The Shortcuts app on Mac has some useful actions, including an action that can add data to the top or bottom of a Numbers spreadsheet. I use this action to track my time by logging the start and end times of tasks in a spreadsheet, which I can then analyze however I want.
How to Set Up Your Numbers Document for Time Tracking
Before you create your shortcut, you’ll need to create a Numbers document to which your shortcut can add data. The shortcut will then add your start and end times for each task to this document.
Open a new Numbers document and add column headers for Task Name, Date, Start Time, End Time, and Duration.
Click and hold the double-line icon at the bottom of the screen and drag it up to remove all the rows you can. Numbers will not let you remove the final row below your headers, but you can remove this later if you want.
Click File > Save and open the location dropdown. Select “iCloud Drive.”
Choose the Shortcuts folder. This will ensure that shortcuts can access your Numbers document.
Give the document a memorable name and click “Save.”
How to Create a Shortcut to Log the Start Time of a Task
Now that your spreadsheet is ready, you can create your first shortcut using the Shortcuts app on your Mac. This shortcut will ask you for the name of the task you are working on. Once you’ve entered it, it will get the current time and date, and add the task name, date, and start time to a new row at the bottom of your document. This will record a log of when you start each task.
Open the Shortcuts app and click the “+” (plus) icon to create a new shortcut. Type “Ask” in the search field and drag the “Ask for Input” action into your shortcut.
Click “Prompt” and type a prompt asking for the name of the task you want to start, such as “What task are you starting?” Type “Date” in the search field and drag the “Date” action into your shortcut.
Search for “Numbers” and drag the “Add Row to Top or Bottom of Table” action into your shortcut. Click “Date” and select “Clear” to delete it. Click “Numbers Spreadsheet” and select the spreadsheet created earlier.
Control-click “Values,” select “Insert Variable” if that’s an option and choose “Ask for Input.” This will add the name of the task to the “Task” column in your spreadsheet.
Click the “+” (plus) icon next to the new “Add for Input selection, then Control-click “Values,” select “Insert Variable” and choose “Date.” Click the “Time Format” dropdown and select “None.” This will add the date (without the time) to the “Date” column in your spreadsheet.
If no “+” (plus) button appears, type a random letter into the Ask for Input box instead, then complete the next section before returning to add Ask for Input into the first variable box again.
Click the “+” (plus) icon, Control-click “Values,” select “Insert Variable” and choose “Date.” Under “Get,” select “Time.” This will add the time to your “Time” column in your spreadsheet.
Click the name of your shortcut and change it to something descriptive, like “Start Time Tracking.” Your final shortcut should look like the screenshot below.
Click the “i” icon in the right-hand pane, and check “Pin in Menu Bar.” This will make the shortcut quickly accessible from the menu bar. You can also click “Add Keyboard Shortcut” to add a custom key combination for starting your shortcut.
How to Create a Shortcut to Log the End Time of a Task
The shortcut above will log the time that you start a task. You can then create another shortcut that will log the time that you stop. This one is a little easier, as you don’t need to ask for the task name.
Open Shortcuts and click the “+” (plus) icon to create a new shortcut. Search for “Date” and drag the “Date” action into your shortcut.
Search for “Numbers” and drag the “Add Row to Top or Bottom of Table” action to your shortcut. Click “Date” and select “Clear” to remove the variable. Click “Numbers Spreadsheet” and select the spreadsheet that you created at the start of the article.
Click “Values” and type “X” which will be a placeholder that we will delete shortly. Click the “+” (plus) icon, then Control-click “Values.” Select “Insert Variable” and choose “Date.” Click the “Time Format” dropdown and select “None.” This will add the end date for your task to the “Date” column in your spreadsheet.
Click “+” (plus) and type “Y” as another placeholder. Click “+” (plus) and Control-click “Values.” Select “Insert Variable” and choose “Date.” In the “Get” section, choose “Time.” This will add the current time to the “End Time” column in your spreadsheet.
Delete the “X” and “Y” placeholders which should be replaced with the word “Values.” This ensures that nothing is entered into the “Task Name” and “Start Time” columns in your spreadsheet by passing blank values for these columns.
Click the name of your shortcut and give it something descriptive, like “End Time Tracking.” Your completed shortcut should look like the screenshot below.
Click the “i” icon in the right-hand pane and check “Pin in Menu Bar.” You can also click “Add Keyboard Shortcut” if you want to add a custom combination for your shortcut.
Using Your Time Tracking Shortcuts
Now that you’ve created your time-tracking shortcuts, you’re ready to start using them. When you start a task, click the Shortcuts icon in the menu bar (you might need to unhide your menu bar if you have it hidden). Select the shortcut that starts time tracking. A dialog box will appear asking you what task you’re starting. Enter the name of the task and click “Done.”
The name of the task, the current date, and the start time will all be added to a new row in your spreadsheet. If you wish, at this point, you can delete the blank row that we couldn’t remove earlier by right-clicking the row number and selecting “Delete Row.”
When you stop working on your task, click the Shortcuts icon in the menu bar, and select the shortcut you created to end time tracking. The date and end time will be added to your spreadsheet. You can continue using your shortcuts to record the start and end of each task.
Calculating the Duration of a Task in Numbers
Knowing when you started and ended a task is useful, but you probably want to know the duration, too. It’s simple enough to calculate this in your spreadsheet. Click in the second cell of your “Duration” column. Type “=” then click the value in the “End Time” column. Type “-” (minus) and select the value in the “Start Time” column. Press Enter, and the duration will be calculated.
Over time, your spreadsheet will fill up with more and more data. You can drag the fill handle for the duration formula down to apply it to all the cells in the duration column, just like you can in Excel. This will calculate the duration of all your logged tasks.
You can then use Numbers to do almost anything you want with this information, such as creating pie charts of your tasks or finding the tasks that you spend the longest on. Once you’ve got the data into your spreadsheet using your shortcuts, you can do what you want with it.
Numbers is often overlooked, with people preferring to use apps such as Excel or Google Sheets. However, the ability to add data to your spreadsheet via actions in the Shortcuts app makes Numbers a very useful tool in your arsenal. All you need to do is decide how best to make use of it.
