Show how productive you are to NOT RTO.

RTO- I thought I’d share. Depending on your company of course. When asked to RTO a few days a week I basically wrote out a list of reasons why I am more productive at home. In fact, I showed how I work, what I use to be productive and can basically do all my work in 4 days, instead of 5.

Which is what I wanted! Now I work 4 days a week, and have a three day weekend and I don’t have to go into the office. It actually Saves the company money. Just a thought if you are upset about returning to the office. A work proposal that you could spin might help. Here is my list that might help you with your set up to show your boss.

Top 5 tracking and productivity tools I’ve Tried: Jibble, Notion, Google Calendar, RescueTime & Harvest

1. Jibble

Pros:

•	Really easy to get started, no learning curve

•	Good if you’re tracking work hours or a team

•	Free version is surprisingly decent

•	Has things like GPS and facial recognition if you need it

Cons:

•	Feels a bit basic compared to others

•	Reports could be more detailed

2. Notion

Pros:

•	Super flexible — you can basically build your own system

•	Nice having tasks, notes, and time tracking all in one place

•	Lots of templates out there if you don’t want to start from scratch

Cons:

•	Takes time to set up properly

•	Not really a “true” time tracker

•	Can get overwhelming fast if you overbuild it

3. Google Calendar

Pros:

•	Great for time blocking (this is what I mainly use it for)

•	Helps you actually see where your day is going

•	Syncs everywhere, which is nice

•	Works well with other Google stuff

Cons:

•	More planning than tracking

•	You have to stay consistent with it

•	No automatic tracking or real analytics

4. RescueTime

Pros:

•	Runs in the background and tracks everything automatically

•	Eye-opening to see how much time you actually waste

•	Good breakdown of productive vs distracting time

Cons:

•	Can feel a bit invasive

•	Not great if you like manually tracking specific tasks

5. Harvest

Pros:

•	Really good if you bill clients

•	Clean and simple to use

•	Integrates with a lot of other tools

Cons:

•	Free version is limited

•	Probably overkill if you just want basic tracking

Final thoughts:

Honestly, I’ve found that no single app does everything perfectly. I end up using a mix — Google Calendar for planning, and then something like Jibble or RescueTime depending on what I need that week.

Curious what other people are using — always looking to try something better.