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5 Tools to Track How Much Time you Waste while Online

makeuseof.com — Here are four neat Firefox extensions and 1 desktop app that help you track the time you spend online. They even give you reports so you can watch out and make efficient use of your time by cutting down on wandering around sites that are of no use.

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  • ALyken, on 03/25/2008, -28/+8Why does one need this? Have we in our race for technological advancements forgotten how to read a clock? There is a foolproof, digital clock on the right hand side of this old laptop. It tells me that I've now been on Digg for 10 minutes.

    After a few more minutes, I shall log off and begin my writing for the day, thus entering my real world where I thankfully have a real life, a real job, and actual interaction with three-dimensional people.
    • SeaweedWater, on 03/19/2008, -2/+16Who are these 'people' you speak of?
      • surKaz, on 03/19/2008, -0/+15They are 'three-dimensional' people???
        • amanilaenvelope, on 03/19/2008, -0/+10how do you "interact" with these 'three-dimensional' beings? are they diggable?
    • goflyers, on 03/19/2008, -2/+10"you cannot improve what you do not measure"
    • CasinoJack, on 03/19/2008, -0/+11As opposed to the two-dimensional people on Digg?
    • DarkSamus, on 03/19/2008, -1/+6let's try that again noob,
      i don't exactly logg off digg when i'm at work, i just hide the window, so it's almost impossible to figure out how much time i'm wasting especially when i come back every few minutes
    • Yakovzoya, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2Thanks, Anne, for reminding us that real jobs don't involve computers or the internet.
      • ALyken, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1I am a writer and I actually do use a computer do so. However, using a computer does not always involve me popping my head into digg space. I also use the Internet for my research , but research does not necessarily involve squatting on digg every 10 minutes.

        Don't get me wrong, I like Digg, but I prefer not to become so attached to it that I start having an affair with it.
  • satyr9us, on 03/19/2008, -3/+27Some of us actually *work* online-- so of these apps, the ones that are descriptive (help you track how much time you're devoting to a particular site, or group of sites) as opposed to the ones that are prohibitive (attempt to delimit the time spent on one site or group of sites; sort of useless) might actually prove pretty useful.
    • Cattywampus, on 03/19/2008, -1/+1Same here; I'm a freelancer and could maybe use some of these to help keep track of how much time I'm spending on a given job/client.
  • bullcutter, on 03/19/2008, -8/+34does anybody else see the irony in using these "tools" ??

    i should have guessed this was submitted by babyspam.
    • Dantetheinferno, on 03/19/2008, -0/+3I'm afraid to look at these tools. =(.
    • mearom, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2This is digg commiting suicide
  • surKaz, on 03/19/2008, -11/+3I don't need a Tool from you to tell me how time I waste online..
    I'd just ask any regular tool...
    Like the dude who tries to push these tools on me..
  • se7n, on 03/19/2008, -10/+4http://internetisseriousbusiness.com
    • Samsong, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Ooh, ooh, can I?
      We're no strangers to love...
    • TempestStorm, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Wow, how could I have not seen that coming.
  • robdogg, on 03/19/2008, -3/+1023 of 24 hours wasted... not good =b
  • zeny888, on 03/19/2008, -7/+1Totally lame.
  • sjohnson0881, on 03/19/2008, -12/+2I don't need a computer program to tell me that I spend too much time on stupid sites like http://www.freeorless.blogspot.com and http://www.bofads.com
    but I may need something to make me stop!
  • philthetechie, on 03/19/2008, -9/+12Mr.BabyMan... we meet again. Buried.
    • HigherLogic, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Digg needs a way to automatically block submissions from (a) users and (b) keywords you specify, e.g. "MrBabyMan" and "Obama".
  • dmallymally, on 03/19/2008, -1/+10Don't show this to my boss
  • anteyekon4myst, on 03/19/2008, -5/+2Rescue Me requires you to download .Net Framework 2.0 if you are downloading the windows version.

    PS. I'm using WInXp on an Athalon 1400 and Safari is running way better than IE, Opera and firefox. Not brand loyal, just saying.
    • anteyekon4myst, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2*Rescue time

      1.10 Ghz and 256 mb RAM.
  • MazeKaz, on 03/19/2008, -11/+20***** the RIAA.
    • MasterPlayer, on 03/19/2008, -4/+1RON PAUL? Meh, ***** post, digg down plz.
  • Hess10, on 03/19/2008, -1/+16I need to get one of these TO STOP CHECKING DIGG COMPULSIVELY
  • Adam420, on 03/19/2008, -0/+4I really dont wanna know...but now im curious.
  • KSteezy, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2Is it really necessary for something to tell you how much time you waste?
  • Samsong, on 03/19/2008, -0/+7Just edit your hosts file and have it redirect digg.com to lemonparty or something.
  • BicBall, on 03/19/2008, -2/+111.) A clock.
  • merbot, on 03/19/2008, -1/+15Theres an easier way. Just count how long you're away from your computer
  • Quote737, on 03/19/2008, -0/+5Do I want to know? I think not.
  • Hangly, on 03/19/2008, -0/+6I don't think I want to know.
  • FroopY, on 03/19/2008, -0/+0These tools seems like a waste of time in themselves, adding to a problem they're designed to reduce?
  • theclashrocker, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1or /played
  • antiorblkflag9, on 03/19/2008, -2/+10How much time did I waste trying to get to this site without a mirror....
  • Laughto, on 03/19/2008, -0/+2I want to know because I need something to kick my arse out of procrastination. I can imagine just avoiding checking the stuff out of pure denial though
  • stoppedcode12, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1what happened to duggmirror?
  • JoWiGo, on 03/19/2008, -1/+8Mirror:
    http://duggmirror.com//software/5_Tools_to_Track_H ...

    Content:
    LeechBlock

    leechblock LeechBlock can be set to block websites from loading in Firefox.

    You can create up to six ‘block sets’ - each set can contain a number of sites that should be blocked only during a specific time interval.

    For example, you can create a block set and put all the social networking sites in it - and block all those sites together for a set period of time (instance, 9AM-4PM). Then you can create another block set - containing another bunch of time-consuming sites and block them all together for a specified time period. That’s how block sets work. Wildcards can be used to block specific subdomains/parts of a bigger site.

    Download LeechBlock
    Time Tracker

    Simple yet effective tool that tracks the amount of time you’ve been browsing around. The display on the status bar indicates the amount of time you’ve been surfing around inside Firefox.

    Time Tracker Firefox Extension

    As you can see in the options above, you can set the status bar display of TimeTracker to show only the time you’ve spent today/last reset/since installing Time Tracker. In the time-out option, you can specify when the addon should pause counting the time. You can use the filter list to add websites that will not be time-tracked.

    If you want to continue tracking the time even when the new windows are opened then leave the last checkbox unchecked.

    Download TimeTracker
    8aWeek

    8aweek

    Same as the first extension, but it has more powerful options and provides graphs that display the various activities versus the time you’ve spent on them.

    Once installed, you’ll see a toolbar that has around four options. You’ll also be taken to a registration page. You could register if you want the reports to be saved for the long term. Else, you can skip it and continue using 8aweek.

    It provides interesting charts like the one below that lists the amount of time I’ve spent on each site:

    8aweekchart.JPG

    You can set it to limit the time you spend on useless sites. For example, you could set it to make Facebook available to you for no more than 10 minutes per day. Additionally, you can also save the reports for later viewing. For more details check out our directory listing on 8aWeek.

    Download 8aweek
    MeeTimer

    MeeTimer is a plain and light activity tracker. It keeps track of the visited websites in any given day, records total time, and groups them into purpose-based categories (e.g. Myspace/Facebook = procrastination, Gmail = communication, etc.). At the end of the day you get a clear picture of your daily activity.
    Stop Procrastinating with MeeTimer

    Download MeeTimer
    RescueTime

    Unlike the above, RescueTime is a desktop program. Same goal here, understand how and where you spend your time while browsing web or working on PC. Find out what programs and websites take most of your time (Digg, Wikipedia, Word, Google, Dreamweaver …). Cool thing about this app is that it’s completely automated and requires almost no effort on your behalf. The only thing you have to do is assign different programs and sites to certain tags.

    Rescue Time

    Get Rescuetime here
  • lougoose, on 03/19/2008, -0/+3Google Cache: http://209.85.207.104/search?aq=f&hl=en&q=cache%3A ...
  • d0onut, on 03/19/2008, -0/+4See? If I missed checking Digg, I wouldn't be able to find this. There's a reason to the OCD amount of times I visit this site.
  • deadnoob, on 03/19/2008, -0/+3how do you define "waste"?
  • gfindlay, on 03/19/2008, -0/+3This is a waste of time
  • Vowieotw, on 03/19/2008, -0/+4"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
    -Bertrand Russell
  • ModernChem, on 03/19/2008, -0/+3firefox extension site seems to be down for me
    • ElBeh, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Same. :(
    • macoafi, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1All of Mozilla seems to be down...at least, the IRC server is gone too.
  • DiggzDE, on 03/19/2008, -0/+7THANK GOD. I've been wanting to find one of these things for a while. I know I waste too much time online and this will help me know what sites I should limit my time on.

    Hell, right now I should be finishing a Law paper for a final research paper for a class of mine, but instead I'm on here on Digg looking at these things.
  • jimbo92107, on 03/19/2008, -1/+1I'm not wasting time, I'm accumulating vast amounts of useless knowledge. Oh, and meeting lots of whacked out strangers. And downloading tons of donkey porn. All perfectly natural.
  • zarque, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1site is down.....
    mirror?
  • TheLastFreeMan, on 03/19/2008, -2/+1MrBabyMan can easily do this by examining how much ***** he gets to the front page.
  • Jordan117, on 03/19/2008, -0/+4You know, I was about to start my term paper, but it would be much more efficient to spend a few hours installing and test-driving these time-saving apps.
  • RonPaulPres2008, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1none of these tools are very good at all. i would like something more simple yet detailed
  • F1lo, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1I would use those tools with digg.
  • bigp3rm, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1I already have something better. It's called /played.
  • diggrnumber1, on 03/19/2008, -0/+0mrbabyman really needs these tools
  • pokemonfan4eva, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Thanks Shankar!
  • antdude, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1Digg = #1 Time Waster! :)
  • elijahalcantara, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1I liked 8aweek , for actual work I use Rachota time tracker - it counts the idle time
  • jasonsalas, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1these are very clever add-ons, so the developer in me applauds such work. BUT - i've got the same argument against such plugins as i do for Outlook and the PIM crowd - how much more productivity time do you lose by incessantly entering/updating data and tracking the reports...instead of working? :-)
    • Laughto, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1People feel pretty clever making a point like that, but it's said more because it'd be kinda poetic if true. Bear in mind the stuff there also tracks your time spent with the time-tracking programs themselves
  • 2shae, on 03/19/2008, -0/+1I can get RescueTime to display the actual site names of where I go...it just shows "other websites" or "Non-whitelisted"
  • oscarwilde, on 03/19/2008, -0/+0Just wait, this will be the next 'toy' that all employers will be installing!
  •  

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