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One Tap Less | RescueTime for Statusboard

RescueTime for Statusboard


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RescueTime is a web service that tracks what you do and calculates your productivity according to the sites you visit and applications you use. It’s my own private spy that pats on my back on a good day and points out the time sinkers in my day otherwise.

Yes, it sounds risky to let any application track that kind of data from you, specially one that works on a web layer. If you prefer a local alternative on the Mac you may like Timing or TimeSink, but then you’d miss the Windows support1, the API we’re going to use today and the price tag: RescueTime is free2.

Build RescueTime for Statusboard

Guides you in the building of the RescueTime panel. Just follow the steps in the first action and you'll be fine.

Get Workflow

The receiving end of our application is Statusboard, the dashboard app for iPad from Panic. The app has 6 panels for free, but our workflow requires you to purchase the IAP (currently $9.99).

I built a workflow to help you set up the panel, it will open the page to create a new API key in Safari. Look for the following form and fill the reference label (leave the Allow queries from empty).

Fill the form to create an API key.
Create an API key, copy it and return to Workflow.

Tap the Activate this key button and you’ll go to a page stating that your key is active. Copy the key and tap the Back to Workflow button that is supposed to be in your top-left corner if you’re on iOS 9. You’ll go to Statusboard and be asked to position the panel.

If you see this popup in Statusboard, the action worked.
Position your panel and you’re done.

Place the panel wherever you like it and enjoy! The app was built on Heroku and the graph is made with Chart.js. I’m very interested in building more of these, so if you have any panel you want to implement in Statusboard, like this one with RescueTime, reach me out on Twitter.

  1. I use Windows at work. ↩

  2. There’s a Premium plan with more resources, so you’re not the product. ↩