Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips and Personal Productivity Tools

Minuteur is a fabulous, free timer for OS X that I rely on heavily. I use it if I don’t have my invisible clock handy or want to have a second timer running. It works well and has the polished feel of a well-designed OS X application. Here is a quick rundown of the features that make it far superior to other timers:

Customizable alarm. I don’t know about you, but I hate hearing the startling, classic alarm sound multiple times a day. So I switched my alarm to be the gentle, but distinct sound of the BBC pips.

Screen block. If you really want the end of the timer to grab your attention, Minuteur will black out the screen with a big ‘Time’s up’ message and turn off iTunes. That will certainly get your attention when your ten-minute Internet break is up.

Full Keyboard Control. For the keyboard command readers in the audience, Minuteur delivers. With a few quick keystrokes you can call up Minuteur, stop, start or reset the clock without breaking your stride.

Pleasing tick-tock sound. The stopwatch sounds of Minuteur is good background noise and a subtle reminder to keep working. But, if that’s the kind of thing that drives you crazy, you can easily disable it.

Rate Calculator for Freelancers. If your a freelancer (web-based or otherwise) this feature is a must. (This is the program I use during productivity coaching) Tell it the rate you charge per hour, and set it running. It will record the date, time, duration and total price for your billing time. It’s a cinch to pause and restart the clock and keep track of multiple clients.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use and powerful timer Minuteur is the application to try.

[You can download Minuteur from here]