Why Track Time?
Time can be tricky. Whenever we think we have plenty of it, we actually don’t. It passes fast, often outpacing our expectations of finishing a job or a project on time. That’s why some people find it hard to track time. Why do it at all if we cannot control it? We cannot control time but we can control activities which we usually perform during regular (or irregular) work hours. That’s what time tracking is for.
If you track time, you are able to get colossal information on every single aspect of your work including finances, project status, workflow, resource allocation, time spent on particular activities or productivity level. All that information can work as your personal assistant. How? It is dead easy. Having an insight into your activities helps you understand your workflow better as well as allows you to see the flaws in your work and make you more productive.
However, some people find it hard to track time. Some are even reluctant to do it. Why? Because of all the work that has to be done. After all, time won’t track itself. Or will it?
How to Effectively Track Time?
The 21st century is the era of the technological boom. You don’t have to look around to notice that technology is ubiquitous. When reading this article you are already using it, either in the form of a smartphone, tablet or computer. You cannot escape technology so why not use it to your advantage?
Time tracking can be done completely automatically. Of course, you can write down all your activities, add how much time you spent on them, watch your work with a timer. However, if you are a busy person or are already struggling with work overload or productivity issues, additional paperwork may not seem too appealing, nor even helpful.
That’s where time tracking software comes in handy. Although it may seem that there is nothing more to it, clever time tracking requires applying few more actions. Here are 5 effective things you can do when you find it hard to track time:
1. Record, Document, Measure
Time tracking doesn’t seem to be much of a methodology or a strategy. But it’s definitely worth to begin from the first, most important step – getting the right time tracking software, for example, TimeCamp. Why you should use it? Because time tracking is a process. And a good time tracking software is crucial to make this process smooth and easy. TimeCamp records all your activities, documents them in the form of extensive reports, and then allows you to measure your outcomes.
But that’s not all! Here are a few of many TimeCamp’s wonders which can enhance your work:
- You can easily create projects and divide them into tasks. This will help you in working on multiple projects and with multiple clients.
- Detailed, graphical reports are comprehensible and help you to understand your workflow better.
- The desktop app tracks time for you! You don’t have to do anything, including switching between different tasks.
- Easy invoicing feature takes away the pain of dealing with invoice creation – TimeCamp does it for you!
- You can analyze your absences, holidays, vacations, and have a handle on your time off.
- The app has an idle time detector – it stops working whenever you stop working.
- Powerful integrations make your work faster. You can collaborate with different apps and tools.
- You can access TimeCamp from any place thanks to the mobile app.
Time Tracking can be fun! Start recording, documenting, and measuring your work with TimeCamp today, for FREE! Register here today to effectively and easily track your time!
2. Break Down Your To-do List
How many times have you tried to accomplish all tasks from your list? Did it always work? Yes? Wonderful, you may skip this point! But if your answer is no, you may know the feeling of disappointment with yourself and that nightmarish voice of guilt inside your head telling you that “you should have done more!” Whereas some people find it easy to accomplish all their goals, the majority does not. That’s because we expect too much from ourselves.
Set sensible goals. Divide your to-do list into realistic and unrealistic goals, long-term and short-term goals. Don’t try to jam all the tasks in one day or one week if you know it is going to take more. Use time tracking software to measure your current activities and set forecasts for the future. That way you will be able to see whether you are making the progress.
And with time you will be able to accomplish more. You wanna know the best part of it? You will be one of those lucky guys to skip this point!
3. Plan Ahead
Planning in advance gives you the great perspective on how much work you have prepared for the next day, week, month or even year. Try allocating time to certain activities, projects. Use calendars or even to-do lists to plan your work.
That way you will always know what is waiting for you and your work will be less chaotic.
4. Take Breaks
You don’t want to take breaks? I get it. We all get it. Breaks are the decelerators of our work. We tend to think that if we take a break, we will lose time. In fact, it works the other way round.
Try this small experiment. Work for one week without breaks. Then work with breaks for the next week. Take a look at the reports in TimeCamp and see your productivity levels. Observe your concentration level and you will see that it takes much more effort to stay focused if you work in one flow. That flow is dirty, full of unnecessary thoughts. Breaks clean up that flow and refresh your brain.
5. Work With Your Brain
Some people prefer to wake up early in the morning, whereas others feel at their highest peak of productivity at night. Medicaldaily writes that our brain’s peak productivity moments depend on a person, “while working according to your body’s natural clock may sound helpful, it’s important to remember that these times may differ from person to person. On average, people can be divided into two distinct groups: Morning people tend to wake up and go to sleep earlier and to be most productive early in the day. Evening people tend to wake up later, start more slowly and peak in the evening.”
Work whenever you are most productive. There’s no point in waking up when the sun rises and forcing yourself to work when all you think about is your comfy, warm bed.
To Conclude
Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with time tracking. The tools, apps, and different approaches are there to help you. You can mix them, adjust to your needs, change whatever you like. We are all different and work in a variety of fields and that is why our expectations and demands are also mixed. Learn from your friends and from your mistakes. It’s the best way to set up your own practice of time tracking.