AI‑powered time tracking that highlights value, not just hours.
Runs securely, observes opt‑in work signals, and drafts concise “value entries” you can confirm or quick‑add at day’s end.
- What the app does
- How this app is different — the value‑first shift
- Who this app is for / not for
- Day in the life
- Core concepts
- Examples of value‑first entries
- Privacy & security
- Roadmap
- Status
- Development setup
- License & contributing
- Auto‑suggests value entries. As you work, the app quietly reads the signals you choose to enable (calendar events, email threads, documents, commits—and in desktop mode, active apps/files). From those, it proposes draft entries that describe the outcome you delivered.
- End‑of‑day review. Instead of babysitting a stopwatch, you get a clean queue of suggestions. Skim, tweak, confirm the ones that reflect real value, and discard the rest.
- Value‑first summaries. Entries are short, client‑safe statements in past tense (≤45 words) that name the beneficiary and the impact (e.g., “Restored Finance VPN access; validated with test sign‑in; reduced downtime risk.”). Duration is captured, but secondary.
- Quick Add. Add your own value moments in seconds—great for ad‑hoc wins that signals might miss.
- Selective publish. Only confirmed entries are pushed to your time/ticketing/reporting systems.
TL;DR flow: Capture → Review → Publish — with value first, time second.
Most trackers are time‑first:
“I spent 3.5 hours on project X.”
This app is value‑first:
“Restored Finance team’s VPN access, reducing downtime risk.”
That’s a subtle but powerful mindset shift: from accounting for time spent → to accounting for value delivered.
Time is a cost; value is the outcome. When you optimize for outcomes:
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Unlimited upside.
Your daily output isn’t capped at 100% of a clock. One high‑leverage fix can produce more than 100% value—for example, minutes of work that unlock hours for a team, reduce risk, or prevent outages. -
Accountability through visibility.
Conversely, if you aren’t providing actual value, the tool will make that visible. It won’t generate drafts out of thin air—if no meaningful outcomes occurred, your queue will be empty. This keeps you honest with yourself and transparent with others.
- Consultants / MSPs / IT / Engineering who need client‑safe, outcome‑led notes.
- Leads & ICs who want weekly updates that show results, not just effort.
- Anyone who prefers a single end‑of‑day review instead of reconstructing the day from memory.
- If you just want to track time spent with a start/stop timer, a tool like Toggl or Harvest will suit you better.
- If you need payroll‑grade timesheets without narrative value, traditional timesheet systems are a better fit.
This app is for people who want software that is constantly hunting for the value they created and presenting it back for review—so the story of the day reflects outcomes, not just hours.
- Work normally. Enable only the signals you’re comfortable with (e.g., calendar + email + documents). The app quietly proposes drafts with sensible durations.
- Review once. At day’s end, open Today, skim the drafts, tighten wording if needed, confirm the true wins, and discard the rest.
- Publish. Send the confirmed entries to your time/ticketing/reporting systems. Start tomorrow with a clear queue.
You stay in control: nothing is published until you confirm it.
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Value Entry — a 1–2 sentence, plain‑language summary (≤45 words) in past tense that names the beneficiary and the outcome/impact.
Example: “Finance — restored VPN access after policy drift; validated with test sign‑in and device health; reduced downtime risk.” -
Signals — lightweight breadcrumbs (calendar invites, email threads, edited docs, commits, app/file focus) used to propose drafts. You choose which signals are enabled and what is shared.
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Statuses —
Draft → Confirmed → Published(orDiscarded). Drafts can be edited; published entries are read‑only. -
Quick Add — capture wins in seconds when inspiration strikes.
- “HR — standardized onboarding checklist; reduced setup time ~30%; validated with pilot for two new hires.”
- “Client Ops — remediated mailbox send failures by correcting SPF/DMARC; confirmed with test sends + Postmaster diagnostics.”
- “Product — clarified SSO rollout scope; aligned Security + IT on phased plan; unblocked sprint delivery.”
- User control first. You decide which signals are enabled and what gets published.
- AI optional (BYOK). Bring your own key if you want AI assists, or run with AI off for a local‑only experience.
- Local‑first mindset. Designed to run securely on your machine; no raw artifacts are shared without your say‑so.
- Redaction by default. PII and sensitive identifiers can be scrubbed from AI prompts and published entries.
- Manually type or paste what you did (task, email, resolution notes).
- Saved as a draft entry in your queue.
- Edit, tag, and categorize entries.
- End‑of‑day: confirm or discard.
This phase proves the value‑entry workflow (capture → edit → confirm) before integrations are implemented.
Early days. The goal is to reduce friction while raising the quality of time notes—centered on value delivered.
This app isn’t about counting hours. It’s about surfacing impact, keeping you accountable, and making the invisible value of your work visible.
- Copy the example environment file:
cp .env.example .env
- Build and start the containers:
docker compose up --build
- Verify the database is accepting connections:
docker compose exec db psql -U "$POSTGRES_USER" -d "$POSTGRES_DB" -c "\l"
- Stop the stack:
docker compose down
License: TBD
Contributing: If you want to help shape the value‑first approach—use cases, workflows, or examples of great entries—please open an issue or discussion.
Have a great example of a value‑first entry? Add it to an issue—real examples help sharpen the product.