Track The Time Blog

The Perpetual Calendar is really cool, it requires a bit of modification every day, but what an interesting design.

If that strikes your fancy, check out this list of 49 other calendar designs.

Hat Tip: Kent Downer.

I stumbled across this awesome desktop background… thought you all might enjoy.

The rest of the Kitsune Noir web site has some great design inspiration.

When a client doesn’t seem to care how much time he is wasting, it usually means he’s not planning to pay the bill.

My friend Greg just sent me this cool hourglass timer set, for only $9.95 you get three timers which all run at different intervals.

A few years ago I had this crazy idea that the week between Christmas and New Years would be perfect for catching up on some side projects.

This all began when I realized that a significant number of people either take the week off, or assume you do. So it frees up a considerable amount of time, and thus others expectations.

And that’s how Ketchup Week began. I’d love to find a sponsor for it — perhaps Heinz or another ketchup maker — but for now the emphasis is on personal productivity.

Catching up on your work doesn’t necessarily mean you are working — it might mean you are catching up on relaxing.

So make this Ketchup Week your best!

Saw this today over on another blog under the category “best of calendar design.”

For only $20 you can own this bubble calendar. Finally, a legitimate way to pop bubble wrap every day.

Brian Shaler pointed me to this sweet video which he dubbed the Grandfather Grandfather Clock.

Here’s how Brian describes it: “You put your grandfather IN the grandfather clock!”

The way I see it there’s 3 basic methodologies in which people track their time.

1. Track time with a stopwatch

This is the most accurate method available to track your time, because you don’t need to rely on your memory. Okay, so maybe it would be more effective to have an executive assistant standing next to you with a clip board and a stopwatch, but not everybody can afford that! Using a stopwatch is the next best thing because you are tracking time as you work.

2. Track time after the fact with manual time entry (from memory or notes)

I suspect a significant number of people are still tracking time manually — after the fact — when they could switch to a stopwatch with better results. Based on my experience it’s nearly impossible to remember everything you did, and how long it took.

3. Use software that “knows” what you are working on, and then filter and sort the time later

A number of tools have been released that track your computer usage and then give you reports about what you were working on Two that come to mind are RescueTime and Lapsus.

How do you track your time? If you are tracking your time using one of these methods, you’re way ahead of the next guy. A large number of people don’t see the value in tracking time — so keep being awesome!

A web based clock made from scroll bars.

This clock is made from a bicycle wheel. Very clever idea, and nice execution! It was sold on Etsy and was a one-of-a-kind. Fortunately, the designer has other clocks available.

A sweet looking clock that displays the current day and time in written form.

Remember the days of paper based time tracking? Good thing those days are gone because adding up all of those timesheets takes lots of time!

Just in case you ever need to track time on paper, here are links to a few PDFs I’ve seen that you can print and use. They are all well designed so it makes it easier.

Pelago Paper Timesheet — A simple Letter sized timesheet designed for accurate tracking through a single day.

Simple Timetracking Sheet — A simple sheet designed for tracking multiple projects in a day.

The Printable CEO™ III: Emergent Task Timing — A clever PDF you can print and use to track your time.

Blue Flavor Version of Printable CEO — A variation with downloadable PDFs.

LEGO Powered Time Tracking — A clever LEGO hack.

Let me know if you know of any others you think I should link up.

The New York Times has a sweet information graphic that provides an interactive look at how most people spend their time.

Something I hear often from designers and developers is that they can never find the motivation to track their time — or they never remember to in the first place.

An underlying reason is that they simply don’t need to track their time in their job. A number of developers I know bill by the project and so there is no urgency to track time.

Convincing these people to track their time is nearly impossible, so I won’t try. I’ve put together a list of reasons why you might consider tracking your time if you happen to be one of these people.

For those who do need to track time, but dislike the process I suggest trying the following:

1. Consider tracking time with a stopwatch based time tracking system. Not only will a stopwatch remind you that you’re on task, but it should keep you from becoming distracted because you’ll know the timer is running. The next time YouTube or Facebook call to you, you’ll realize you need to stop the timer.
2. If a stopwatch isn’t your thing, you can always manually log your time after-the-fact. But you should know that your memory will never be perfect. If you forget about 15 minutes of possible billable time per day the lost earnings could cost you dearly.
3. Track your billable time, and your unbillable time. The reason you want to track your unbillable time is so you can gauge your billable efficiency over time. You’ll know whether you’re 50% billable, or 75%. Knowing that could mean the difference between success and failure.
4. Compare notes with coworkers or friends. Tracking time is best enjoyed as a team sport. Share your results with colleagues in your office, or outside.
5. Don’t just log time to projects. Write detailed notes about what you did during that time period. You’ll find that the notes help with billing but at the end of the week you will have an at-a-glance report of what you did.

I realize that time tracking isn’t for everybody, but if you need to do it as part of your job, I hope these tips help. Feel free to email with any questions you may have about time tracking. I’ve been tracking my time for over 3 years now, and I love it!

Update: There are a few time tracking apps that will automatically pop up and prompt you to let them know what you are working on. You can set a frequent interval, such as every 15 minutes. This forces you to enter your time constantly through the day.

I read a large number of personal productivity blogs, and thought it would be fun to share two of them with you.

Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for Smart People

www.stevepavlina.com

A site that became wildly popular after it was revealed that the owner, Steve Pavlina, makes a living off of ads on the site. Pavlina even tried the concept of Polyphasic Sleep to the amusement of his readers (but then discontinued after some time). Another good article is titled How to Become an Early Riser.

David Seah’s Better Living Through New Media

www.daveseah.com

Dave came up with an interesting idea a few years ago to create beautiful and useful productivity tools for himself. On paper. He calls them The Printable CEO, and shares his work with you for free and many people use them daily.

Andy Ferra, a designer in Phoenix I have had the pleasure of working with, wrote this about The Printable CEO:

One of the things I like about it most is it helps you define a clear system for prioritizing tasks and process to go through when you’re not being productive to help you get back on track.

Here’s a great little video that explains how entrepreneurs can change the world. I originally saw the link on Ward Andrews’ blog.

Twitter asks what are you doing? Brightkite asks where are you? Facebook asks what’s on your mind? Why not a calendar that asks what you are doing today?

If that strikes your interest, check out this sweet little pocket calendar for exactly that purpose.

Austin Baker (a designer I’m friends with) shared a cool link with me for an interesting calendar that has a match for every day. Photos are below or click here for more information.

I really like this Singletasking concept. It’s a simple idea, but nice to see someone wrote it down. See more here and here.