Why idle time tracking matters
Automatically detect inactivity, classify away periods, and include away-time context in reporting.
No away periods go unaccounted
Every time you leave your desk, ManicTime marks the gap automatically. Nothing is silently dropped from your timeline — away time appears clearly and can be reviewed later.
Classify meetings, calls and breaks
When you return, ManicTime can prompt you to specify what you were doing. This recovers context — like a client call or an internal meeting — that would otherwise be lost.
Accurate attendance and billing data
Timesheets reflect real work time, not just time with a screen unlocked. This matters for billing accuracy, attendance tracking, and overtime calculations.
Configurable to your team's work style
Idle detection thresholds can be tuned per role or environment, reducing false positives while still catching meaningful away periods.
How this feature works in 3 simple steps
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Step 1
Install and connect
Install ManicTime and connect your workspace in minutes, without complicated setup.
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Step 2
Automatic activity capture
ManicTime records apps, websites, documents, and activity timelines automatically in the background.
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Step 3
Review, assign, and report
Review captured work, assign time to projects, and generate reports or invoices with confidence.
Automatic away-time segmentation
ManicTime marks inactive periods automatically so your timeline reflects both on-screen and off-screen work patterns. These segments appear clearly and can be reviewed later for accurate reconstruction of the day. The result is fewer blind spots in productivity and reporting analysis.
Away-time prompt and reclassification
After inactivity, users can classify what happened during away periods, such as meetings, calls, or breaks. This keeps reports accurate while reducing the need to remember details at the end of the day. It is a practical way to recover otherwise lost billable and non-billable context.
Idle threshold and sensitivity controls
Tune inactivity detection thresholds to match different work styles, roles, and hardware usage patterns. Fine-grained controls reduce false positives while still identifying meaningful away-time segments. Teams get more reliable data without creating extra friction for users.
Related features
Automatic Time Tracking
Automatically records apps, websites, and documents without manual timers.
Learn more
Privacy Control
Control what ManicTime records, when it records, and what data is shared with your server.
Learn more
Work Time and Overtime Tracking
Track required presence, overtime, and attendance signals using configurable work-time calculation rules.
Learn more
Who benefits from this feature?
The biggest impact usually appears across these user groups.
Individual users
Track your own work time privately with zero effort — no account, no server, no manual timers required.
Learn more
Remote Teams
Give distributed teams shared visibility into work patterns without constant check-ins or status meetings.
Learn more
Managers
Get reliable time data for resource planning, project profitability, and team workload reviews.
Learn more
FAQ
How does ManicTime detect idle time?
Can I classify what I was doing during an idle period?
Does idle time affect my reported work hours?
Can I adjust the idle detection threshold?
Is idle time visible to managers?
Our customer opinions
This software automatically tracks the time you spend on your computer. When you step away from your computer for a certain length of time (set by user), it will prompt you to tag that time. For example, if I'm getting coffee and have a 20 minute chat about the weekend, I tag it as personal. But if I have a chat about an upcoming or existing project, I tag it about that project. For the tasks you do on the computer, it can save screenshots every X seconds (again, set by user), so that you can have a reminder when you go to do your billing what each task was for.
I like this application because with manic time we can verify who does their right job. And we also have better control because we can choose the best workers to increase production works very well and without errors.
Just wanted to let you know that I think your software has helped me capture $1000's of dollars in revenue that I just wasn't billing before, as I wasn't doing a very good job of tracking my time. With ManicTime I get it all, and if I were ever to be audited by a client, I could give them every detail. Thanks so much!
I like that it tracks inactive time on the computer so that you can remember when you started working and when you stopped, and when you took breaks. Very easy to use, I don't have to remember to log in and the app does everything for me without me even doing anything except installing the program. It shows exactly what page and project you were working on and for how long and when.
There is a lot to love about Manic Time. It was easy to use and did way more than I was expecting from it. The reporting was informative. The editing was awesome. Tagging and managing the time tracked is robust, yet simple. It is great at taking the tracking out of time tracking. It just does 90% for you. The last 10% is tagging and validating. It really does an amazing job at showing how much time is wasted on mundane tasks or mindless browsing. I handed in my time to a project manager. He asked how I knew I worked 3.28 hours on a specific task. "Manic Time" was my answer.
Just renewed my licence for another year Just thought I'd let you know that this is one of the best pieces of software I've ever installed on my computer, free or paid for. I run my own business which principally relies on writing technical reports. ManicTime has made it so much easier to track my time over the various projects and therefore manage my fees and costs. (And your support has been excellent when I have had the odd problem).
ManicTime’s ease of use is unmatched, thanks to its intuitive interface and flexible granularity in time-tracking. The power to dive as deep as you need into data with comprehensive tagging and reporting systems is a significant upside. Its vast number of features like document, application, and activity trackers streamline the process of managing and analyzing time efficiently. Moreover, ManicTime’s advanced search capabilities, coupled with the functionality to annotate tagged time, make it a vital tool for enhancing productivity and recalling information during discussions.
Dr Steve Day (podcast)
Time tracking and its importance in business operations are discussed in this episode. Dr. Steve Day shares update on their time tracking policies, including the use of new apps and tools such as ManicTime, particularly focusing on the implementation of screenshot tracking.
Listen now
I do contract work and manage multiple projects where I bounce between projects on an almost by the minute basis. Once tagging is setup I can easily tag all my activities as I do them and my time accumulates in each project bucket. At the end of the day my timesheet is a breeze. This is the best tool I have found so far for a work style that involves heavy duty multi-tasking. I don't know what I would do without ManicTime. Well designed and thought out product.
The interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The ability to tag and color-code my work allows me to see at a glance how my day has been going. I can organize and structure things as much or as little as I like. What a great product!
It provides with useful reports which track and monitor the computer usage of employees, as well as the time spent on each computer program or application. Also the presence of an automatic screenshot feature resulted in an increase in my employees’ productivity. It runs automatically on my computer, great.
Track away time accurately — without extra effort
ManicTime detects idle and away periods automatically so your timesheets reflect what actually happened, not just what was on screen.