Different tools answer different questions.
Timers track your intention. Employee-tracking tools check compliance. Automatic trackers log everything. FocusMirror reflects what actually happened — privately, and ending in one thing to try.
It's about which question you're asking.
“How long did I mean to spend on this?” — you start and stop it.
“Is this person complying?” — built for someone else to watch.
“What actually happened, and what's one thing to change?”
The honest matrix.
Categories, not call-outs — most tools blend a few of these. The point is fit, not winners.
| Manual timer | Automatic tracker | Employee monitoring | FocusMirror | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Manual start/stop | Always-on background | Always-on, often hidden | Per-session — you choose |
| Gives a productivity score? | No | Often | Sometimes | Never |
| Takes screenshots? | No | Usually no | Often | Never |
| Captures content / URLs? | No | Sometimes, in detail | Often | Never — domains only, titles stay on device |
| Built for an employer? | No | No | Often | Never |
| Ends with a recommendation? | No | Rarely | No | Yes — exactly one |
| Main purpose | Bill / track intention | Detailed auto-logging | Oversight & compliance | Private reflection |
We'd rather you use the right thing.
FocusMirror is narrow on purpose. If your job is one of these, another tool is the better fit — and that's fine.
A timer built for that — Toggl, Harvest, or an automatic biller like Rize — beats a reflection tool.
Automatic trackers like Timing or RescueTime capture more detail than FocusMirror chooses to.
That's monitoring software — and deliberately not what FocusMirror is. We only answer to the individual.
Blocks instead of a score, no employer dashboard, and one change to try tomorrow. That's FocusMirror.
Answer two questions.
It'll point you elsewhere if that's the honest answer.
If you want reflection, not oversight.
Private by design, blocks instead of a score, and one thing to try tomorrow. Free to start on macOS.