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Toggl - Intuitive time management

Toggl (found via LifeHacker) is one of those wonderfully simple applications that does a limited number of userful things very well. In Toggl’s case, its project time tracking: set up clients and projects, and Toggl serves up a dashboard with “power switches” (toggles!) next to each project: click one to start a timer for that project, click it again to stop it. Extensive reporting options let you view accumulated data in a variety of ways.

Adding projects is easy, though not attractive in beta form:

Well placed AJAX functionality automates common tasks:

The Projects tab makes starting and stopping your work simple:

The time tracker for started projects resides in the left-hand column:

And there’s a great reporting tool:

Final notes:

1. You can close your browser window and log back in later; Toggl times run on the server and will continue to count between sessions.
2. Business Model? No idea. No adverts on the site yet, no mention of “pro” accounts or a fee based service.

All told, Toggl is a great app: not showy or glitzy, but effective at gtd. Recommendations? Avoid feature bloat! Don’t complicate the simple functionality in place with the myriad of add-ons that could be layered. One suggestion: As with DoMyStuff, it would be great to see accounting system integration with FreshBooks.

Other coverage:

1. One person’s use of Toggl for personal time management - trying to lead a more productive life.
2. Download Squad: “If you think pie is easy, Toggl is easier.”
3. The Toggl Blog itself - a good read of what’s new, what’s under development, etc.
4. AJAXian - a minimalist post with some grouchy comments and a note that Toggl is being built in Estonia.
5. Jeff Nolan chimes in with a deeper dive on the team behind Toggl and a suggestion to add wiki-functionality to the tool.

freelance, freshbooks, gtd, lifehacker, timemanagement, toggl webworker

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