RescueTime Review - Features, Pros, Cons and Alternative App
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There are plenty of time management tools to help us being focused and productive. RescueTime is one of them that available on computer and mobile devices. What features does it offer? Is it safe? Is it free? What if RescueTime not working? Find the answers in this RescueTime review.
Cisdem Focus
The Best Productivity App to Help you Stay Focused
- Track apps and websites you mostly use and visit at work
- Offer 4 ways to create your focus plan
- Quick Start: start a focus plan immediately
- Pomodoro: plan focus sessions and breaks based on Pomodoro technique
- Block as Scheduled: block chosen apps/websites during scheduled time
- Launch Limit: set daily usage time limit or launch limit
- Offer the Hardcore mode and Password mode
- Help block distractions and improve productivity
- Easy to use
- Compatible with macOS 10.12 or later
Free Download
RescueTime Review
RescueTime is an app that designed to help boost productivity and efficiency for users. To help you understand the functionalities of the application, I will list down the main features of it individually. If you think you're constantly can’t focus at work or study, you should have a look at these features to see how RescueTime can help you to be more focused, productive and motivated.
RescueTime App Features
Track and Analyze User Activities on Sites and Apps
It is necessary to find out which apps and websites distract you the most before making changes. RescueTime app comes with a time-tracking feature. It’ll automatically track apps and websites usage. It will work on a background without disturbing you. Then you can view how much time you spent on work-related sites and non-work related sites with a detailed report.
Set your Daily Focus Goal Freely
After understanding where you time goes, it’s time to set your focus goals. Firstly you can divide your frequently visited websites into 5 categories: VERY DISTRACTINF, DISTRACTING, NEWTRAL, PRODUCTINF and VERY PRODUCTING. For example, if you see you were on YouTube over 2 hours a day and you’re addicted to it, you can put it to VERY DISTRACTING. Then set your focus goal, such as more than 2 hours on All Productive Time. RescueTime will monitor how productive you are over the day, over the week or over the year. Stick with this productivity tool for a long time, and you'll see your progress.
Real-Time Alerts to Rescue your Time
RescueTime app let you black list distracting websites. You are not able to access the blocked sites on your device. If needed, you can schedule the blacklist to block certain sites only during working hours. A window will pop up to remind you staying focused when you are distracted.
Detailed Report to Record your Positive Changes
You can see your progress on the RescueTime dashboard. It shows you positive changes on different respects. Also will tell you if you are not meeting your goals. Sometimes you need to adjust the schedule and focus goals according to these comprehensive reports.
RescueTime Pricing
RescueTime app has 2 versions: Lite and Premium. RescueTime Lite is free. Some advanced features are not available on Lite accounts. The Premium account needs to pay $9 per month or $72 per year. I think it’s a little expensive. However, you are able to get all your historical account data and generate yearly activity report on Premium account. And access some advanced feature, such as alert notifications.
RescueTime App Download
The RescueTime app is available on both computer and mobile. Note that after downloading the application, you need to download the RescueTime assistant too for tracking your time spent on websites and guild you toward achieving your goals. Click the links below to install RescueTime on your device.
| Platform | Download | Compatibility | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac | Download | macOS Mojave 10.15 or newer | 36.6 MB |
| Windows | Download | Windows 10, 11 | 24.5 MB |
| iOS | Download | iOS 15.4 or later | 27.2 MB |
| Android | Download | Android 5.0 or later | 7.9 MB |
How does RescueTime Work?
Here’s a step-by-step guild on how to improve productivity using RescueTime app on Mac computer:
Step 1: Download and install this program on your computer.
Step 2: Give it permission in the macOS accessibility settings. Click "Grant Access".
Step 3: Let RescueTime work on your computer background to learn about your online activities and generate report.
Step 4: Classify the websites and apps you use the most. Let this tool better count your focus time.
Step 5: Create a goal. RescueTime will give you real-time notifications when you meet your goals.
Summary
Pros
- Provide free versions.
- Work on the background without disturbing you.
- Comprehensive reports help you set goals and see your progress.
- Real-time alert remind you staying focused.
- It allows you to black list certain websites.
- It works well on both computer and mobile.
Cons
- The premium version is a bit costly.
- It’s a bit troublesome to use.
- Cannot block distracting apps.
RescueTime not working? Try its Alternative
Cisdem Focus for Mac is a productivity app that will help you setting plans, being focused and track your app/websites usage time. Compared with RescueTime, this alternative application has a relatively little cost. And will be easier to use. You can use it to create multiple focus tasks, and block certain apps and sites during the focus time.
Cisdem Focus Main Features:
- Provide daily, weekly, monthly, etc. reports, showing the time you spent on apps and websites.
- Let you create multiple focus plans.
- Offer 4 ways to set your focus plan: Quick Start, Pomodoro, Block as Scheduled and Launch Limit.
- Block distracting websites and pages.
- Block categories of websites, such as social sites, games sites.
- Also allow you to lock apps.
- Offer a Hardcore mode and a Password mode.
- Easy to use.
- Help you stay focused and be more productive.
How to Create a Focus Plan and Stay Focused?
Below are steps on how to create a focus plan and stay focused with this RescueTime alternative app:
Step 1. Download and install Cisdem Focus on your Mac.
Step 2. Click the plus icon in the corner to create a focus plan.
Step 3. Go to App Lock tab. Add distracting apps to lock.
Go to Web Block tab. Add websites/keywords to block. You can import websites into Blocklist by categories.
Step 4. Click on Start and choose a rule type you need: Quick Start, Pomodoro, Block as Scheduled or Launch Limit.
You are able to adjust the rules according to your needs on the Rule Type section.
Step 5. To force yourself focus, you can go to Preferences window and enable the Hardcore mode. Then you can’t access the blocked apps/websites by stopping the focus plan.
Conclusion
Well, that is all for this RescueTime review I wanted to share. Undoubtedly, RescueTime is an outstanding time-management tool that helps us analyzes how our time goes and set our focus goals. Its useful features such as real-time alert, detailed reports can keep you motivated. So, if you are looking for an app to help taking control back your time, you can try it. Additionally, if you would like a more easy-to-use and cheaper app, Cisdem Focus may be a good alternative for your needs.
Norah Hayes likes to share her tips on how to improve focus and stay motivated at work. She believes it is essential to eliminate all online distractions during work hours.
Ethan Long joined Cisdem in 2015 as a developer and now serves as the editorial advisor for Cisdem AppCrypt. He actively tests and uses Cisdem AppCrypt and other screen-time management tools to ensure AppCrypt meets its promises in real-world scenarios.