
ASK HN: Are Time Tracking Applications Worth It - counterpig
In my previous role we used toggl to track how long it takes to complete a task and it just seemed like a distraction as it popped up on the screen every 10 minutes.<p>I&#x27;m thinking about using something similar again to get a better idea of how long it takes me to complete a task<p>What are people&#x27;s experience with this type of software? Is it worth it or just an annoying distraction?
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altairiumblue
\- you can set up toggle in a way that isn't distracting - definitely disable
the popups, have a keyboard shortcut for start/stop tracking, or use the auto
tracking feature if you like it

\- I've found time tracking with toggle to be extremely helpful at times when
my discipline was lacking. For example, while working on university projects,
the goal of spending at least 4 hours every day doing actual work, helped so
much with getting things done on time.

\- even then, my time tracking was focused on work - I would never recommend
tracking every minute of your day. I've tried it for a very short period of
time and completely hated it.

\- at the moment I have enough discipline and structure in my work and
personal life, so time tracking isn't necessary. At work, I log time against
projects a few times a week, but that process isn't micromanaged and we don't
use real-time time tracking. I wouldn't time track my personal projects
because I enjoy the feeling of flexibility and don't need the additional
discipline.

edit:

It just occurred to me that this is very similar to managing a budget. If
you've never had a budget before and don't know where your money goes, it's
_really_ useful to track your finances closely at least for a while. But if
you're doing fine financially and you're still obsessively counting every
penny, you've probably gone too far and you're taking away from your quality
of life. At that point just a general idea of how much is spent and on what
will be enough.

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blastbeat
I would say the overhead of time tracking, as a deliberate productivity tool,
is barely worth the trouble. For instance, I use Emacs org-mode, where you can
schedule and clock tasks in sophisticated ways. It took a long time to setup
and get used to the stuff. I thought it might scale in the future. Turns out
that pen and paper is much more efficient and effective for me to get anything
done on a daily basis. Now I use it more or less to get reminded for some
important dates, and to satisfy the sunk cost fallacy. I would only use it as
time tracker again, if forced by my employer.

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counterpig
Cool I use a pen and paper todo at the moment so I'll just stick with that.

Thanks :)

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potta_coffee
I use Toggl to track time that I spend working for clients. It's ok but I find
their reporting / filtering to be seriously lacking. I'm in the process of
building my own tool because it's such a pain in the ass. But I do absolutely
need this kind of software.

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perfunctory
If something was popping up on my screen every 10 min I would go insane.

