Learn how to track time in Notion the easy way. A free Notion time tracker with start stop timers on any task — no formulas, no spreadsheets, just 3 steps.
If you've ever tried to track time in Notion, you already know the problem. Notion is amazing for tasks, projects, and notes — but Notion does not have built-in time tracking. There is no native timer, no automatic logs, and no clean way to see where your hours went without building it yourself.
So most people end up doing one of three painful things:
None of these actually work long term. You end up maintaining two systems that don't talk to each other.
In this guide, you'll learn how to track time in Notion properly using TimeKnot — a free Notion time tracker built specifically for Notion users. Three steps, no formulas, no spreadsheets, no babysitting.
No. Notion does not include a native time tracker, no built-in timer, and no automatic time logs. Notion's official help center confirms this — time tracking has never been part of its core feature set.
The most common workarounds are:
All of these have the same flaw — they require manual input or constant tab switching, which means hours get forgotten or lost.
That's why a native time tracking layer built for Notion makes more sense than trying to force Notion to do something it wasn't designed for.
Before tracking time in Notion, make sure you have:
That's it. No coding, no API keys, no Zapier middleware, no complex setup.
Head to timeknot.app and sign up for free. Once you're in, click "Connect Notion" and authorize TimeKnot through Notion's official OAuth flow. Your tasks never leave Notion — TimeKnot just reads from your workspace so it can stay in sync.
This step takes about 30 seconds.
Connect your Notion workspace and start tracking time in minutes.
Get started freeAfter connecting, you'll be asked to select which Notion database holds your tasks. This could be your personal to-do list, a client work tracker, a sprint board, or anything else you use to manage tasks. You can pick one or multiple databases depending on your setup.
Then map your Notion columns (Status, Project, Due Date, etc.) to TimeKnot fields. This is what keeps everything in sync — rename a task in Notion and TimeKnot reflects it instantly.
This is the magic part. Open TimeKnot, find the task you're about to work on, and click the timer button. The start/stop timer begins and your time is logged automatically against that specific Notion task.
When you're done, click stop. That's it. You've tracked time on a Notion task without writing a single formula or touching a Notion button automation.
You can do this for as many tasks as you want, throughout the day, every day. All your hours stay organized by task, project, and time period.
Inside TimeKnot, you get clean reports and a built-in Notion timesheet that show:
So instead of wondering where your hours went at the end of the week, you have the answer in front of you.
If you freelance, time tracking in Notion usually means tracking hours per client, per project, and eventually preparing those hours for invoicing. TimeKnot is built around exactly this — you connect your Notion workspace, run timers on client tasks, and your hours stay grouped by project automatically. Billable hour marking and invoice generation are coming soon.
If you run a team, the bigger pain is visibility — who is working on what, how many hours went into which project, and where the bottlenecks are. With TimeKnot, you can invite your team into the workspace, map them to their Notion accounts, and see live activity plus reports per team member. No more "what did you work on this week?" check-ins.
Most Notion time tracking integrations (Clockify, Toggl, Harvest, TMetric, TimeCamp, Jibble, TrackingTime) work the same way — you install a browser extension that adds a timer button to your Notion pages, then your time gets logged inside their app. They are not actually inside Notion, and they are not built around your Notion data.
TimeKnot is different in three ways:
It's also free during early access, with optional Clockify import if you're migrating from there.
No. Notion does not include a native time tracking feature, no built-in timer, and no automatic logs. You either need to build a workaround using formulas or buttons, or use a tool like TimeKnot that connects directly to your Notion workspace.
Yes. TimeKnot is free during early access. You can connect your Notion workspace, start timers on tasks, and view reports without paying anything.
You connect TimeKnot to your Notion workspace, pick a task database, and a start/stop timer becomes available on every task in that database. No formulas, no button automations, no extensions to install.
It depends on your setup. If you want a generic timer that runs in a browser extension, tools like Clockify, Toggl, or TMetric work fine. If you want a native time tracker that actually stays synced with your Notion workspace, TimeKnot is built specifically for that use case.
TimeKnot tracks time per task and project today. Billable hour marking, hourly rates, and invoice generation are coming soon — which makes it well suited for freelancers and consultants.
No. TimeKnot is fully native to Notion. Clockify integration is optional and only useful if you are migrating data over from a previous setup.
Yes. You can invite your team into TimeKnot, map them to their Notion accounts, and see who is working on what in real time. You also get reports per team member.
Yes. TimeKnot pulls from your Notion workspace continuously. Rename a task or change its status in Notion and TimeKnot updates automatically.
Absolutely. TimeKnot works great for one person. You don't need a team or a business use case. If you use Notion and want to understand where your time actually goes, it's built for you.
Tracking time in Notion used to mean choosing between broken formulas, manual timesheet entries, or maintaining two separate tools. With TimeKnot, you connect your workspace, pick a task, and click once. That's the whole flow.
If you live inside Notion and want a real answer to "where did my hours go this week", give it a try at timeknot.app.
Connect your Notion workspace and start tracking time in minutes.
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