RescueTime woes

Edit: I forgot I could just delete the goal since it’s less than a week old. I’ll figure out Rescue Time separately.

Hi, I set a new(ish) goal to spend a certain amount of time on a particular website. I thought I could use Rescue Time by assigning that site to a subcategory and telling Beeminder to import that subcategory’s data.

I don’t think the problem is nor with the integration but with Rescue Time. I can spend 45 minutes on the site and it will still say I spent 6 minutes. Maybe it’s looking for active scrolling? Since I am watching educational videos, then, it’s not recognizing what I’m doing.

Two questions:

  1. Do you think I’m correct in thinking Rescue Time doesn’t recognize passive watching? That would be understandable.
  2. Should I cancel this goal and explain why I derailed when I do? Is that the best way to get out of this situation?
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Do you know if you are using “RescueTime classic” or “the new RescueTime”?

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Classic.

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Just edited the post. I’ll work on my RescueTime skills, but for now I have deleted the goal.

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I’d guess that if you’re not active (typing/moving cursor) then it’s counting that as idle time, even if there’s a video playing. :thinking: But you might be able to get more info from their support team – sometimes RescueTime can be a bit of a black box and we don’t always know the ins and outs of how it works, unfortunately.

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I am not a RescueTime expert, but I used to know a good amount. Classic mode definitely has a “are you in front of your computer” based on input peripheral changes, like mouse and keyboard. The new mode is different.

I’d actually ask them how you can track video watching, and they might be able to tell you that new mode should just do it automatically, or they may have some trick for you. (If you do, I’d love to get an update here too :slight_smile: )

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I’ll ask, although I suspect the answer is that I need a paid subscription. :wink:

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