Couple years ago, I caught myself replying to emails at 1am, again. That night wasn’t unusual. It had become my routine. What was once the freedom of freelancing had turned into a 16-hour blur of work, social media scrolling, and guilt. And the worst part? I had nothing to show for it. I was burned out, distracted, and tired of pretending I had everything under control.
If you freelance or run your own business, you know the drill. One moment you’re replying to a client, next thing you’re in a rabbit hole of TikTok reels, then you’re trying to make up for lost time by skipping dinner and squeezing in three extra hours at night. Rinse and repeat. I wasn’t living, I was constantly working or thinking about work. I broke down. Literal burnout that turned into depression, because I was fight time and guilt.
That’s when I came across the Rize app.
Before Rize: The illusion of being productive
I used to be the kind of person who tried every productivity trick. I had colour-coded calendars, beautiful Notion dashboards, and timers for everything. But none of them actually helped me see where my time was going.
A typical day felt productive, replying to messages, tweaking designs, planning future projects. But the reality was different. I’d jump between tabs, lose half an hour to Facebook groups, then panic and overwork to “catch up”. The worst part? I didn’t even realise how much time I was wasting.
I told myself I was doing my best. But when you’re knee-deep in tabs and Slack pings, it’s hard to admit that something’s broken.
My first week with Rize
I installed Rize out of curiosity. It promised to track my time automatically in the background, sort activities by category, and offer insights on focus and break patterns, no manual input needed. That alone sold me.
Within a few days, I had a clear picture of my habits. Rize categorised everything I did: client work, admin, meetings, entertainment, messaging, and yes, the black hole that is YouTube. I finally had the data to prove what I already suspected, I was procrastinating more than I was working.
Seeing those colourful graphs was sobering. There it was in plain sight: 1.5 hours on Facebook. 47 minutes on Reddit. Another hour on WhatsApp “work chats” that weren’t really about work. The real kicker? Only 3.8 hours of focused client work… out of a 12-hour day.
No wonder I felt tired. I wasn’t working smart. I was just constantly stimulated, and rarely truly focused.
The quiet power of passive tracking
One of the things I love most about Rize is that it doesn’t demand anything from me. I don’t need to start timers, tag projects, or stop the clock. It just runs quietly in the background, like a non-judgemental assistant keeping an eye on things.
And because it’s passive, I never forget to use it. That alone makes it more powerful than half the productivity tools I’ve ditched over the years.
Over time, Rize built up a picture of my daily rhythm. I discovered that I’m most focused in the mornings, tend to drift in the early afternoon, and regain some energy just before dinner. I also learned that my “quick” Instagram breaks were costing me a lot more than I realised.
How focus mode and break nudges changed my habits
Rize isn’t just about tracking. It also actively helps you stay on track.
Its built-in AI nudges me when I’ve been working too long without a break. It suggests when to switch to focus mode. And if I open a distracting tab mid-focus, it gently reminds me, not with a scolding tone, but something like: “You’re in focus mode. Would you like to get back to it?”
It feels human. Supportive, not bossy. And weirdly, that made me want to listen.
These soft boundaries helped me structure my day better. I started planning two 90-minute focus blocks before lunch, followed by shorter sprints in the afternoon. I stopped scheduling meetings during my deep work windows. Most importantly, I stopped feeling guilty for taking breaks, because now I knew I’d earned them.
Transparency that builds trust
One of the most practical perks? Rize tracks time by project automatically. So when a client asks, “How long did this take?”, I don’t have to guess. I can send them a time breakdown.
That transparency has changed how I communicate with clients. It’s no longer a vague estimate, it’s data. It helps justify pricing, set realistic deadlines, and even protect my own boundaries. If a task consistently takes 5 hours, I stop pretending it can be squeezed into 2.
In one case, a client challenged a revision round, claiming it “shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes”. I calmly sent over my Rize log showing actual time spent. They didn’t argue again. That’s the kind of quiet power this app gives you.
Getting my evenings back
The biggest shift wasn’t productivity. It was peace.
For the first time in years, I started ending work at 5pm without feeling like a failure. I stopped checking emails in bed. I reintroduced hobbies I’d abandoned, mixing, reading, long walks with my dogs, but most importantly, time with my better half.
Because I knew where my time was going, I stopped chasing the illusion of “catching up”. I could shut down my laptop and trust that I’d done enough. That’s something no to-do list ever gave me.
I still have bad days. I still procrastinate. But now I catch myself sooner. And when I do slip up, I can look at my Rize dashboard and decide what to change, not just beat myself up.
From overwork to awareness
The real value of Rize isn’t in being more productive. It’s in being more aware.
Awareness is what stops burnout before it starts. It’s what helps you recognise that your 12-hour day only includes 3 hours of real work. It’s what shows you that switching tasks 43 times in one day might be why you feel so scattered.
That kind of awareness helps you design a day that actually works for you. And once you have that, everything changes, not overnight, but steadily.
Is Rize for everyone?
Honestly, no. If you’re someone who hates data, doesn’t work at a screen, or prefers strict time-blocking, it might not be the tool for you.
But if you want a soft system that tracks your habits passively, respects your time, and helps you build better boundaries, Rize is a game-changer. Especially if you’re freelancing, running a solo business, or juggling multiple client projects.
Final thoughts: You can’t improve what you don’t track
Rize gave me a mirror. Not always a flattering one, but an honest one. And sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
If you’ve been feeling stretched, lost in busywork, or unsure where your energy goes each day, I’d highly recommend giving the Rize app a try. It won’t fix everything, but it might just help you fix the most important thing: your relationship with your time.
You can check it out at rize.io
And if you’re curious about other tools I use to stay sane while running a business, feel free to explore my productivity tips or check out how I handle scheduling with Morgen.