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Why is my timer not working properly?

If you start a timer and it behaves unexpectedly, then your computer’s date and/or time are incorrect. We suggest updating your date and time preferences to automatic to ensure they are always accurate. Here are instructions for updating your preferences on Mac and Windows.

How the Timer Works

We always use seconds to store and calculate time values. When a timer is running, each second a timer runs we use the following calculation to ensure the timer is accurate:

previously logged time + (current time - timer start time)

We start with any previously logged time you have and then we add to it the difference between the current time (from your computer) and the time the timer started (from our server).

If the current time from your computer is incorrect, then the math above will be incorrect and produce unexpected results.

The timer starts ahead of logged time

In this case, the system time in your computer is set ahead of the actual time. If it is ahead by two hours and you start the timer on a new task, then the timer will start counting up at 2:00.

The Timer counts backward

In this case, the system time from your computer is set behind the actual time. This is much the same as the example above, except the timer will count backward instead.

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