Do you often find yourself wasting hours away on the internet? Is your mother no longer over your shoulder making sure you are being productive on your computer? Over the past week I have been trying a product that manages your time on the computer. No, it isn't one of those stinking programs that boots you after a certain type of time. It doesn't spit updates at you and it doesn't send you constant emails letting you know it is time to get off the computer.

The product is called Rescue Time and it can give you an insight on what you are doing on your local machine. Local Business that need to track time on projects or productions could also find Rescue Time effective. Often times purchasing clients want a log of how much time is spent on one project. As part of the business package, that is plausible. There are many different packages on a per month basis for Rescue Time, but there is also a free solo lite option. I recommend starting here for all interested users.

Installation Instructions:

1.) Start by going to http://rescuetime.com

2.) Go to the individuals box on the right hand of the screen and click sign up

3.) Click Sign Up For Solo Lite

4.) Fill out your email address, password and check agree and click sign up

5.) Download the Data Collector. Once downloaded click next. Make sure to install the collector
once you are done setting up your account

6.) Configure your profile- What is the most distracting activities and the most productive? After configuring your profile, click next step.

7.) Next you will confirm your settings. This includes your goals and the amount of times you want to be alerted. Once you have decided on your settings, click next step.

8.) Once you click next step, the profile and installation is complete. At this point it is imperative to make sure you have installed the data collector program you downloaded earlier. If that is done, then the next step is to go back to what you would normally do. Rescue Time will do the rest of the work.

Dashboard:

Once you have let Rescue Time do it's job for a while, it is time to check in at your dashboard. To get there, all you have to do is go to the Rescue Time Homepage and log in. Once you log in successfully you will be transferred to your dashboard. From here, you can see many different breakdowns of what has been happening on your computer. Whether it be full reports or graphs, they are broke down in many ways. You can visit daily usage, weekly usage, monthly and even yearly.

In the picture to the right, you can see the break down of my productivity for today. The majority of my usage today has been productive today, based on my settings earlier established. I have spent over an hour working with media and reading up on entertainment. This is just one of the many graphs you can view. Others include efficiency summary and breakdown of usage on your computer by the preset categories in Rescue Time. Once your week is over, you can view your goals, overviews and complete productivity.

Overview:

Rescue Time is a great program that allows you to monitor what is going on a specific machine. Not only is the free version effective, it is a great glimpse into what monthly plans bring to the table. If you own a marketing or production company in the Marquette area, then this is an ideal product for you. If you are like an individual like me, here is a free way to monitor what you are doing. Whether it be 24/7 monitoring or selected times during the day, Rescue Time is a solid product to consider. Plus, you have to love the placebo that some program is watching what you do!