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Instructions
- Watch the video
- Go to www.rescuetime.com
- Sign up for the RescueTime Lite
- Download and set up the software according to RescueTime instructions.
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FAQ RescueTime
What is RescueTime?
RescueTime is a tool that allows you to easily understand and optimize how you spend your time. One of the most important things about RescueTime is that there is NO DATA ENTRY. You install a small application on the computers at your company and it will magically track what software and which websites are actively being used.
Why should I choose to use RescueTime?
You don’t have to but I recommend it. Knowing how you spend your business time (and how that changes over time) is critical business intelligence. It is not like you have a boss so you don’t need to look busy for anyone (okay maybe your significant other may not be thrilled with you walking around all day in your Pajamas eating Cheetos). My first week with RescueTime was a little scary and eye-opening. If you know how your spending your time you can change it.
How does RescueTime work?
You install a tiny application on the computers at your office that measures which application or website is actively being used. This data is pushed to their database for processing.
How much data does RescueTime collect? I’m a little worried about this.
RescueTime collects the following pieces of information by default: application name, website URL (if the app is a browser), start time, end time, OS username, and computer name. You can choose to limit what RescueTime collects by turning off window title collection and turning off full URL collection (example.com vs. example.com/morewords). You can also elect to enable their whitelist functionality, which allows you to track ONLY websites that you want to track (you can stop it from tracking your addiction to Cat Videos on YouTube).
How does RescueTime handle when a lot of different applications and browser tabs open at any given time?
RescueTime doesn’t really care which applications are open, but rather pays attention to which application or site is currently “in focus“. In other words, they are measuring what you are paying attention to, not what you have open. If stop using your machine, RescueTime stops tracking.
How accurate is RescueTime?
RescueTime claims to be about 99% accurate. Because of idle detection, RescueTime can sometimes over-report by a few seconds here and there. The unfortunate thing is that Rescue time is accurate and you often quickly realize how much time you are wasting in a day. My stomach hurt after reading the first weekly report.
What if I have multiple computers/devices? Is RescueTime Mac-friendly?
RescueTime works great for Mac and PC. If you have multiple computers, that’s just fine you just need to make sure you have installed it on all computers.
Do I have to install RescueTime to install an application on my computer?
Yes. That’s the only way they can track your time without having to manually enter it. I found that manual time management logs don’t work very well (especially if you’re busy). The installable portion of RescueTime is extremely small and lightweight and is easy to uninstall should you choose to do so.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]