Yesterday, I was looking for a very simple web-based time tracker to use personally to increase productivity. My needs were very simple, since I am only using this for myself, but my searching resulted in the quickest process of finding, learning and using an app that I've ever experienced. I had to share it, because any app that can be assimilated into a workflow this easily deserves a mention.
First of all, I searched Google using the following keyword phrase:
"web 2.0 time tracking"
and result #1 was this article from Internetducttape.com (a site I had previously never visited):
"Web 2.0 Time Tracking in a Nutshell (please don't sue me O'Reilley)."
Never mind that the article was written in 2006. One click took me to it where I read the first paragraph stating that the author's choice for best time tracker was SlimTimer, because they have the best tag line: "Make Love Not Timesheets." That was intriguing enough for me to check it out, so another click and I was on the site and, sure enough, I was greeted by said tag line.
Side note: I later discovered that SlimTimer randomly serves up a variety of taglines on their marketing site, such as: "Friends don't let friends use timesheets," and "Together we can win the war on timesheets," plus many more. All the more fun while you are checking out the product.
I think I checked it out for a total of 10 seconds before signing up for an account. Just a few pieces of information and I was in. From there, the app walked me through it. Bookmark a link to open a new timer, check. Set up a task, check. Click a task to start timing, check. I had to experiment for about five minutes to figure out the best ways to organize time records for my purposes, but all the while, the interface just kept making it so easy to use. Click a task and it starts timing. Click again and it stops and saves the record. Click edit to add tags or descriptions to the time record. Wow.
The reporting is super simple and I'm sure that for more complex needs this little tool would be inadequate. But if you need a simple little productivity tool, it's hard to beat. Thanks, SlimTimer for the great user experience and, of course, the fun taglines.
Do you have another time tracking software to recommend? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on
Tue, December 4, 2007
by Tim Wall