RescueTime Keyboard Shortcuts
RescueTime's whole premise is that you shouldn't have to remember to start a timer at all — it runs passively in the background, tracking which applications and websites have focus and categorizing your time automatically — which means its keyboard shortcut set is genuinely minimal compared to tools like Toggl or Harvest that revolve around manual timer control. The one meaningfully interactive shortcut most users actually rely on is triggering Focus Session mode, which cuts off access to whatever sites and apps you've flagged as distracting for a fixed stretch of time, marking the one moment RescueTime shifts from passive observer to active intervention. Beyond that, nearly all of RescueTime's real interaction happens in its web dashboard reviewing categorized time data after the fact rather than through the desktop tracking app itself, so most of what would be 'shortcuts' in a more interactive tool are instead just standard browser navigation applied to viewing reports and setting goals. Alerts, which notify you in real time once you've spent a set amount of time in a specific category on a given day, function as a lighter-weight companion to full Focus Sessions — rather than blocking anything, an alert just surfaces a notification so you're aware you've crossed a self-set threshold, leaving the decision of what to do about it entirely up to you. RescueTime's premium tier adds detailed historical reporting and more granular categorization control, while the free tier still captures the same underlying background tracking data, meaning the core passive-tracking value proposition isn't gated behind payment the way some of the deeper analysis and reporting features are. Manually logging offline time and permanently blocking specific distracting sites both acknowledge the real limits of a purely automatic tool — RescueTime can't see what happens away from a screen at all, and some sites genuinely have no legitimate place in work time regardless of context, which is why a permanent block list exists as a stricter alternative to the timed, temporary restriction a Focus Session applies.
Focus Sessions
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start a Focus Session | Menu bar/tray icon > Start Focus Session (no default global hotkey) | Menu bar icon > Start Focus Session | Begins a timed distraction-blocking session that restricts access to sites and apps categorized as distracting, the single most actively 'used' feature in an otherwise passive background tool. |
| End Focus Session early | Menu bar/tray icon > End Session | — | Manually ends an active Focus Session before its scheduled time expires, unblocking restricted sites and apps immediately. |
| Extend current Focus Session | Menu bar/tray icon > Add time | — | Adds additional time to an already-running Focus Session without needing to end and restart a new one, useful when a deep-work block is going well and you want to keep the distraction blocking active longer. |
| Permanently block a specific site or app | Dashboard > FocusTime settings > Blocked list | — | Adds a specific site or application to a permanently blocked list rather than only during timed Focus Sessions, for something you've decided has no legitimate place in your work time at all. |
Dashboard Navigation
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open web dashboard | Browser bookmark/tray icon link | — | Opens RescueTime's web-based dashboard in your browser, where the bulk of time review, goal-setting, and reporting actually happens rather than within the lightweight background tracking app itself. |
| Create a time-based alert | Dashboard > Alerts > New Alert | — | Sets up a notification that fires once you've spent a defined amount of time in a chosen category on a given day, a lighter-weight alternative to a full blocking Focus Session. |
| View weekly summary report | Dashboard > Reports > Weekly | — | Opens an aggregated weekly view of tracked time across categories, useful for spotting longer-term patterns that a single day's data wouldn't reveal. |
| Manually log offline time | Dashboard > Log Time (paid plans, no keyboard shortcut) | — | Manually adds a block of time spent on an offline activity to your tracked data, supplementing the automatic digital tracking with activities RescueTime can't detect on its own, like an in-person meeting or a workout. |
| View daily Productivity Pulse score | Dashboard homepage (no keyboard shortcut) | — | Shows a single aggregated score summarizing how productive your day has been so far based on time spent in categorized activities, weighted by each category's assigned productivity level, a quick-glance summary rather than a detailed breakdown. |
Categorization
| Action | Windows | Mac | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recategorize a tracked activity | Dashboard > click activity > change category | — | Manually reassigns which productivity category (e.g. 'Very Productive' vs 'Distracting') an application or website falls under, correcting RescueTime's automatic default classification for your specific work context. |
| Set a productivity goal | Dashboard > Goals > New Goal | — | Creates a target for time spent in a specific category or application per day, which RescueTime then tracks progress against and can notify you about. |
| Create a custom category | Dashboard > Categories > New Category | — | Adds a new custom productivity category beyond RescueTime's defaults, letting you classify a specific set of tools or sites in a way that better matches your particular work context. |
Frequently Asked Questions
RescueTime's shortcut list feels sparse next to a manual time tracker like Toggl — what accounts for that gap?
RescueTime's core design is automatic and passive — it tracks application and website focus in the background without requiring you to start or stop anything — so there's fundamentally less interactive functionality that would need dedicated keyboard shortcuts. Most user interaction happens in the web dashboard reviewing already-collected data rather than controlling an active tracking session.
Does a Focus Session block distracting sites completely, or just warn me?
Depending on configuration, Focus Sessions can either fully block access to designated distracting sites/apps at the OS or browser level, or simply log the attempt and show a reminder, with the stricter blocking behavior typically requiring the appropriate browser extension or desktop app permissions to be granted.
How accurate is RescueTime's automatic categorization of new or unusual applications?
RescueTime maintains a large default database mapping known applications and websites to productivity categories, but new, obscure, or ambiguous tools (like a general-purpose browser tab that could be work or leisure depending on content) often get a default or uncategorized classification that benefits from manual correction to reflect your actual usage context accurately.
What's the difference between an Alert and a Focus Session?
An Alert simply notifies you once you've crossed a self-set time threshold in a category on a given day, without restricting anything — it's informational. A Focus Session actively blocks access to designated distracting sites and apps for a set period, making it a more forceful intervention rather than just a passive notification.
Is the core background time-tracking feature free, or is that gated behind a paid tier?
The core passive tracking (categorizing application and website focus time automatically) is available on RescueTime's free tier; the premium tier primarily adds deeper historical reporting, more granular categorization control, and some additional features layered on top of that same underlying tracked data rather than gating basic tracking itself.
Can I create categories tailored to my specific job instead of relying on RescueTime's defaults?
Yes, custom categories can be created and specific applications or websites reassigned into them, which is particularly useful for niche professional tools that RescueTime's default database might not classify accurately (or at all) out of the box.
Can RescueTime track time spent in offline activities, not just apps and websites?
RescueTime's core automatic tracking is limited to digital activity on the device it's installed on; some plans support manually logging offline time through a separate entry method, but it doesn't passively detect offline activities the way it automatically detects application and website focus.
What is the Productivity Pulse score, and how is it calculated?
Productivity Pulse is a single aggregated score, refreshed throughout the day, summarizing how your tracked time so far balances across categories weighted by their assigned productivity level (from Very Distracting to Very Productive), giving a quick at-a-glance sense of how the day is trending without needing to open a detailed category breakdown report.