Summary
- Many time tracking apps are built for agencies, consultants, managers, or teams.
- Those needs are valid, but they are often unnecessary for individuals.
- Flowtime was built around the simpler need: a timer that shows where time went.
I've tried a lot of time tracking software over the years.
Most of it was built for agencies, consultants, managers, or large teams.
There is nothing wrong with that.
The problem is that many of those applications are also marketed toward individuals.
What most time tracking apps include
A typical time tracking application today includes:
- Team management
- Client management
- Billing
- Invoicing
- Timesheet approvals
- Utilization reports
- Performance dashboards
- Forecasting
For many people, that's useful.
For many others, it's unnecessary.
What I actually need
As a developer, my requirements are surprisingly simple.
I want to know:
- What am I working on?
- How long did I spend on it?
- Where did my time go this week?
That's it.
I don't need a management platform.
I need a timer.
Simplicity has value too
Somewhere along the way, many productivity tools stopped focusing on the activity itself and started focusing on everything surrounding it.
Flowtime was built as a reaction to that trend.
Not because advanced features are bad.
Because simplicity has value too.