Productivity: Managing Your Time With RescueTime
March 19th, 2009 Jamie
In college (and after, too) time is precious. Think what you could do if you had an extra thirty minutes every day. You could study so you know the answers to three more mid-term questions, take time to cook something more exotic than Easy-Mac, or schedule in that gym class you’ve been wanting to take.
So guess what? You probably have that extra 30-minutes around, you just need to find out where it is.
Time Tracking
I’ve mentioned RescueTime before (in a post along with a lot of other tips about getting productive)–it is a free software that helps you keep track of what you do with all the time you spend on the computer. (And just so you know, I’m writing this because I think it’s cool–they haven’t contacted me or paid me or anything).
How it Works
RescueTime is built on the idea that we could all trim a little time off our computer usage (*cough*Facebook*cough*) to have more time to spend studying, watching American Idol, or talking to the cute guy/girl across the hall.
It’s a pretty basic setup, too. You install a piece of software, sign up for an account at RescueTime.com, and then work as usual. RescueTime tracks what programs you use and sites you visit, and then graphs out your time for you in your online account. (If that seems to Big Brother for you, their privacy policy is here .)
In essence, the software helps you:
- Track time spent in different applications & on websites,
- Tag sites and apps,
- Track your efficiency,
- Set goals or limit the amount of time you spend using applications or on websites.
For example, if you want to limit your blog browsing to an hour, you can set a “goal” and RescueTime can alert you to your limit. The tag feature will allow you to tag certain sites and applications based on their use, like “Chem 6BL,” “goofing off,” “work,” and “social networking.”
I’ve just started using it, and I’m kind of exited to see how it goes. I’m sure I could spend a little less time facebooking and a little more time getting things done. 
image from Rescue Time
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6 Comments Add your own
1. TheDutchSchoolKid | March 19th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I’m going to try it, definitly!
I should working on a report now actually, and I thought ‘where should I get time to finish this!’ and I find myself reading about time management. Makes me think
Stefan/DSK
TheDutchSchoolKid.blogspot.com
2. 3.19.09 Featured blogs of&hellip | March 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am
[...] Manage your time better with RescueTime. (one of this blog editor’s favorites - Alex) [Surviving College Life] [...]
3. Erika | March 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
wow, sounds efficient
4. Candy Dish: We Heart Chel&hellip | March 25th, 2009 at 7:01 am
[...] Manage your time better. [...]
5. why god hates me » Candy&hellip | March 25th, 2009 at 7:45 am
[...] Manage your time better. [...]
6. jonas | April 9th, 2009 at 12:44 am
I use fruitfultime productivitymeter - it’s much more cooler and after all it’s local. I really recommend it.
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