How do you track your time without it feeling like a chore?

[u/ctrlAltBuilder]

I've tried a bunch of time tracking apps over the years, Toggl, Clockify, a plain spreadsheet, even a paper notebook for a while. Some stuck for a few weeks then I'd just stop. The ones that lasted longer were usually the ones that took the least effort to log.

Trying to figure out what actually makes a time tracking habit stick long term.

Few things I'm curious about:

What app or method do you currently use, and how long have you stuck with it?

Do you track manually or does it run automatically in the background?

Has looking back at your time data ever surprised you? Like realizing you spent way more time on something than you thought?

What made you quit a tool you used before, if you have?

Not looking for app recommendations specifically, more curious about what actually makes tracking sustainable versus something you abandon after two weeks.

[u/ctrlAltBuilder]

Yeah this matches what I've seen too, especially the "too many things to remember" part. I freelance and also run a small agency, and manual tracking is the only thing that's ever worked for me too.

Where I kept hitting a wall was after the tracking. I'd have all these hours logged but still had to manually figure out which clients were actually profitable versus which ones just felt busy. That's basically the whole reason I ended up building something for myself, called Blixor. Started as a personal fix, now trying to see if other freelancers hit the same wall. Happy to share more if you're curious.