Start, pause and stop your workday

The workday timer records your start, breaks and end with a click – no more writing times down. It keeps running when you close the browser or switch devices. When you end the day, Zeitbro deducts your break and puts the day in your calendar.

4 min read Updated 17 October 2026

In short

Click Home at the top – on a phone, tap the large icon in the middle of the bottom bar.
In the Workday panel, click Start Workday.
If needed, pick Home (home office) or Trip at the top right of the panel.
For breaks, click Away, then Resume.
At the end, click End Workday – Zeitbro deducts the break and saves the day.
Clicked too early? Click Undo in the message.

What you need

Your work schedule set up – the timer uses it to work out when you can leave. See Set up your work schedule.

1 · Open the Home page

Click Home in the navigation at the top; on a phone, tap the large icon in the middle of the bottom bar. There you find the Workday panel: the clock at 00:00:00 and Ready to track below it.

2 · Start your workday

Click Start Workday. The clock runs from 00:00:00 and the panel shows Working. Below it you see Started, Est. leave and the time remaining, and a bar shows your progress. The estimated leave time already includes the break you still need: with an 8-hour daily target and a start at 8:00, it shows 16:30.

Every day starts as Office. Working from home or on the road? Once the timer runs, pick Home or Trip at the top right of the panel.

3 · Take a break

For lunch or an appointment, click Away. The clock stops until you click Resume, and Zeitbro saves the time in between as an Away block. On the Home page, Away also stops a running project timer – restart it yourself afterwards.

With the default break rules, the Home page shows a Break Reminder after 6 and after 9 hours of work.

4 · End your workday

Click the red End Workday button next to Away. Zeitbro stops the timer and any running project timer, sets your start and end times and deducts the break. Your Away time counts towards it; if the break rule asks for more, Zeitbro adds the rest as auto-pause.

Example: start at 8:00, away 12:00–12:20, end at 16:45. The rule asks for 30 minutes and you already have 20. The Workday Ended message reads “Logged 8:15 work (0:20 away + 0:10 auto-pause)”. Clicked too early? Undo in the same message keeps the timer running; restart a stopped project timer yourself.

The break rule itself is explained in Set up automatic breaks.

5 · Carry on later

Need to work again after ending the day? Click Start Workday again, then Continue Session. Zeitbro asks how to count the gap since you stopped: Away for a break or Keep as Work for working time.

End it on the same day

The timer belongs to the day you started it. After midnight the Home page already shows the new day, and Zeitbro currently doesn’t stop a timer on Away by itself. So end your workday before midnight – even if you don’t come back from your break. To fix wrong times, see Add or fix time entries afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

What if I forget to stop the timer?

With the Home page open, Zeitbro warns you shortly before 12 hours of work (Approaching work time limit) and currently stops the timer at 12 hours. Otherwise it stops a running timer 14 hours after the first start. Max Daily Hours currently plays no part. Correct the saved end time in the calendar afterwards.

Can I use the timer from the calendar too?

Yes. The top of the Calendar has a timer bar with Start Workday, Away, Resume and a red stop button. Reminders, warnings and Undo are only on the Home page.

Can I work on a public holiday?

Yes. Zeitbro asks first with Today is a public holiday. Choose Start anyway and the timer runs; the holiday stays credited and your hours are added on top.

No Zeitbro yet?

Time tracking that does the math – breaks, balance and holidays included.

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