[HN Gopher] Show HN: Track time spent on activities that matter ...
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       Show HN: Track time spent on activities that matter to you
        
       Author : 9_weslay
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2023-10-08 08:23 UTC (14 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.countthehours.app)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.countthehours.app)
        
       | 9_weslay wrote:
       | I used to think I was working hard until I began tracking my
       | focused work time, excluding trivial tasks like emails. I was
       | surprised to find I averaged only 40-50 hours a week. My goal is
       | to maintain a consistent 60.
       | 
       | I created a web app with a stopwatch and a bar chart log. Start
       | the stopwatch when working and pause for breaks.
       | 
       | Here's an example of how my friend, Sam, has been using the app:
       | www.countthehours.app/u/samdarmali
       | 
       | Hope you guys find it helpful!
        
         | j6zauas4gz wrote:
         | For what its worth I think the premise of a webapp-only time
         | tracking application is flawed. Around 40% of my "focused work
         | time" is done in places where an internet connection is not
         | available. How am I supposed to track that time?
         | 
         | Even if your app works "offline" (IE, I have the page loaded in
         | my mobile browser and it works even when device has no
         | internet) having to open the web browser on my mobile device to
         | track those tasks is a pain.
         | 
         | Similar to calendaring, recording audio-notes to self, task
         | tracking, note taking, and health tracking, time tracking is
         | something that I think needs a dedicated mobile application
         | that works offline but can then sync to a webservice when it
         | does have a connection.
         | 
         | It does not necessarily need all the same features, but you are
         | making a _lot_ of assumptions about how people get work done if
         | the premise of your time tracking application is that it
         | requires a desktop /laptop and an internet connection.
        
           | eb2 wrote:
           | Have you considered that if your trackable focus time is
           | mostly offline, you're not the intended user?
        
             | j6zauas4gz wrote:
             | My trackable focus time is not 'mostly offline', but thats
             | besides the point.
             | 
             | And you are probably right, but thats like saying that if
             | you are blind or deaf your not the intended user. More
             | often then not people don't get to choose whether or not
             | they have access to the internet. Its an accessibility
             | issue. Excluding users for things that are outside of their
             | control is not right.
        
               | xwowsersx wrote:
               | I'm sorry but a) no it is not the same thing as being
               | deaf or blind. A currently Internet-less person can at
               | some point have Internet. In fact, it is probably the
               | case that most people who don't have Internet at any
               | particular moment, will have Internet at some later
               | point. Deaf and blind people do not typically become able
               | to hear or sighted suddenly. b) The idea that not
               | specifically creating a solution for someone in a
               | particular condition is the same as actively excluding
               | them, as you seem to imply by your axiological "it's not
               | right" judgment, is incorrect. By your logic, making any
               | tool for anything at all, so long as it has any
               | dependency whatsoever, excludes all people who don't have
               | those prerequisites, which, again according to you, "is
               | not right". This would mean that even a tool which worked
               | offline "wouldn't be right" since it excluded people
               | without computers, smartphones, etc.
        
       | sleey wrote:
       | For me, if it need to manually tracked then I will absolutely
       | forget or stop using it because too lazy. Unless you need to
       | track for getting paid or something important.
       | 
       | The website looks clean though, good work!
       | 
       | If you only want to track what are you doing in your laptop or
       | PC, I recommend activitywatch [1], it can detect when AFK and
       | what app or web we open. I only run and forget it and check it
       | later when I want to know what I'm doing this week/month. It's
       | open source and I'm not affiliated with it, just a happy user.
       | 
       | [1] https://activitywatch.net/
        
         | CrimsonChapulin wrote:
         | It is a nice website, but I agree with you.
         | 
         | It reminds me of the thinking that a smart home is one that you
         | can turn the lights on or off with a web app or smart
         | assistant. In reality, the most pleasant implementations do
         | something like use motion sensors or wifi/Bluetooth to avoid
         | having to even open the app for the automations to kick in.
         | 
         | E.g.: detecting when no one is connected to the home wifi and
         | locking the doors might be more useful than having the option
         | to remotely do it since there is no need to remember.
        
       | pizzafeelsright wrote:
       | There are a few window tracking apps that will track and allocate
       | your time. Phones have them too.
       | 
       | I discovered that while tracking the time is helpful and
       | enlightening the big change for me, going from using my phone 4
       | hours a day to 80 minutes was when I messaged a group of others
       | who would share their weekly stats.
       | 
       | Girls I know spend 7 hours a day on their phones. Weekly reports
       | tell me this. There is no shame. No insults. Just silently
       | sharing.
        
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       (page generated 2023-10-08 23:02 UTC)