Syntax reference & examples for the time-tracking calculator
← Back to CalcTimeTimes are written as MM:SS or HH:MM:SS. The app scans all text and sums every time it finds.
Podcast Episode #42 (25:30) Video Title (1:12:45)
Both times above are detected and added to the total. Any surrounding text is ignored — only the time patterns matter.
Wrap a time in curly braces {…} to subtract it from the total. Useful for marking skipped sections, ads, or corrections.
Full Episode (45:00) {3:30} → Total: 41:30
Podcast (60:00) {5:00} {2:30} → Total: 52:30
You can use as many negative times as you need on a single line.
Lines that start with - and contain : (colon + space) are treated as feed lines. You can optionally specify a playback speed before the colon.
# Default speed (1.0x) — no adjustment: - My Podcast: #42 (30:00) # With speed factor — total time on this line is divided by 1.2: - My Podcast @ 1.2x: #42 (30:00) → counts as 25:00 # Multiple episodes on one line, all at the same speed: - CIJapanese @ 1.2x: #39 (6:06), #1273 (7:19), #1186 (6:04) → Raw total: 19:29 → divided by 1.2 → 16:14
The speed factor is written as @ 1.2x (the x is optional). If no speed is given, it defaults to 1.0 (no adjustment).
Any line that doesn't match the feed-line pattern (i.e., doesn't start with - and contain : ) is treated as plain text. All times, negative times, and RPN expressions on the line are simply summed at face value.
# YouTube videos — just write the title and time: - Channel Name: Video Title (17:41) - Another Channel: Some Video (11:36) # Or use a dash-free format: YouTube: Video Title (17:41) Movies: The Wind Rises (90:00)
There's no required format — the app is free-form. Use whatever structure helps you stay organized.
It's unlikely that you'll need this advanced feature, but text between angle brackets ‹…› is evaluated as a Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) expression. This lets you do math on times right in your log.
Available operators:
| Operator | Meaning | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
+ | Addition | ‹3:00 2:00 +› | 5:00 |
- | Subtraction | ‹10:00 3:30 -› | 6:30 |
x or * | Multiplication | ‹3:00 3 x› | 9:00 |
/ or ÷ or @ | Division | ‹10:00 2 /› | 5:00 |
% | Percentage | ‹60:00 80 %› | 48:00 |
neg | Negate top of stack | ‹3:00 neg› | -3:00 |
How RPN works: You write values first, then the operator. Values are pushed onto a stack. An operator pops the last two values, applies the operation, and pushes the result back.
More examples:
# Multiply a time by 1.5 (50% speed): ‹30:00 1.5 x› → 45:00 # Add two times, then take 80%: ‹3:00 2:00 + 80 %› → 4:00 # Divide a time by a speed factor: ‹3:00 1.2 /› → 2:30 # Subtract from a total: {‹10:00 3:00 -›} → -7:00 (subtracted from total)
You can mix plain numbers and times freely in RPN expressions. The result is always rounded to the nearest second.
‹ and › are not the standard < and > keys. On macOS, type Option+Shift+3 for ‹ and Option+Shift+4 for ›. On other operating systems, you can copy and paste these characters from a reference (like this page) or use a character map. These unusual characters were chosen because they rarely appear in everyday text, so they won't conflict with your notes.
Daily log with podcasts and YouTube:
Podcasts - Advanced Spanish News: #486 (7:20) - Charlas Hispanas: #1637 (8:00) - Economía en Acción: #150 (31:34) - Hoy Hablamos: #1136 (22:07) YouTube - Dot CSV: ¿Puede la IA Generar NUEVO CONOCIMIENTO? (17:41) - Soy Mary Inversionista: Tutorial LEVEL 2 (14:47) - Pol Bertran: LA TEORÍA DEL INTERNET MUERTO (21:38) Other - Spanish Club: (60:00) - Movies: The Wind Rises (2:03:00)
Podcast feed with speed adjustment:
Podcasts - CIJapanese @ 1.2x: #39 (6:06), #1273 (7:19), #1186 (6:04) - Sakura Tips @ 1.3x: #13 (5:14) YouTube - Daily Japanese with Naoko: Taste Testing 6 Popular Foods (17:21) - いろいろな日本語: Yotsuba #2 (28:00)
Using negative times and RPN:
Podcast (60:00) {5:00} # 5 min of ads skipped
‹30:00 1.5 x› # 45 min at 1.5x speed
{‹10:00 3:00 -›} # Subtract 7:00
(…) and brackets […] around times are optional and purely for readability.