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Toggl Desktop Time Tracker

This is an introductory guide to tracking time with Toggl. Toggl is a web-based time-tracking app that eliminates the
need for traditional timesheets. The following instructions cover the basic functions of managing projects, recording
time worked, and reviewing work data on the dashboard.
You do not need to have previous experience with time-tracking apps to use Toggl. All you need are a working
email address and a desktop or laptop computer with Internet access.

Setting Up Your Toggl Workspace


Before you can begin tracking your time, you must activate your account. You also need to create the project labels
to which you will assign your tracked time.
Create your account. You will receive an email from your Toggl account administrator inviting you to join a
workspace. To begin:

1. Click the link in your email invitation to go to the Toggl login screen.
2. Create and enter your password on the Toggl login screen.

Note: Passwords must contain at least six characters.

3. Check the box to agree to the terms of service.


4. Click Join team. You will be taken to the timer screen.

Create your project(s). Now you can add the names of projects you will be working on. To create new projects:

1. Click Projects on the sidebar.


2. Click Create Project. The Create project dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Create project dialog box. Source: Create project. toggl.com, n.d. Authors screenshot.

3. Enter the project name.

Note: Unless specified by your administrator, the Select Client field is not necessary.

4. Optionally, select a custom color code for the project from the color dropdown menu.
5. Click Create project.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 to create additional projects.

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Manage your projects. As work progresses, you may need to revise project titles, archive a completed project, or
delete a canceled project. To manage changes:

1. Click the dropdown arrow to the left of any projects name, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Dropdown management options. Source: Projects.


toggl.com, n.d. Authors screenshot.

2. Select:

Edit to change the project name or color.


Archive to remove the project from your list of active projects.
Delete to permanently erase the project from your records.

Note: Use T next to the Project column head to reset the project list in ascending or descending alphabetical
order.

Using the Timer


Now you are ready to begin tracking your time.
Start and stop the timer. The timer has a very simple start-and-stop function. To use the timer:

1. Click Timer on the sidebar.


2. Enter a descriptive title of the work you are about to start, such as Monthly Report Draft 1.
3. Click Project/task. In the dropdown, select the correct project from the list.
or
Type the project name into the Find project field to locate it.

Note: You can also click Create a new project in the dropdown to open a Create project dialog box.

4. Click the green Play button on the right-hand side to start the timer.
5. Click the red Stop button on the right-hand side to stop the timer. The task, project, and elapsed time are
then displayed in the screen area below the timer.

Amend tracked times. In the event that you make an error in your time tracking, such as forgetting to stop the
timer, you can make adjustments to the recorded increments of time. To amend time entries:

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1. Click on the task to be amended. If there are multiple entries for the task:

a. Click on the circled number (indicating the total number of time entries), as shown in Figure 3a.
b. Select the appropriate entry from the list, as shown in Figure 3b.

Figures 3a and 3b. Selecting time entry increments. Source: Timer. toggl.com, n.d. Authors screenshot.

2. Click either the time range or the time total on the line for the increment to be changed, as shown in Figure
4a, to open the adjustment dropdown, as shown in Figure 4b.

Figures 4a and 4b. Adjusting time-entry increments. Source: Timer. toggl.com, n.d. Authors screenshot.

3. Click the Start or Stop time and adjust as necessary.


or
Click the total time in the upper right corner and adjust as necessary.
4. Adjust the date using the calendar (if required).
5. Click anywhere on the screen outside the dropdown or press Enter to save the adjustments.

Using the Dashboard


The dashboard gives you an overall view of the projects you have worked on and the amount of time you spent on
each one. Using the dashboard is a quick, easy way to understand how your time is being allocated. The dashboard
can be configured to display tracked times for:

Today
Yesterday

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This week
Last week
This month
Last month
Year to date
Last year

To use the dashboard:

1. Select the time period you wish to view from the selector, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Configuring the dashboard time period. Source: Dashboard. toggl.com, n.d. Authors
screenshot.

2. Review the work-time totals, project-time totals, and the most-tracked tasks.

Caution:
Clicking on any project displayed in Most tracked will start the timer for that project.

3. Optionally, click Compare with previous period to add the last available set of project times for
comparison against the current period.

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