Getting Started with RescueTime Timesheets

Getting started with RescueTime timesheets

RescueTime Timesheets helps you turn your daily activity into organized, accurate time records, without having to track everything manually.

Instead of starting from scratch, your timeline is automatically filled with your activity. From there, you assign that time to projects, review suggestions, and finalize your day.

Step 1: Create your projects

Before you can use Timesheets, you’ll need to create your projects.

1. Go to Timesheets
2. Click New Project
3. Enter a project name
4. (Optional) Assign it to a client
5. (Optional) Set it as billable and add a rate

Add hints for better suggestions

When creating a project, you can add hints for autocompletion to help RescueTime learn faster.

• Use app names if you only use that app for one project (for example, Zoom for client calls)
• Use file names or keywords if you use the same app across multiple projects

The more specific your hints, the better RescueTime can suggest time automatically.

Step 2: Add time to your timeline

Your timeline is automatically populated with your activity throughout the day. You don’t need to manually start or stop timers.

To assign time to a project:

Option 1: Drag and drop

• Drag a project from the left sidebar onto your timeline

Option 2: Click to add time

• Click anywhere on the timeline
• Select a project in the modal that appears

You can adjust any time block by dragging its edges to expand or shrink it.

Step 3: Let RescueTime suggest time

RescueTime will automatically suggest timesheet entries based on your activity.

• If AI suggestions are enabled, suggestions begin on day one
• If using history-based suggestions, it may take about a week to learn your patterns
• The more you use Timesheets, the faster and more accurate suggestions become

Suggestions are based on:

• Your past project assignments
• The hints you added when creating projects
• Your activity patterns

Step 4: Review and finalize your day

At the end of the day, review your timesheet to make sure everything looks right.

You’ll see suggested entries that you can:

• Accept to add them to your timesheet
• Delete if they’re not correct
• Accept and edit if they are close but not quite right

Once everything looks good:

• Mark your day as Finalized

Finalizing your day means no more suggestions will be added, and your timesheet is locked in.

Step 5: (Optional) Track billable time

If you’re using Timesheets for freelance or client work, you can track billable hours.

• Set a billable rate at the project or client level
• Mark projects as billable when creating them
• Use reports to calculate totals and export data

This is optional, but useful if you invoice clients based on tracked time.

How suggestions are structured

RescueTime groups suggested time into blocks based on your settings.

• The minimum block size determines the smallest chunk of time suggested
• The default is 15 minutes, but it can be as low as 5 minutes
• You can always adjust blocks manually on the timeline

Tips for best results

• Create projects before assigning time—RescueTime can’t suggest what doesn’t exist
• Add hints to projects to speed up learning
• Review your timesheet daily to improve future suggestions
• Don’t worry about perfection at first; the system improves as you use it
• Drag and drop project blocks to quickly organize your day, then refine as needed

Summary

Timesheets work best when you follow a simple rhythm:

1. Create your projects
2. Assign time on your timeline
3. Let RescueTime suggest additional entries
4. Review and finalize your day

Over time, RescueTime does more of the work for you, learning your patterns and filling in the gaps so you don’t have to.

For more details on how to use RescueTime Timesheets, learn more here. Or check out the how-to videos on our YouTube channel.