All of us wonder, where do the hours and the days go? To answer this, I resorted to time tracking. It started with a simple spreadsheet and has now moved to the Clockify app on my desktop, browser, and mobile. As a typical workday moves fast, time tracking often feels like a waste of time rather than an easy habit. But Clockify’s unobstrusiveness has made it a natural fit for my productive sprints and a cure for my poor planning.
For an app with a generous free tier, it has helped solve one problem I struggled with the most: keeping accurate records without the boredom.
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Clockify’s one-click timer makes time tracking effortless
The simpler the tracker, the easier to stick with it
Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf
Time tracking always sounded like another chore to me. But the simplicity of Clockify has helped me stick to a routine and almost made tracking my work hours automatic. It has a lot to do with the app’s design. The single visible Start button is in my face, and I just have to click it to start the timer. This is easy across the web app, the Clockify mobile app, and/or the Chrome extension (which is the easiest to work with).
I don’t have to think about other details like categories in the middle of work. I can always fill them up later. This isn’t just a tiny convenience, but a major reason for making time tracking a part of my muscle memory.
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Idle detection quietly fixes mistakes before they ruin my time logs
The little feature that keeps the timeline honest
Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf
The Start button is easy. The Stop button falls prey to our common forgetfulness. I often walk away from the desk without stopping the timer or switching to a non-work task. The obsessive-compulsive person in me hates the corruption of the tracking data. Clockify’s Idle detection saved me countless times. If the app notices inactivity, it asks whether that idle time should be removed or kept.
Clockify says that if there’s no mouse movement or keyboard strokes for X minutes, the timer will enter idle mode. It will continue running, but it will treat those X minutes (and the time after that) as idle. When you become active, a notification will pop up, asking what you want to do with the idle time. You have to enable the Idle detection option from the Settings in the macOS and Windows apps, and the Chrome extension.
Good tagging makes noticing patterns easier
Credit: Clockify
As a writer, I wear multiple hats. A typical workday is a mix of drafting, editing, researching topics, and planning future content. Some of these take longer than others. Clockify has Projects and Tags to differentiate and organize the time entries. Projects are for the larger stuff, while Tags are like labels you can attach to any task across any project. Descriptions are the notes that provide extra context.
Clockify uses a 4-level hierarchy: Clients, Projects, Tasks, and Descriptions. It covers all the bases without overcomplicating the system. For example, I can tag tasks as Writing, Editing, Research, or label them by client. This makes the data meaningful when I revisit it later. It’s also a necessary step to plan your work better and invoice clients accurately.
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The calendar view makes my workday feel more manageable
See your tasks visually to understand them instantly
Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf
In a linear list, it’s tough to notice the ebb and flow of our work. A visual timeline is like a map of our productivity. Clockify’s Calendar view turns my day into color-coded blocks, letting me spot long stretches of focused work or scattered 10-minute entries across different tasks.
Each time block can be dragged or resized with the mouse, making it easy to clean up your timeline at the end of the day. I found this structure far faster than editing entries manually from a list.
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The built-in Pomodoro timer gets me into a flow
Strengthen your focus without adding another app to your workflow
Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf
I use the Pomodoro method religiously to get over procrastination. For years, I ran a separate Pomodoro app alongside my rough time tracking efforts. Clockify’s built-in free Pomodoro Timer now helps me build momentum while I track my work. Each Pomodoro session is tracked automatically, so everything stays in one place.
You can set your work and break intervals from the Settings (as shown in the screenshot). Then, you can also type what you’re working on and categorize your activity. Clockify analyzes all your activities, and you can see how productive you were across different tasks. Of course, you can skip the Pomodoros and just use flowtime to work more productively.
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Weekly reports help me plan more realistic workloads
Understand your workload patterns
Saikat Basu/MakeUseOf
Time tracking can surface data that often surprises us. For instance, it takes me significantly longer to choose and upload images than it takes to write the article. This data point has helped me decide whether to take screenshots as I write or leave them for later. Even glancing at the color-coded bar charts gave me enough insight to adjust my weekly goals.
The weekly reports from Clockify can be invaluable for planning the next block of work. For instance, take little data points like your work vs. energy levels and experiment with shifting tasks around. Check which client consumes more hours vs. the pay for similar work.
Seamless sync across devices means I never lose track
The timer stays synced across all devices
Clockify syncs your entries across desktop, web, and mobile without any effort. I often start my day on my laptop, move to my desktop for editing, and occasionally step out with only my phone. The timer stays synced across all devices.
This multi-device flexibility ensures no work task goes unrecorded. You can capture brainstorming sessions during commutes or log time spent on a work call from your mobile. If you switch devices regularly, sync ensures you never lose track of a task again.
Time tracking can be accurate and easy
Clockify is packed with features. You don’t have to use them all. So far, I have only relied on the app’s free features (upgrade to higher tiers for features like invoicing or forecasting). What has kept me going has been its simplicity and not its size.
