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I want to manage my time spent on different projects in a similar way as in real project management, but with higher time resolution. I've asked a similar question on PM, but it was closed as OT because it is a request for software recommendation.

The goal

I want to manage time slots assigned to different tasks. I currently see two possible approaches:

Calendar task <-> events approach

Many calendar apps have also task functionality. However, I haven't found any that would make it possible to assign different events (time slots) to tasks. Or at least, some calendar with different event categories.

Gantt approach

Gantt charts pretty much already integrate task management with time (slot) management, but usually offer very low time resolution, typically only with days as units. Also, the Gantt chart is not very usable for this unless it has a good zoom interface.

Bonus features

I've been looking for a product (app or program) that would integrate Gantt, calendar and time and task tracking. I've seen many different applications that usually concentrate only on one of the three and the two other are either missing or lacking in functionality.

I like to use Gantt to plan ahead in the big picture. But then I would also like to have more detailed control over what happens when (scheduling, assigning time), e.g. which task is worked on when and for how long. A calendar interface may not be always the best for this, but it's sometimes easier than with Gantt. Also, Gantt charts typically don't offer sub-hour time resolution. It also helps to build a daily agenda timetable. Lastly, I'd like to compare the time spent/tracked with time planned, ideally with a burndown-like chart. Some applications have burndown charts, but only at the task-count level, I want a burndown-chart with time spent/allocated.

Some of the applications I've tried:

  • taskjuggler: very good Gantt facilities (possible to see when a task is being worked on), can track time to some extent (with a special setup) and even book time (somewhat analogous to calendar appointments), but has no real calendar view. Is there perhaps some new UI for it I'm not aware of?
  • taskcoach: More interactive than taskjuggler and can track time in a simpler way. However, no real Calendar view, although the time line can be used in that way.
  • TaskList: similar to TaskCoach, can be run on Linux through Wine. Burndown chart only deals with task count. Not really possible to allocate time slots.
  • Thunderbird Lightning with Gantt plugin: great calendar facilities, but the Gantt plugin is unmaintained and has very little functionality. I'm not aware of any way to track time with it.
  • Redmine: Pretty good with Gantt (but it's not very detailed) and time tracking, but has no detailed Calendar view plugin (that would show when tasks are being worked on) that I'm aware of. How can I make a combined management of all this?
  • GanttProject: Nice Gantt program, but lacks in Calendar facilities and does not track time. Also, the time resolution is quite low (days).
  • ProjectLibre: similar to GanttProject.

Software requirements

I'd prefer it to be free and OSS, but it's not a hard requirement. I'd also prefer it to have an offline-capable app for android.

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  • You might wish to browse these posts using the project-management tag. Watch out for my answers mentioning "Trac". Free, open-source, web based, customizable. What the core doesn't offer can be realized via plugins integrating smoothly (e.g. your Gantt charts). Not sure if it fully fits, but should be worth a look.
    – Izzy ♦
    Dec 13, 2015 at 16:43

2 Answers 2

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Habitica is a web-based application, with an accompanying android app which can help you. Mind you, depending on your tastes(and age), the RPG element might be juvenile or extremely cool. It also has an accompanying android app.

Gantt facilities are not native but can still be patched through on this application. Details can be found here.

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  • Interesting project, but I'd find it too distracting.
    – Ondřej Grover
    Dec 17, 2015 at 10:04
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Maybe you find todolist (http://www.abstractspoon.com/todolist_exe.zip) helpful:

  1. Integrated time tracking
  2. Integrated gantt view
  3. Integrated calendar view
  4. Best task management (hierarchical ordering, very easy to use) I've seen to date
  5. Can import from ganttproject, icalendar, outlook, freemind, mylifeorganized, csv and txt files
  6. Can export to the above and html files
  7. Im- and export facilities allow combination with other software specialized on respective file formats
  8. Saves tasks as xml files (".tdl" extension)
  9. Program is free, and sourcecode available
  10. Integrated simple version management
  11. Rudimentary multi user capabilities (assign task to people)
  12. Filter tasks on due date
  13. Prioritizing of tasks
  14. Provides burn down chart
  15. Limitation: It's windows only
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  • Thank you, looks very interesting, similar to TaskCoach but may be more advanced. Apparently, it can be run on Linux through Wine, I'll give it a try.
    – Ondřej Grover
    Dec 17, 2015 at 10:10
  • Ok, tested it and found out that the burndown chart works with tasks, not time spent/allocated. Also, tasks have just a due-date, but no time slot allocation facilities (unless I missed it). I've updated my question.
    – Ondřej Grover
    Dec 17, 2015 at 10:27

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