PrimeTime

PrimeTime is where you control how PrimeTask handles your time. Everyone gets to decide what happens to a running timer when you step away or lock the app, so your tracked time reflects real work rather than wall-clock time. On Pro, PrimeTask can also capture your working time automatically, let you review and assign it in the Time Inbox, and roll everything up into a single space-wide timesheet.

It works alongside the start-and-stop timer you already have on every task. The timer is for time you control yourself. PrimeTime adds smarter idle handling on top of it, and on Pro, automatic capture and a space-wide view for when you would rather not babysit a clock. See Task Time Tracking for the timer itself.

What's included

The idle and lock settings work on every PrimeTask license. Automatic capture, the Time Inbox, and the space-wide timesheet are part of the Pro tier. To use the Pro parts, upgrade from License Settings.

What you can do

Decide how idle time counts

so a running timer can count the gap as worked, ask you when you return, or leave it out automatically.

Pause a timer while the app is locked

so locked time is never counted.

Capture your time automatically

so PrimeTask notices when you are working and turns it into time you can assign later.

Review and assign in the Time Inbox

by describing each piece of captured time and attaching it to the right task.

Create a new task from captured time

so a single session, a group of sessions, or a task added inside the Assign picker can start with that time already attached.

See a space-wide timesheet

with every bit of tracked time across the Space in one place.

Choose how long to keep captured time

so it stays anywhere from a week up to indefinitely.

How to open PrimeTime

Settings: open Settings → PrimeTime.
Settings search: search for PrimeTime, idle, or time tracking.

The idle and lock options are available to everyone under Time Tracking. Automatic capture lives under Auto Capture and is part of Pro.

Idle and lock handling

When a timer is running and you step away or lock the app, PrimeTime decides what happens to that time. These settings are available on every license and apply to the task timer.

When you go idle, choose one of:

Count it - the time keeps counting even while you are away. Best if you often think away from the keyboard and still want that time tracked.
Ask me - when you come back, PrimeTask asks whether to keep the away time or leave it out, so you decide case by case.
Leave it out - away time is dropped automatically, so the timer only ever reflects time at the computer.

Idle threshold sets how long with no activity counts as stepping away, from a few minutes up to half an hour. A shorter setting reacts quickly; a longer one rides out brief pauses. It applies when you have chosen Ask me or Leave it out.

Pause when the app is locked stops a running timer while the lock screen is up, so time spent locked is left out. Unlock and the timer picks up where it left off.

Match it to how you work

If you think at a whiteboard or take calls away from your desk, Count it or a longer threshold keeps that time. If you want a timer to reflect only hands-on time, Leave it out with a short threshold is the cleaner choice.

Automatic time capture

Switch on Auto Activity Tracking under Auto Capture and PrimeTask watches for when you are at your computer working versus away, then collects your working time into sessions you can assign later.

Capture runs across every Space

Auto Activity Tracking is one switch that runs no matter which Space you are in. Your captured time is a single pool you draw from, and assigning a piece to a task lands it in whichever Space that task belongs to.

What capture can and cannot see

Automatic capture only ever notices whether you are active or away. It never looks at which apps, files, or websites you use, never reads your screen, and never takes screenshots. Captured time is private to you and is not shared with anyone else, even in a shared Space, until you choose to assign it to a task.

A couple of settings let you tune it:

Idle threshold - how long a gap has to be before PrimeTask treats it as a break and starts a new session, from a couple of minutes up to a quarter of an hour. A shorter setting splits your day more finely; a longer one keeps related work together.
Keep captured time for - how long PrimeTask holds on to captured time you have not assigned yet, from a week up to keeping it indefinitely. Anything older drops off on its own.

While capture is running, quick controls let you save the current session so you can assign it while capture keeps going, pause for a quick detour and resume with your tracked time intact, or turn capture off entirely, which PrimeTask asks you to confirm first.

You can also keep a live counter in the app header so you always know capture is running, in every Space. Click it to open the Time Inbox and manage the session in progress. Turn the counter off under Auto Capture if you would rather not see it while leaving capture on.

PrimeTask also steps aside on its own while you track time another way. With Pause while tracking elsewhere on, starting a task timer or a Focus session pauses capture so the same minutes are not counted twice, then resumes when you stop. Turn it off if you would rather capture always run.

As you work, you can jot quick notes about what you are doing, and each is saved with the time it was made. When you assign that time to a task, your notes travel with it and appear with the task's other time notes, where you can turn any of them into a subtask.

Turn a passing thought into a subtask

Jot ideas, blockers, and next steps as they come up. When you assign the time, each note is one click from becoming a real subtask, so nothing gets lost.

The Time Inbox

Captured time waits for you in the Time Inbox until you decide what it belongs to. Open it from the Time tab in Reports, or from the live counter in the app header so it is reachable from any Space.

In the Time Inbox you can:

Describe a session by giving each piece of captured time a short note so you remember what it was.
Assign it to a task, and the time becomes a normal tracked entry on that task. Assign a single session, or select several and assign them all to the same task at once.
Create a new task from captured time by clicking New Task on a block, selecting several blocks and using New Task in the bulk bar, or picking + Create new task at the top of the Assign picker to name a task and set its status and priority without leaving the picker. The captured time is attached once you save.
Sort your day at a glance, with captured time grouped by time of day (Morning, Noon, Afternoon, Evening, and Night). Each group shows its time span, session count, and total, and you can step back through earlier days.
Find a session fast with the search box, by a word from its note, a part of the day, or a clock time.
Tidy up by removing anything you do not need, with a quick undo if you change your mind.

Once you assign a session it behaves exactly like any other tracked time: it shows on the task and counts towards the space-wide timesheet.

The space-wide timesheet

Everything tracked across the Space, including timer sessions, focus time, and the time you assign from the Time Inbox, rolls up into the Time tab in Reports. It is a read-only view for seeing where your hours went, and you can filter it and export it as a CSV. See Time Report.

Things worth knowing

Idle and lock settings apply to a running timer

These settings shape what a running timer does when you go idle or lock the app. They do not change time you have already recorded, and they are available on every license.

Only active time is captured

Automatic capture records time when you are actually at your computer working. If you walk away, nothing is collected for that stretch, so captured time reflects real working time rather than wall-clock time.

Your captured time is private until you assign it

The time PrimeTask captures automatically is yours. It is not shared with anyone else, even in a shared Space. It becomes shared, trackable time only once you assign it to a task.

Your free timer is unaffected

The start-and-stop timer on tasks is available on every license. PrimeTime adds idle handling on top of it, and on Pro, automatic capture and the space-wide timesheet. See Task Time Tracking.

Clearing captured time cannot be undone

The Clear captured time action removes all the captured time you have not assigned yet. Time you have already assigned to tasks is not affected, but unassigned captured time is gone for good once cleared.

Common questions

"Does the idle setting cost anything?"

No. Choosing how a running timer handles idle time and lock is available on every PrimeTask license. Automatic capture, the Time Inbox, and the space-wide timesheet are the Pro parts.

"Does PrimeTime watch what I am doing?"

No. Automatic capture only notices whether you are active or away. It never sees which apps, files, or websites you use, and your captured time is private to you until you assign it.

"Will it record time when I step away?"

That is up to you. For a running timer, pick Count it, Ask me, or Leave it out. For automatic capture, only time at the computer is collected, so breaks are left out.

"Is this the same as the timer on my tasks?"

No. The per-task timer is the one you start and stop yourself, on every license. PrimeTime adds idle handling for it, and on Pro, captures time automatically and rolls everything into a space-wide timesheet.

"Can other people in a shared Space see my captured time?"

Not until you assign it. Captured time is private to you. Once you assign it to a task it becomes tracked time on that task, like any other.

Where to go next

If you want to…	Read this
Use the start-and-stop timer on a task	Task Time Tracking
Track focused work sessions	Task Focus Mode
See the space-wide timesheet	Time Report
Upgrade to Pro	License Settings