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Tracking specific blocks of time spent on tasks
It would be great if Toggl could track each separate block of time that is spent on a task during a day, as well as providing an aggregated total for the day.
I often start and stop work on the same task multiple times in a day. I'd like the ability to see the specific times that I worked on each task and get a picture of how the day was spent (ie. from 9-9.30am checked emails, 9.30-10.30 client meeting, 10.30-10.45 read report, 10.45-11.30 checked emails etc). Having the ability to edit specific blocks of time would also be useful. Occasionally I forget to switch tasks in the timer and then I have to go back and manually deduct time from the task, which is a bit time-consuming and cumbersome. It would be great if you could easily edit the task that each block of time is allocated to. I note that Paymo has this feature - is Toggl considering adding something similar? I really like Toggl and am trying to convince my employer to roll it out more broadly, but I think that the absence of this feature is a limitation to its usefulness for our workplace.
I often start and stop work on the same task multiple times in a day. I'd like the ability to see the specific times that I worked on each task and get a picture of how the day was spent (ie. from 9-9.30am checked emails, 9.30-10.30 client meeting, 10.30-10.45 read report, 10.45-11.30 checked emails etc). Having the ability to edit specific blocks of time would also be useful. Occasionally I forget to switch tasks in the timer and then I have to go back and manually deduct time from the task, which is a bit time-consuming and cumbersome. It would be great if you could easily edit the task that each block of time is allocated to. I note that Paymo has this feature - is Toggl considering adding something similar? I really like Toggl and am trying to convince my employer to roll it out more broadly, but I think that the absence of this feature is a limitation to its usefulness for our workplace.
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Inappropriate?Thanks Clare for the suggestion! This has also been requested before. We'll raise this idea in the next future versions planning session.
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Inappropriate?I completely agree. I wrote out basically the same idea before I found this. So my prose isn't complete wasted, here it is:
At present in the reports, each task shows when you first started it and when you last stopped it. However, I often do task A for a bit, then switch to task B for a long time, then go back to task A briefly. So in the Task Report this would look like this:
Task A - Start 10:15, Stop 17:45 - Duration 00:30:00
Task B - Start 10:30, Stop 17:30 - Duration 07:00:00
Now I understand the importance of having total task time, but to me the above is misleading - at a glance it looks too much like I was doing Task A all day. Would it be possible to show each instance of Task A, perhaps with a running total, like so:
Task A - Start 10:15, Stop 10:30 - Duration 00:15:00 - Running Total 00:15:00
Task B - Start 10:30, Stop 17:30 - Duration 07:00:00 - Running Total 07:00:00
Task A - Start 17:30, Stop 17:45 - Duration 00:15:00 - Running Total 00:30:00
Of course this is a simplified example. In reality it's far more complex than this, with maybe 15-20 tasks all starting and stopping, so for a task that I've only spent a few minutes on looks like I've spent hours on, just because I've done other things in between.
I’m glad this is being considered and hope it gets implemented soon!
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Inappropriate?This can be achieved by making a seperate task for each portion of work.
For example you create Task A, then create Task B and later when you want to work with Task A again, you create a second Task A.
The Timer now supports having several tasks with the same name on the same day under the same project. -
Inappropriate?Thanks for the swift response Jaanus!
Okay, that sounds good. Will Toggl still give me a total duration of both Task As added together?
I’m very pleased that the Toggl team responded so quickly.
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Inappropriate?If you use the "Group by tasks" option in reports, then Toggl will sum all your "Task A"-s in reports. So, yes, you'll get the total duration.
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Inappropriate?Okay, nice one! Sounds like I can do what I need then.
I guess it would be nicer not to have to type 'Task A' again, but mustn't grumble too much! :-)
I’m pleased Toggl can do what I want it to do.
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Inappropriate?Yes, it definitely would be more convenient if you do not have to write "Task A" again. We are working on this one also.
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Inappropriate?I have had the exact same issue as you, Clare, and I have the exact same wish.
I would love to see my day as though it was in iCal -- How I spent it and doing what. Like you said. I suggest looking at the "Today" interface for inspiration (http://www.secondgearsoftware.com/today/). I am always on the computer and I track every moment and I love visuals.
I also sometimes forget to switch tasks in the timer! And when I go back and adjust the time, I have to adjust both the end time and the duration and the day? That is just awkward!
I think the ideas in my above two paragraphs are linked. In order to enable a Today-type interface, you must have stricter rules on how the timer relates start/end time to duration. I haven't tried to understand your back-end.. so I could be wrong.
Thank ye.
I’m amused
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Inappropriate?Actually, I had another thought, a better thought, a revelation! .. a piece of chocolate. Regardless:
Instead of going back and adjusting the time, it would be great if I had some sort of timeline view (like a horizontal line with a dot on it, representing the axis of time?), that I could *rewind* and then *relabel* a section of time.
You could also add the functionality *I do multiple things simultaneously* and allow for that (I don't need that 'multiple things' functionality .. at all .. just a thought).
If my memory scans and near future lead me to stumble upon a delicious UI for such a feature, I will send it to you to inspire you.
Good luck and all that jazz. Keep doing the good.
I’m excited
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Inappropriate?I am totally with Clare - that is exactly what I want - I want to be able to look back at a timeline of the day and get a report of total time spent for each client. I have found a way of doing it by creating a new task every time I change what I am working on, but it is clumsy and leads to huge numbers of tasks.
But I am sure that the giant brains in Toggl will be able to solve this soon... -
Inappropriate?Thanks for all the feedback! It seems that a lot of users would like Toggl to track all the blocks of time not just one task.
We'll start thinking about the 'how' questions after we are live with the new user interface. -
Inappropriate?I too like the idea in concept. But I wouldn't want to see it implemented at the expense of the current 'ease of use'.
So, please stick to the KISS principal as you consider every additional feature.
I’m undecided
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Inappropriate?I totally agree Andrew. Every new feature has to be carefully considered so that it won't change anything for users who do not wish to use it. And of course 'ease of use' must remain the same or get better.
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Inappropriate?just started using Toggl and love it with the exception of the issue described here. I came here looking for what I hoped would be a more elegant solution.
I thought that it would only track time when I start a task. Unfortunately if you're starting and stopping the same task multiple times throughout the day then need to go back and edit the end time of a task because you forgot to stop it the recalc of time becomes inaccurate. At that point the data is useless for the purpose it was supposed to serve.
It would be fantastic if the Start and End times were logged each time you started and stopped a task and that the duration calculation was an aggregate of the time actually spent on the task. -
Inappropriate?I just came to the website wondering about resuming tasks and calculating the time spent as well.... It could be done better. Without start/stop timestamps, both the "calculate time" and "You have been away for... log time?" features are not very useful.1 Comment
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This is one of the best points
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I'm not sure I know what you mean. Why is the idle time detection not useful? -
Inappropriate?"Why is the idle time detection not useful?"
Jaanus, it does not represent the amount of time actually spent DOING the task. There could be a gap in the time I spent actually working on something.
If my clients paid me for idle time I would start the timer at 9am and stop it at 5pm for every single task I do in the day. If I performed 20 tasks in a day that would mean a log of 160 hours in an 8 hour period. Talk about a skyrocket in productivity!
I think I'd be rich if I could bill clients according to Toggl time.
I’m fecetious
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Inappropriate?I agree, the current system might a bit perplexing. However, we have always considered the duration of a task to be the most important thing. The duration shows how much you have really been doing the task.
Other information like start and end time are just meta-data. All the calculations in the reports are based on actual durations, not start and end times. So, if you bill your clients by the duration, it should all be fine.
This is one of the most confusing part of Toggl for new users which is why this needs to be rethought. Thanks for the feedback everybody!
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This is one of the best points
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Well, you're right in general.
Personally I've voted for this issue only because my _current_ employer wants detailed time report. -
Inappropriate?Yes I believe we all agree that the duration of the task IS the most important thing however the way toggl calculates the duration is inaccurate and this is where that agreement breaks down.
Run this scenario through toggl and tell me what you find out.
I start a task at 8am and work on it until 9am at which point I get a phone call and forget to stop the timer. It is my son's school calling, he is sick and i need to come pick him up. I come back home and get back to my task at 10:30 spending 2 more hours. Its now 12:30 and I need to grab some lunch. Oops, I just remembered that I still had Toggl running. It says that I've spent 4 1/2 hours working on the task when I've really only work 3 hours.
Without the ability to go back and ACCURATELY account for the 1 1/2 hour lapse in time the duration calculation is inaccurate. I could FUDGE the end time and say I ended the task at 11am but now that puts the burden of time calculation and time tracking back on me. This is something that I needed Toggl to do for me.
Meta data or not start and end times are required for each segment of work performed on a task because we humans are multi-taskers. This unfortunately is what Toggl neglects to account for.2 Comments Add a comment
This is one of the best points
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Well, Joe. But how would toggl know, that you have forgotten to turn that off?
Toggl says, that you have been away from computer for x minutes, so you should know, how much you need to subtract from your task time. -
Joe,
Toggl is great. But, if you forget to stop the timer (which is something I do regularly), only you can update it to show the correct task duration, as only you can know what it is. (I can't see how Toggl can be a mind reader.)
As Jaanus said, the 'Start' and 'End' times are additional information. I personally ignore them. If they're important to you, you can change them in Toggl. -
Inappropriate?I LOVE the timeline concept (whether vertical or horizontal). I'm envisaging a Google Calendar-like interface:
http://www.ccna.com.au/home/en/sites/...
In fact, for me personally, the ideal approach would be for Toggl to simply integrate with Google Calendar. That way I could just use the Google Calendar interface to view and edit my blocks of time.
Anyway - Jaanus, thanks for a great product. Keep up the good work.
I’m excited
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Inappropriate?I'm not expecting Toggl to know that I forgot to stop the timer. What I do expect is an easier way to recover from such a situation in an easy way. Right now I'll use Jaanus recommendation to create a 2nd task with the same name to account for the lapse in time.
If Toggl allowed for intervals in a task then creating the nth task would not be necessarily.
Most of the other online timers such as Paymo and SlimTimer already do this but I prefer Toggl's desktop app to the others. This addition to Toggl would make my world complete.
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