You can use Time Machine, the built-in backup feature of your Mac, to automatically back up all of your files, including apps, music, photos, email, documents, and system files. When you have a backup, you can restore files from your backup if the original files are ever deleted from your Mac, or the hard disk (or SSD) in your Mac is erased or replaced.
Qbserve keeps track of what you do on your Mac and provides constant feedback on your productivity. This way you can stay focused and develop better habits. It automatically tracks work hours and can generate invoices based on the collected data. No need to remember to start and stop time tracking.
- Mar 24, 2020 See how much time you spent using each app. Click Categories to view usage by categories such as social networking, productivity, or entertainment. To see an app's category, click the information icon that appears when your pointer is over an app in the list. Or click the app limit icon to quickly create a new app limit for that app or category.
- MacOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. And get even more transparency around your privacy. Coming this fall. Watch the keynote.
Create a Time Machine backup
To create backups with Time Machine, all you need is an external storage device. After you connect the device and select it as your backup disk, Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full.
Connect an external storage device
Connect one of the following external storage devices, sold separately. Learn more about backup disks that you can use with Time Machine.
- External drive connected to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive
- External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule
- AirPort Time Capsule
- Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
- Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB
Select your storage device as the backup disk
When you connect an external drive directly to your Mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine. Select Encrypt Backup Disk (recommended), then click Use as Backup Disk.
An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. Learn more about keeping your backup disk secure.
If Time Machine doesn't ask to use your drive, follow these steps to add it manually:
- Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Time Machine.
- Click Select Backup Disk (or Select Disk, or Add or Remove Backup Disk):
- Select your external drive from the list of available disks. Then select ”Encrypt backups” (recommended) and click Use Disk:
If the disk you selected isn't formatted as required by Time Machine, you're prompted to erase the disk first. Click Erase to proceed. This erases all information on the backup disk.
Enjoy the convenience of automatic backups
After you select a backup disk, Time Machine immediately begins making periodic backups—automatically and without further action by you. The first backup may take a long time, depending on how many files you have, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster.
To start a backup manually, choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Use the same menu to check the status of a backup or skip a backup in progress.
Learn more
- If you back up to multiple disks, you can switch disks before entering Time Machine. Press and hold the Option key, then choose Browse Other Backup Disks from the Time Machine menu.
- To exclude items from your backup, open Time Machine preferences, click Options, then click the Add (+) button to add an item to be excluded. To stop excluding an item, such as an external hard drive, select the item and click the Remove (–) button.
- If using Time Machine to back up to a network disk, you can verify those backups to make sure they're in good condition. Press and hold Option, then choose Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu.
- In OS X Lion v10.7.3 or later, you can start up from your Time Machine disk, if necessary. Press and hold Option as your Mac starts up. When you see the Startup Manager screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk.
Cloud solutions for time tracking are really popular today, but still there are users who prefer desktop software. Some consider it secure to keep all the time tracking and billing data on the local computer. Others just want the browser apps for automatic time tracking in the background.
So, we made a list of time tracking software for Mac that will help you monitor your productivity and collect accurate data to bill your clients.
1. actiTIME
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Productivity reports
- Project and task planning
- Billing and payroll
actiTIME is a high-quality piece of timesheet and work management software for both small and large teams alike. The tool can be accessed from any device and operating system, which means that Mac OS X users can easily implement it to boost productivity and performance efficiency as well.
Free Time Tracking App
The desktop version of the tool supports only the manual time tracking mode. However, you may also download the Chrome extension and track hours with an automatic timer to avoid distractions and maximize data entry accuracy.
It was an intuitive choice, which offered us good usability and attractive interface. We searched the Internet, looked for comments, and actiTIME seemed a worthy choice to try. And now we are happy that we use it. We ourselves are an IT development and services company, and we never had any complaints about the tool from our employees. And this we think is a good measuring criterion!
2. Timing
Key features:
- Automatic time tracking
- Reports and charts
- Billing
This app monitors how you use your Mac and categorizes all detected activities. In this way, you get an informative report on your time expenses. The app also supports manual time entry and keeps track of when you are most productive. Colorful charts show when and how you spent your time throughout the day. Timing also provides special reports for calculation of billable amounts directly in the app.
Timing works in the background, so it is unobtrusive and allows you to focus on your work, not on tracking time. And it provides you with detailed data on your time expenses to improve your productivity in the future.
3. On The Job
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Data organization
- Client profile management
- Billing in multiple currencies
Another app that can be installed on Mac OS X, On The Job counts time expenses with a timer. Automatic idle time detector helps calculate time intervals when no activity is performed on the computer and shows it when you return – with an option to subtract idle time from the total value.
For client billing, the app provides multiple currencies and custom hourly rates. Once the billable amount is created, you can issue an invoice directly in the app. Customize your invoices as you need by adding graphical elements and editing texts.
4. Tyme
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Cost tracking
- Reporting
- Billing
Tyme is a simple and clear app for Mac OS, iPhone and iPad, synchronizing data between devices. Thus, it allows for time tracking from any Apple device and supports many different time tracking modes, including the automatic ones. Besides, it assists in cost and mileage monitoring and generates insightful time use statistics reviews. It enables users to sort projects and tasks by their specific parameters to eliminate chaos from your work.
Tyme also keeps track of already billed periods to prevent you from accidental double billing. In addition, the app forecasts future workloads based on the collected data.
5. Billings Pro
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Reports
- Billing and invoicing
One more app for MAc takes the pain out of keeping track of work time and billing clients. The app allows to capture work hours and minutes with a timer, prepare cost estimates for customers and issue invoices based on the recorded work time. It works on Mac and iOS devices and allows to track time and create invoices directly from your phone or tablet on the go.
The tool also features simple reports that provide managers and regular employees with insights into how time has been spent on various tasks and projects. As the app is focused on billing and invoicing, it also provides information on amounts billable to customers for time spent on their work assignments.
6. timeEdition
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Task planning
- Billing
This app is a time tracker for Mac, iOS and Android is focused on the ease of use and accuracy of records. For accurate timekeeping, a timer is used that counts time spent on various tasks. Later, you can manually edit or adjust entries. Use color coding to differentiate tasks between clients, set up deadline reminders and make notes to your records.
timeEdition apps are synced via Dropbox so that you have all collected data at hand on all your devices. The app also supports data export to Excel and allows synchronization with iCal and Google Calendar.
7. HR
Key features:
Computer Tracking Software Mac
- Time tracking
- Simple project organization
- Data export
HR timer is a minimalistic app that counts your work time. It runs in the background and opens when you need it from the menu bar. The app records time with a timer (it is possible to start several timers simultaneously) that can be automatically paused when detecting idle time or after a specified period of time – according to the pomodoro technique.
The tool allows you to categorize your projects to keep your project list organized. You can export your data from the app into CSV format by task or by category for further usage and analysis.
8. Caato
Key features:
- Automatic time tracking
- Simple task management
- Billing
The tool is designed specifically for Mac OS and is meant to release users from manual time tracking chores: it provides an easy way to break down your projects by tasks and track time against them with a timer. Entries can be later edited, and new entries for future can be added.
Caato allows to track billable time down to a second and get totals for necessary projects or date ranges. Excel and CSV export is available too. The tool is really helpful both for freelancers who need to calculate billable time and office employees who track their personal time to measure their productivity.
9. Time Sink
Key features:
- Automatic time tracking
- Productivity trends analysis
Time Sink is a time tracker and organizer for Mac OS X that helps you understand where the time goes. The app automatically records the time you spend in applications and windows on your Mac. You don’t need to enter anything manually. If a non-Mac activity needs to be tracked, you can start a separate timer, unrelated to an application on your computer.
The tool allows you to get an overview of time expenses for related activities. With the Pool feature, you can keep track of how long you have been working on a specific project – or learn how much time you spent on all types of distracting activities. A Pool is just a collection of related windows, created by dragging and dropping them to the app’s Pools section. This feature proves to be helpful for productivity analysis.
10. Timelime
Key features:
- Time tracking
- Task planning
- Data management
Timelime is a personal time tracking app available for both Mac OS X and iOS. You can use it on your desktop and on your phone to record your time expenses from anywhere – the data is synchronized in iCloud or Dropbox.
The tool offers many helpful features, such as undo/ redo, notes to tasks and timings, data import and export, backups and more. Timelime is a robust tool for everyone who needs to monitor their daily activities: freelancers, independent contractors, students, office employees and anyone who wishes to visualize their time expenses and increase productivity.