# Measure the time I spend using Microsoft Word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2017, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462 "2017-09-04T08:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lriemann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@lriemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lriemann)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/1 "2017-09-04T08:02:59Z")
Hi all! I’m looking for a way to measure the time I spend using Microsoft Word. I need it to have an overview of how many hours I work per day. I installed a program called Timekeeper but it doesn’t seem to work… Anyone know a program that can measure the time? I’m using Microsoft Office 365 Business. Cheers, Ron ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/2 "2017-09-04T12:23:50Z")
In what way is Timekeeper not working? Seems like that thing (if it worked) would be the exact fit - have you contacted them for support? I can think of a way to log the open/close times of the winword.exe application to a text file, but it isn’t particularly elegant, and would not work if you opened Word by launching a document - only if you launched the program itself directly. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/3 "2017-09-04T14:30:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I can think of a way to log the open/close times of the winword.exe application to a text file, but it isn’t particularly elegant, and would not work if you opened Word by launching a document - only if you launched the program itself directly. If you are using Office 365 and using the web-based version of Word, that won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/4 "2017-09-04T14:40:49Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > If you are using Office 365 and using the web-based version of Word, that won’t work. Agreed - only on the locally-installed executable versions of the products (which you do get as part of a 365 subscription, and I think most people still use) ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/5 "2017-09-04T18:05:02Z")
[Here](http://lifehacker.com/5853163/the-best-time-tracking-app-for-windows) are a few time-tracking programs. (I don’t have experience with them.) [RescueTime](https://www.rescuetime.com/) seems nice. I used to take a more manual approach: I set up a program (IrfanView) to capture my screen every 5 minutes and store the files in a folder, by date and time. Then, at the end of the work period (3 weeks typically), I would review the screen caps for the period and work out how many hours I had spent working on such-and-such task. Tedious, yes, but at least I only had to do it at the end of the period. Bummer if the program stopped capturing, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/6 "2017-09-05T02:16:20Z")
Use Microsoft Family and/or create an account for a profile that you will use when using Microsoft Word. You will get a weekly report detailing how long you were logged in as well as how long you spent using each app, including Microsoft Word. I use this for my kids and I can track and monitor all their computer, XBox and internet usage. ---
**Author:** ![lriemann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@lriemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lriemann)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measure-the-time-i-spend-using-microsoft-word/795462/7 "2017-09-06T17:12:36Z")
Thank you everyone. I managed to get Timekeeper working but it’s not what I need- it tracks individual documents and not the entire program. I need to know how much time I spend with any Word document as the foremost window. I will try one of the program trackers in the links and hope for the best.