🎯 Log Timer

A lightning-fast utility for time-blocking, deep work, and productivity logging. Ideal for engineers, researchers, writers, students, and anyone who wants ultra-efficient focus sessions, smart overtime alerts, and seamless note capture—all with the speed of a keystroke.

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✨ Features

🖥️ Minimal, Always-On-Top Timer Overlay

• Always visible, sits in a screen corner
• Color-coded:
  • Red: Countdown (normal mode)
  • Blue: Elapsed (count up)
  • Magenta: Overtime/Overrun
• Instantly togglable via hotkey for elapsed/remaining

⏰ Flexible, Smart Time Management

• Set any time block—minutes or hours
• Pause/resume instantly for interruptions (Ctrl + Space)
• Reset timer to original value anytime (Ctrl + Shift + Space)
• Toggle view: see time left (Ctrl+↑) or time elapsed (Ctrl+↓)

🔔 Gentle Overtime Alerts

• Auto beep at chosen overrun intervals—subtle accountability
• Customize beep timing or silence it entirely

📝 Intelligent Logging System

• Creates DailyLog.txt in your Documents folder—no setup required
• Logs every session start, end, and optional notes with timestamps
• Real-time note logging (Ctrl + ,) during focus (with instant Notepad paste if focused)
• All actions append to your log for permanent tracking

⌨️ Blazing Fast, One-Handed Hotkeys

• All commands are ergonomic, fast, and rarely conflict with typing/editor/terminal use
• No function-keys required—everything is under your left hand or on punctuation

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11
• AutoHotkey v2.0 installed

Installation

1. Download & install AutoHotkey v2 (see above)
2. Copy this script to a .ahk file (e.g., LogTimer.ahk)
3. Double-click to run—no configuration needed

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📖 Usage Guide

Starting Your Focus Block

Press Ctrl + Left Arrow

• Enter block duration (in minutes)
• Optionally specify your session reason (for future review)
• Optionally pick a beep interval for overrun (in seconds, 0 = silent)

During Your Session

Action	Hotkey	Description
Start block	Ctrl + Left Arrow	Begin a new focus session
End block	Ctrl + Right Arrow	Stop session, log END, and close overlay
Pause/Resume	Ctrl + Space	Instantly pause or resume timer
Reset session	Ctrl + Shift + Space	Restart block at original time
Countdown view	Ctrl + Up Arrow	Display remaining time (default)
Elapsed view	Ctrl + Down Arrow	Display time elapsed (count up mode)
Log a note	Ctrl + , (comma)	Add a note to your log anytime
Open log file	Ctrl + . (period)	Instantly view your log in Notepad
Insert day header	Ctrl + / (slash)	Paste DAY : <timestamp> wherever you are

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Display Legend

• Red numeric display: Time left (countdown)
• Blue numeric display: Elapsed (count up)
• Magenta display: Overtime, with block duration + overtime seconds (e.g., 1200 + 45)
• Timer window floats in your chosen corner; moveable via script coordinates

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What’s in Your Log?

26082025-140000 | 1200s | Skim the Chemical Engineering Magazine | STARTED
...
26082025-140500 | 300s | Skim the Chemical Engineering Magazine | Finished abstract section
...
26082025-142100 | 1200+60s | Skim the Chemical Engineering Magazine | Deep dive into methodology
...
26082025-143000 | 1800+0s | Skim the Chemical Engineering Magazine | END

• Each entry: timestamp | seconds | reason | note/marker
• Overruns: 1200+60s = planned 20min + 1min overtime

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🔧 Customization

Change log file location

global logFile := A_MyDocuments "\\DailyLog.txt"

Set to any desired path.

Overlay position

Change in script:

g.Show("x0 y0 NoActivate")    ; Top-left (default)
g.Show("x1820 y0 NoActivate") ; Top-right (edit values for your screen)

Beep

Edit line:

SoundBeep(1000, 300)          ; Hertz (pitch), Duration ms

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💡 Tips for Power Users

• Use highly descriptive "reasons" for blocks to make logs useful (e.g., "Design review", "Chapter 4 exercises")
• Use notes frequently to mark micro-accomplishments
• Review your DailyLog.txt at the end of day/week for patterns, bottlenecks, and review

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🔍 Troubleshooting

• Script not starting?
  Make sure AutoHotkey v2 is installed, not v1. Double-check you’re running the .ahk file.

• Hotkeys not working?
  Ensure no other app has claimed the shortcut; try running script as administrator for system-wide binding.

• Notepad integration?
  Log lines paste to Notepad only if it’s focused; change window name in the script for other editors.

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🤝 Contributing

Ideas and pull requests are welcome—for project features, analytics, analytics exports, project tagging, and deeper automation.

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📄 License

MIT License

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🙏 Credits

Designed for maximum focus and minimum friction by people who deeply value productive work.
Inspired by current best practices in time-blocking, Pomodoro, and deep work culture.

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⭐ Star this script if it helps you!
🐛 Issues? Open an issue
💡 Suggestions? Start a discussion

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Let me know if you need the markdown version with github/flavored styling or any tweaks for your documentation/site!