Offline project time tracking (log it later)
A “timer-only” tracker punishes you the moment real life gets in the way — you forget to hit start, you switch tasks mid-thought, the timer just isn't running when the work happens. This page is about the other way to track: recording time after the fact, on purpose, as a normal part of how you work.
The problem this solves
- You start work and forget the timer
- You switch between projects often and lose track
- You only remember later what you did
- You still want an accurate record per project
A few ways this actually shows up
None of these need a special workaround — they're just ordinary reasons a timer wasn't running:
- You open your laptop and start typing before it occurs to you to hit start
- You worked from a notebook or your head for an hour, then sat down to log it properly
- A call ran long and you only realize afterward how much of it was billable
- You split one afternoon across two different projects and want to log each separately
What “offline/manual entry” means
You can add time to a project after the work is done. Pick the project, enter how long it took (or a start and end time), add a short note if it'll help you remember why later, mark it billable or not, and save it — same record, same timesheet, same export, whether it came from a running timer or from you typing it in five minutes ago. The goal is a practical record of your own work, not perfect stopwatch purity.
Who this is for
Solo professionals and independent workers who want project time tracking that fits real life — including interruptions, context switching, and delayed logging.
FAQ
Is this only for manual entry?
No. You can track time live, and you can also record time later when needed — neither is treated as the “real” way to track and the other a fallback.
Can I log a quick unrelated task while my timer is running?
Yes — a phone call or a quick unrelated job doesn't have to interrupt your running timer. Log it as its own manual entry right alongside it. One thing to know: there's no pause button yet, so the running timer keeps counting through that time too. Once you stop it, trim those extra minutes off in your timesheet so the total only reflects the work it was actually tracking.
For example: your timer is running for Client A — Website redesign. Client B calls with an urgent question, and you spend 10 minutes on it. Log that separately as a manual entry: Client B — quick call, 10m. When you stop the Client A timer an hour later, edit its duration down by those same 10 minutes. Your timesheet ends up with two accurate entries — one per client — instead of one entry that quietly overcounts Client A by 10 minutes of someone else's work.
Do I need to log exact-to-the-minute time?
No. Round to whatever's reasonable for how you bill. The point is a usable record, not a forensic one.
Is this an employee time clock?
No — it's for one person tracking their own projects.
Will this help if I forget timers often?
Yes — that's exactly why offline/manual entry exists.