ManicTime

When working on a computer, time flies by and you don't even realize it. It may feel like only a few minutes have passed, but when you look at the clock, you notice that a whole hour has passed. With ManicTime, you can keep track of how much time you spend on a computer. The statistics it provides will be broken down in overall computer usage, time spent with certain applications or documents and more. The reports you can create will help you get a better idea on how you organize your tasks and where to make improvements, should you need to.

If you are using Win Xp, Vista or Win 7, you will have no compatibility issues when installing ManicTime. The process itself may take a bit longer if you do not have MS .NET Framework 4.0 installed. If it is already installed, you can have the software up and running in no time. Downloading the setup package will not take long either. It is 5.45 Mb large, which should not be a challenge, even for slower connections.

The software can run in the background, as a system tray icon, and it will monitor your activity. The time you spend with applications, documents and the overall computer use will be displayed as color coded bars, on separate timelines, which are updated in real time. Individual applications or documents will be associated with a certain color. For example, Google Chrome will be associated with green. While Chrome is active, the bar which "fills" the timeline will be green. If another application is made active, the timeline will be filled with a different color.

On the lower half of the interface, you can find a history of the applications and documents used, along with details like starting and ending time and how long they are active. Another list can be found in the same area, which displays the total time spent in all programs and which has been used the most. For a better view, you can click a color in one of the timelines and the associated program will be highlighted in both lists.

ManicTime can also generate daily, weekly, monthly or yearly reports. This can be done under the Timesheet navigation tab (on the upper edge of the interface). Here you may set up a date range and click a button to create the report. Another navigation tab will display the same statistics as the timelines, but as graphs, charts or tables.