Creating Automations

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Creating automations

How automations differ from goals Creating an automation Automation fields in detail Time filters

Managing automations

Examples

Automations fire a real-time notification and can trigger an action the moment a time threshold is crossed. Unlike goals, they aren't about tracking long-term progress; they're about getting an immediate nudge when you've spent too much (or enough) time on an activity.

Automations are a Solo Focus and Solo+ feature. Go to Goals & Automations → Automations tab to create and manage standalone automations. You can also attach an automation directly to a goal (See Using Goals).

Creating automations

How automations differ from goals

Goals and automations both track your time against a threshold, but they serve different purposes. A goal can now have automations attached to it, so the actions below are available on a goal too; the difference is in how each one is built and what it shows you:

	Goals	Automations
Shown on the Dashboard	✓	✗
Fires a real-time notification	Optional	Required
Can trigger a Focus Session	✓	✓
Can open a website when triggered	✓	✓
Can show a custom message	✓	✓
Can repeat multiple times per day	✗	✓

Use goals when you want to track a habit over time and see it in your reports, adding an automation to the goal if you also want it to act. Use a standalone automation when there is no progress worth tracking, and you want to be interrupted in the moment, or when you need it to fire more than once a day.

Creating an automation

Click + New Automation on the Automations tab. The form is split into When (the threshold that sets it off) and Then (what happens once it does).

Automation fields in detail

When I spend

Set the time threshold in hours and minutes, choose which activity or category to watch, and set the timeframe. The automation fires once that amount of time has accumulated on the specified activity within the timeframe.

The activity dropdown works the same as in goals. You can target a productivity level, any category or sub-category, a specific app or website, or total logged time.

Notify me on

Choose Desktop, Email, or both. At least one must be selected for the automation to fire.

Desktop is required if you want the automation to trigger a Focus Session or open a webpage. Email-only automations will not support those actions. For desktop notifications to appear, RescueTime notifications must also be enabled in your OS settings. See Enabling Notifications.

Will trigger _ times per day

Controls how many times the automation can fire in a single day. Set to 1 to fire once and stop. Set higher to fire every time the threshold is crossed again. This is useful for cumulative limits where you want a nudge each time you add another increment. For example, an automation set to fire after every 30 minutes of social media would need this set to however many times you want to be notified.

Start a Focus Session

When enabled, this automatically starts a Focus Session the moment the automation fires. Set a session duration from the blocking dropdown. This is the most direct way to enforce a limit. Instead of just notifying you, RescueTime immediately starts blocking distractions. Requires desktop notifications to be enabled.

saying

An optional message can be displayed in the notification when the automation fires. Enter it in the saying field beneath the notification checkboxes. Use it for a personal reminder, a motivational prompt, or a specific instruction, whatever you want to see in that moment.

Open a web page

Optionally enter a URL to open automatically in your browser when the automation fires. Useful for redirecting yourself to your task list, a productivity resource, or a specific tool the moment a threshold is hit. Requires desktop notifications.

Start a Focus Session and Open a web page are not mutually exclusive. You can use both on the same automation.

Time filters

Like goals, automations support custom Time Filters in the during dropdown. A time filter scopes the automation to specific days of the week, specific hours, or a combination, so it only watches for the threshold during the windows where that behavior actually matters.

Create and manage time filters at Account Settings → Work Schedule → Time Filters. Once created, they appear by name in the during dropdown on any automation or goal.

Time Filters settings section showing three current filters: Sat-Sun, Morning, and Afternoon, each with edit and delete links, and an Add Time Filter link at the bottom

💡 Time filters are shared between goals and automations. One filter can be applied to many goals and automations at once. See Using Goals for details on creating and editing filters.

Managing automations

Automation cards and actions

Each automation in the Automations tab shows its current configuration at a glance: threshold, activity, timeframe, how many times it was triggered that day, and any action attached. There is no way to disable or pause an automation without deleting it. The same form used to create an automation is used to edit it.

The icons on the right of each automation card:

Edit icon (pencil): Opens the automation form to change any setting
Delete icon (trash): Permanently removes the automation

Examples

Automation ideas to get you started

Hard distraction limit

Spend 30 minutes on Personal/Distracting during Work Hours, triggering 1 time per day, starting a Focus Session blocking for 30 minutes. Fires once and immediately enforces a session, no willpower required.

Email time limit

Spend 1 hour on Communication & Scheduling during Work Hours; desktop notification saying something like "You've hit your email limit, time to close your inbox." Set it to trigger 2 times per day if you want a second warning later on.

Focus Work milestone

Spend 3 hours on Focus Work during Work Hours; desktop notification with a message that celebrates the milestone. Use this as a positive reinforcement rather than a limit, something to look forward to hitting each day.

End-of-work redirect

Spend 8 hours of total logged time during Work Hours, opening a web page (a task manager or a daily winddown routine). A cue to wrap up and close out the day intentionally rather than just drifting past your end time.

Weekend overwork warning

Spend 2 hours of total logged time, using a "Saturday and Sunday" time filter. A gentle signal that you're spending more of your weekend on work than you intended.