Rescuetime Software Review: Is It The Best Time Saver App?

Many people do not realize how much time they spend doing unproductive tasks. You may have heard of RescueTime for limiting screen time. The purpose of this RescueTime software review is to share how using this time-saving app can help you be less distracted.

In this review, I’ll go over what this time-tracking tool is all about. I’ll discuss how it works, the pros and cons, and whether it’s worth looking into to track your time.

UPDATED: DECEMBER 13, 2022

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  1. What Is RescueTime?
  2. Pros & Cons
  3. How Does The App Work?
  4. Does RescueTime Help With Distractions?
  5. Pricing
  6. Is RescueTime Premium Worth It?
Rescuetime Software Review: This post will go over a review of RescueTime, a well-known time saver app.

What is RescueTime?

RescueTime is a time-tracking app that can help you monitor distractions, such as cell phones and distracting websites. The idea started with a few friends asking themselves where all of their time went in a single day.

Having realized that some days can go by quickly, they were left wanting to save an extra hour or two a day. Therefore, the RescueTime tool developed and has become a useful time-saving tool.

These days, the modern-day workplace can be stressful, less productive, and possibly burnout as well. RescueTime has addressed some of these issues over the years. As a result, the app has helped users save hours of their time.

If you’re in hurry…

Here are some pros and cons of RescueTime. Along with that, there’s a quick video about how the app works in more depth.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Automatic time tracking of all your productive activities
  • Weekly reports showing your progress
  • Privacy protection (as part of RescueTime for Orgs)

Cons

  • Key features available in premium only
  • Not quite user-friendly (some bugs here and there), so a bit of a learning curve
  • More suited for teams than individuals- individual plans can only cover a limited set of customized tasks
Rescue Time Demo

How does the app work?

RescueTime gives you a helpful screenshot of your tracked time between your productive and distracting time frames. It can help you determine where you spend your time efficiently. More so, to move away from unnecessary distractions. Keep in mind some of these features are included with a premium account (see below for pricing details).

Automatic time tracking

Automated time tracking eliminates the need to enter your tasks manually. RescueTime keeps track of every minute of your activity spent on electronic devices. You’ll know where your time is spent on websites, apps, and or other distracting browsers that may plunge your productivity.

Goals & alerts

With RescueTime, it’s a “free form” app that allows you to spend time the way you want. Set aside one hour to write a report or less than a half hour to go through email. The goals you set allow you to track your progress daily and receive a weekly summary of your progress.

Rescuetime review: Rescuetime allows you to set goals to work on your productivity.
Rescuetime review: These are the number of goals set in place under Rescuetime dashboard.

FocusTime distraction blocker

The FocusTime feature allows you to block distracting websites during peak periods. If you need to set a time to conduct deep work in the morning, FocusTime can be an excellent tool for deep work periods. This feature is only available in a premium subscription.

Rescuetime review: Focustime is a top feature for using the Rescuetime dashboard.

Customize your work hours

With RescueTime, you’re allowed to separate your working and non-working hours. Customizing your work hours will enable you to make the most of your productive time. Also, the app alerts you when you’re doing too much work outside of your work hours.

Along with that, you can customize what you can block (and that distracts you the most). When you look over your dashboard, you can determine which activities are distracting. Or figure out which activities are considered productive.

Rescuetime review: Categorizing what's distracting or not can be very helpful in Rescuetime.

Offline time

RescueTime’s premium subscription automatically prompts you to enter non-productive activities into your dashboard. Whether that’s meetings, breaks, or going out for a walk, RescueTime can track these activities.

Does Rescuetime help with distractions?

RescueTime has a lot of neat features to help avoid distractions. Having an app that can keep track of your online activities does come in handy.

From my experience, I’ve used it for quite some time now. When I need to focus on specific tasks, I’ll keep the app turned on when I’m online.

It brings a different perspective on how I utilize my time. Whether I’m spending too much time on a website or my phone, I can differentiate between the two and make those adjustments.

At the moment, I’ve only used the basic features of RescueTime. Although I plan on upgrading to a premium account to potentially get more out of time. Especially when I need to focus, I want to make the most out of a time saver that can make a difference each day.

Pricing

RescueTime offers a free account, along with a premium account for individuals and teams. All paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.

RescueTime LiteRescueTime PremiumRescueTime For Business
A lite account gives you a basic understanding of how your time is spent.

Also, it’s limited to only three months of historical data so you won’t get an overall review of a year’s worth of work.
Going premium allows you to optimize your day and maximize your productivity so you can focus better.

RescueTimeoffers a 14-day free trial to try out their additional features, such as FocusTime, custom work hours, and offline time tracking.
For business owners and managers who want to optimize their team’s productivity,
RescueTime for business can be a wise investment to look into.

This plan comes with all premium features and uncovers inefficient processes. Some things include:

-Time management training for employees (16 video lessons and hands-on training)

-Software is free to use for the first six weeks

FREE*$12 per month OR $78 annually (average $6.50/month)$6/month per team member
Prices Accurate As Of December 2022

Is RescueTime premium worth it?

Overall, RescueTime is an efficient app for saving time and maximizing your productivity. Though not meant to be a micro-managing device, it’s a great tool to keep track of your time more effectively. 

I like how it shows your productivity pulse on your dashboard. It can show whether your productive time went up. It’s nice that they offer a free account for those who aren’t willing to purchase a premium plan yet. If you want to try it out for free, sign up today for a 14-day free trial.

A relevant article from notimekillers.com

Read next on “Top Three Ways To Improve Work Performance: My Best Tips” on how you can improve your work performance overall.

Your Turn: Is RescueTime worth giving a try?

So what do you think of RescueTime? Do you find it unique to see how it can block distracting websites?

Do you like seeing an overview of how much time you spend doing productive and non-productive tasks? Do you think it can make a difference in your daily activities?

Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. I look forward to reading your comments and I’m happy to help address any of your questions or concerns.

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If you got value from this article, please bookmark this website to visit later for new posts every week.

Spread the word to others. Sharing is caring!

To get more of this type of content, you won't want to miss out my daily email letters. These are worth some golden nuggets and best tips to help you in your business. Sign up today!

Count me in on the daily letters via email!

For the latest videos that come out every week, subscribe to the YouTube channel. Also, be sure to check out our new space on 
Twitter X!

YouTube

Twitter (X)

Medium Profile
Eric is the owner and chief editor of notimekillers.com. 

He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. 

Eric is a firm believer in financial and time freedom, as he believes in financial independence and taking ownership of your time. 

“Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” 

In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. 

You can also connect with Eric via LinkedIn.

Self Photo 2019: Here's a picture at a building in downtown Chicago.
Eric is the owner and chief editor of notimekillers.com. 

He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. 

Eric is a firm believer in financial and time freedom, as he believes in financial independence and taking ownership of your time. 

“Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” 

In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. 

You can also connect with Eric via LinkedIn.

Self Photo 2019: Here's a picture at a building in downtown Chicago.

4 thoughts on “Rescuetime Software Review: Is It The Best Time Saver App?”

  1. Time wasting is a common problem which has been amplified in these modern times through the advancement of information technology. Many people tend to get easily distracted from their work by going on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc.. 

    What I did to combat this problem was to uninstall the Facebook and Instagram apps from my mobile phone. I immediately noticed that I was spending much less time on my phone and became better focused on my work. 

    The Rescuetime app seems to be a useful app for people who struggle with being easily distracted. I might give it a try to see how it works.  

    Reply
    • Hi Karl,

      These days, it’s become much more common for people to get distracted. Especially with social media (or easily watching Youtube videos), it’s gotten worse for some people hooked to them. I know some people who have gotten into a bad habit of doing it.

      Although the advancement of technology has benefitted us as a society, not all of it is good. So I believe the distraction component has become a problem at times.

      I applaud you for uninstalling your social apps from your phone to help you save time. I did that in the past, and it’s helped me with saving time personally. You don’t know how much time you’re wasting while scrolling through these apps.

      Kudos to you on that part. If you’re interested in checking out Rescuetime, it certainly can help amplify your productivity. So I recommend you give it a try- you never know how much more time you save on a daily basis.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts- they’re much appreciated.

      Reply
  2. Interesting post Eric. I had no idea there was such an effective tool for time management. It is true that when you surf the internet, you “steal” and you can make fun of your time, with information that does not really interest you. And this to the detriment of productive time. Especially today it requires a rigorous establishment.

    Thank you, 

    Carmen

    Reply
    • Hi Carmen,

      There are a lot of tools for time management out there. The question you have to ask yourself is which one is effective? That helps depending on what you need the most.

      I agree with you on the meaning of “steal ” away time. When your time is stolen, you can’t make it up. So having an effective tool for managing time comes a long way.

      With Rescuetime, it can help track how much time you spent on certain browsers.  When you have that feature, it can help you figure out where you should be spending your time better.

      Rescuetime has helped me do a better job with it. So I encourage you to check it out if interested.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts- they’re greatly appreciated.

      Reply

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