Intelligent productivity monitoring with a digital assistant

A method for managing use of a computing device by a user, comprising:

• classifying applications accessed by the user on the computing device according to application type;
• monitoring time-based use by the user of applications on the computing device, in which the monitoring is performed according to application type;
• aggregating the time-based usage for applications that share a common application type;
• configuring a digital assistant to interact with the user through a natural language interface on the computing device;
• receiving a voice input from the user to the digital assistant using the natural language interface;
• and
• in response to the voice input, communicating the aggregated time-based application usage to the user.

A computing device, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a voice-based user interface (UI) configured to interact with a user of the computing device;
• and
• a non-transitory hardware-based memory device storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to
• expose a digital assistant with which the user sets criteria, by voice through the voice-based UI, to trigger an alert on the computing device based on a duration of time the user interacts with applications, wherein the criteria are set according to application type,
• monitor user interactions with the applications on the computing device by time,
• determine whether the alert criteria are met based on the monitored user interactions, and
• alert the user responsively to the determination.