seat with ClickUp. Pull a template and customize it to meet your team’s time-tracking needs. For example, the ClickUp Services Timesheet Template allows team members to track work hours weekly. ⏳
Moreover, the ClickUp Time Management Schedule Template is helpful for organizing your schedule and examining how you spend time.
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp Brain: Available on all paid plans for $5/Workspace member/month
Summarize this article for me pleaseSimplify Activity Tracking With ClickUp
We could all do with some extra time. But you can’t create more time, which is why maximizing your time at work is so important. The RescueTime app is a popular solution for time-strapped professionals, but it still requires hopping from platform to platform to do your actual work.
ClickUp is a true all-in-one solution for tracking both connected and offline time. Whether you’re a solo freelancer or a manager overseeing dozens of employees, ClickUp equips your team with the tools to do better work faster. ✨
See the difference for yourself: Create your free ClickUp Workspace now.
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