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by Jane Hurst | October 02, 2019

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Time management is a critical skill for all professionals, and time management software and apps are excellent ways to increase your time management skills and boost productivity. Below are the top six programs and apps that will help you stay focused.

1. Time Doctor

Time Doctor is an efficient program that will track all of your activities: checking emails, project work, browsing the Internet, social media, etc. The goal is to give you a clear picture of the way you spend your hours throughout the day. But perhaps the best thing about Time Doctor is that it provides you with detailed reports so you can assess and analyze, working on the areas that need tweaking to boost your productivity in the future. With real, tracked data to guide you, nothing is left to speculation. Using this time tracking app, you’ll be able to see daily metrics and also set realistic targets for yourself. The software supports seamless integration with many project management apps, including Trello, Asana, Slack, and GitHub. This makes it easy to include it as a part of your existing workflow.

Time Doctor’s pricing plans start at $9.99 per user per month, and there is a free 14-day trial. For the most up-to-date prices, check out the Time Doctor website.

2. Toggl

Toggl shows users the amount of time they spend on each task. You’ll be able to see the way you’ve spent your time during the day and then work to optimize time slots with the use of Toggl. The best thing about Toggl is its simplicity. It is easy to use, with basic functionality. The app makes it simple enough for users to remember to track their time as well. Toggl supports multiple operating systems, and you can also install the app on your smartphone. Users can start the app on one platform and stop tracking on the other one: all data is synced from one platform to the other.

Toggl is priced starting from $10 per monthly user. Users can benefit from a 30-day free trial period. There is also a basic plan that is free to use.

3. Rescue Time

Rescue Time tracks your activities and will present them to you with detailed weekly reports to help you analyze your performance. The program logs the use of different apps and can be configured to give you alerts when you’ve spent a certain amount of time completing a particular task, say, checking your emails. Rescue Time allows users to block the use of certain websites during working hours—most of us tend to get distracted by social media notifications and this is when the app comes to our rescue. The distraction blocker will block sites automatically, helping you stay focused.

Rescue Time has a lite app version that is free to use but has its limitations. The premium version is priced from $6 per month per user onwards, and there is a 14-day free trial period.

4. Focus Booster

Focus Booster uses the principles of the time-tested Pomodoro technique, which involves periods of high focus interrupted by regular short break sessions. It is particularly well suited for those who experience elevated stress levels when accomplishing time-bound tasks. Focus Booster is customizable in that users can choose from the available light and dark themes. It is a simple and intuitive software program that packs in only the essentials. The software presents users with powerful detailed reports to see how they performed. You’ll be able to see which activities took up time and how you can boost your productivity.

Focus Booster has a number of pricing plans starting from $4.99 per month per user. The company also offers a free 30-day trial. See the Focus Booster website for detailed information on the pricing plans.

5. Hours

This is a time tracking app that provides detailed insights about where you’ve been putting your time at work. Hours presents its time tracking reports in a beautiful visual format, which clarifies everything at a glance without you having to scourge through blocks of text. Hours works by maintaining a list of running timers. It is easy to switch from one timer to another. This way, users can easily track all tasks.

Hours pricing plans start at $7.99 per month. There are also subscription plans for large organizations and teams. Check out the Hours website for more information.

6. Vericlock

Vericlock is a powerful cloud-based time tracking app that keeps a tab on what you spend your time on while you’re working. The app is simple to use and can be set up in minutes. Vericlock runs in the cloud, meaning it can be accessed from any device at any time. A major advantage of using Vericlock is that users can start the timer using the app through the Vericlock website by sending a text message or even making a simple phone call. It is, therefore, not necessary to have Internet connectivity to be able to log time using Vericlock.

Vericlock has a fixed $10 per month account fee, in addition to which subscribers are charged $5 per user.

Jane Hurst is a writer, editor, and avid traveler from San Francisco, Calif. Find her at About.me.

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