Startup Hours (Part One): Four apps for tracking work, sleep, productivity, and more

Shanaz Chowdhery
Jul 10, 2017 · 5 min read

I track my work, sleep, activity, and more, partly for curiosity’s sake and partly to better understand where I can find additional efficiencies. I use four main tools:

IFTTT

I use IFTTT to log when I enter and leave home and work via the GPS on my cell phone. There are thousands of applets to choose from, but I use a combination of two applets that place a log into Google Docs and another onto my calendar. This Google Docs applet adds a row with the date and time into a Google spreadsheet each time I enter and exit a specific area. After a couple months of data collection, I’ve found this applet useful for estimating my average time of arrival and departure from work.

Run concurrently to the Google Doc applet, the Google Calendar applet adds a 5 minute event onto my Google Calendar to log when I enter and exit a specific area. I’ve found the calendar function helpful for quickly assessing if I’ve spent too much or not enough time in the office or at home. I also use it to estimate commute times.

The Google Calendar applet uses Google Calendar’s Quick Add function and can be customized.

RescueTime

I use RescueTime to track how I’m spending time on my work computer on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. It categorizes each application and website you use into five main areas:

  • Communication and Scheduling (e.g.: Slack, email)
  • Business (e.g.: Excel, Google Spreadsheets)
  • Design and Composition (e.g.: Google Docs, Google Presentations, Microsoft Word)
  • Utilities (e.g.: Finder, Adobe Acrobat)
  • Reference and Learning (e.g.: Ted.com, dash.generalassemb.ly)

It also logs how much time you spend on unproductive applications and websites. Best and worst of all, RescueTime lets you customize what counts and even omit specific websites and applications from being counted at all.

The RescueTime monthly dashboard includes a productivity pulse to gamify productivity.

I primarily use RescueTime mainly for logging how much time I spend using different applications and websites, but it has a ton of additional features including the ability to block distracting websites, run reports on particular categories, and set goals for specific types of activities. Having RescueTime on my computer is also useful for keeping myself on task, as it gamifies work productivity and punishes for distractions. Knowing that it’s running in the background makes me want to minimize my “very distracting time” to maximize my productivity pulse.


Gmail Meter

Gmail Meter is an app that provides email statistics and analytics for your inbox. It gives you data on a wide variety of email analytics, ranging from the very basic (e.g.: how many emails you received last month) to the more complex (e.g.: your average response times for the people you most frequently contact). It ignores all deleted emails as well as any email marked as spam. For those with privacy questions, their website and privacy policy explicitly say that they do not actually access, read, or process any of the content of your emails.

The visualizations are pretty strong for Gmail Meter as well.

I use Gmail Meter to gamify my long-running quest to remain an “Inbox Zero aficionado.” It also gives me insight into when I send the most emails (between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.), what days I receive the most emails (Wednesdays), and how many emails I receive per day (~200).

Gmail Meter also gives me fun facts like knowing that my shortest response time is within 10 seconds of receiving an email, but typically, I respond to most emails within 8 hours of receipt. If your inbox feels out of control, I highly recommend using Gmail Meter to get some insight into your inbox statistics and help you think about how to manage your inbox more effectively.


Sleep as Android

Last but not least, I use Sleep as Android to monitor my sleep. The app has a ton of cool features including lullabies to listen to as you fall asleep, CAPTCHA wake verification, and tracking for all major sleep metrics. It even records snoring and can detect if you should get tested for sleep apnea.

The app also has a ton of great data visualization. On the left above, the graph charts the variance in my bedtime and calculates the average time I fall asleep. The graph on the right compares my wake up hour during the week (“working days”) and on weekends (“free days”).

My favorite feature of Sleep as Android is the smart alarm clock, which tracks your sleep cycle and tries to time your alarm so that you’re not in the middle of a deep or REM sleep when it goes off. I haven’t used it but SleepCycle on iPhone seems to be a comparable alternative for iOS users.


Shanaz Chowdhery

Written by

I have very strong opinions about esoteric productivity hacks. Follow me to optimize your efficiency.

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