Monitor Your Time and Productivity with FruitfulTime

Don't tell my bosses, but it turns out I spend a decent chunk of the day surfing non-work-related Web sites. In my defense, that's after my work is done, but it's still an eye-opener.

I came to this realization by way of FruitfulTime ProductivityMeter, a free tool that provides real-time activity reports. It sits quietly in the System Tray, then tells you how much time you've been idle versus active. It shows you how your time's been distributed, what applications you use most, what sites you visit most (and for how long), and so on.

FruitfulTime can also generate timesheets, great for folks who bill by the hour, though this requires you to register the product for $49.99. (You get to try the timesheet feature for the first 30 days, after which you can still use all of FruitfulTime's other reporting capabilities.)

Fear not, slackers: This is more of a personal monitoring tool, not a spying device for bosses to secretly install on your machine. It's easy to use (except for the confusing tag-management feature), and it can help you determine where and how you're spending your time -- always a good thing for those mindful of their overall productivity.

Oh, by the way, I was kidding about the non-work-related Web sites. I'm all business, all the time, boss. You can't prove otherwise!