Monitor Time Usage in Ubuntu

[Aqil]

My computer serves as my main working tool, but also as an entertainment machine, telephone and more. If I'm home, I'm probably at the computer.

Therefore, I'd like very much to keep track of how I use my time at the computer. Is there any software that can help me do this? I'm not sure what the most practical solution would be, but I could imagine logging something of the following.

- Keystroke logger.
- Which programs are open at a given point? Save metadata periodically.
- Which website is open at a given time? Log periodically.
- Print Screen periodically and save as image.
- Is the computer on?
- Is the computer in energy saving mode?

Periodically could perhaps mean every five minutes.

I managed to extract some sqlite3 data from Chromium history but what I've seen so far it's not as detailed as I hoped for. It only has date/time for the last visit to a website that you visited several times, correct me if I'm wrong. I might also try the same on Skype.

Ideally, I'd like the data in .csv format or something similar, so that I easily can make statistical analysis and pretty graphs of how my time is spend.

Let the creativity flow. Do you have any good ideas?

[Aqil]

I should have searched more before asking. Found a little program called arbtt (for Automatic Rule Based Time Tracker) which seems awesome. I installed it through Ubuntu Software Center, but I think I'm gonna need some help to get through the setting up process, which ironically seems to take a lot of time.

Reading this guide but I'm not getting the hang of it: http://darcs.nomeata.de/arbtt/doc/users_guide/

I opened the terminal and wrote as follows:

aqil@Computer:~$ arbtt-capture
Why no respons?



^[
^[
^[
^[
what?
help
wtf?
arbtt-capture.desktop
arbtt-stats
^C
aqil@Computer:~$

I don't know what happened, if anything? I searched for arbtt in the dash, and got nothing. How do I get this thing starting? And if the arbtt-capture.desktop file isn't there, how can I copy it to ~/.config/autostart/ like the guide advises?

Sorry for being so amateurish, but I gotta learn this stuff sometime, and sometime is hopefully now. I'm sure this is trivial to you.

[majordread]

If you set up a Conky file, which there are many posts for in these forums, you can have it show your system uptime. I have it set on mine as you can see about half way down in the screen shot :

[squilookle]

Also KTimeTracker if you want/don't mind something that is integrated with KDE.

[jim_deadlock]

How about the Hamster Time Tracker hamster-applet

[Aqil]

Conky seems like a cool thing to have, but I'm not so sure it's what I'm looking for. Does it log system uptime into a .csv file for me to watch it retroactively? I have little use for seeing it in real time.

KTimeTracker seems good because it apparently has a function that automatically changes the activity when you change the active application. So I tried downloading it from the Software center. But when I open it from the Dash it just gives me Error: Could not create the KTimeTracker part, probably because I use gnome and not KDE. I don't mind changing if that doesn't come with any negative side effects. I'll look into it.

Hamster Time Tracker seems to be popular, but requires you to type in your activity whenever you change it, and that takes to much time and effort.

I really need something that logs time usage automatically. I have enough to think about without having to keep in mind all the time that I need to log whatever I'm doing. Also, what people say and what they do is not always the same, and I would be naive to think that doesn't apply to myself.

I'd especially appreciate any further help on arbtt or KTimeTracker.

Thank You!