Track The Time Blog

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is the cost of commuting. If your daily commute takes 20 minutes (round trip), as mine does, how much time are you really spending per-month, and per-year behind the wheel?

Let’s do the math.

There are 251 working days in 2013, and assuming 10 days of vacation per year it’s safe to assume the average person will commute 241 days out of the year.

Therefore, we come down to total time behind the wheel in 1 year: 80.33 hrs. DANG! So, yeah, for a short commute like that, the average person spends two-work-weeks behind the wheel. Tragic.

You could be spending more than 160 hours, or a months worth of work-time behind the wheel every year if you have a 20 minute one-way drive.

So, what is the true cost of commuting? Well, add in gas and lost-time and it could be significant. Is it really worth it to spend that much time in your car?

The 18 minute “Connecting” documentary is an exploration of the future of Interaction Design and User Experience from some of the industry’s thought leaders. As the role of software is catapulting forward, Interaction Design is seen to be not only increasing in importance dramatically, but also expected to play a leading role in shaping the coming “Internet of things.” Ultimately, when the digital and physical worlds become one, humans along with technology are potentially on the path to becoming a “super organism” capable of influencing and enabling a broad spectrum of new behaviors in the world.

Connecting (Full Film) from Bassett & Partners on Vimeo.

Well, I ended up using Harvest. Been tracking it for a month and a half now, and I really like it. If it wasn’t for the OS X app I would have passed, but the ability to track my time without getting into the web browser is a killer feature.

Web browsers to me are distractions. It’s awesome to use a desktop app.

Try Harvest (referral link): http://try.hrv.st/2xq

For only $29.99 you can have your very own bubble calendar. The bubble calendar is loads of fun!

What time tracking application do you currently use for your business? There’s definitely a lot to consider, and I think everybody is looking for something a little bit different.

Here’s what I have been looking for:

• Logging of time with start and end date stamps – I need to know when this time was logged… not just the day it was logged.
• Easy invoicing – either in the service, or really great export options to Excel or another invoicing app – like Freshbooks.
• An OS X app – it’s 2012 people, I need to do this on the desktop. Also, iPhone apps are great and I like that as a bonus.
• Daily report – I posted a few years ago about how I work, and one of the things I love about Complete Time Tracking Pro is the daily report. It’s beautiful and shows me the gaps in my time logs.

So, what are some of the apps I am considering:

• Complete Time Tracking Pro – have used this for over 5 years – awesome Windows app, but it’s time to move on to something that’s a little more modern, and web based, and has an OS X desktop app. I know certain people (yes, you) will think it’s crazy to move on, but I’m not so convinced that another app will really reduce my productivity or reduce my ease in invoicing.
• Harvest – seriously considering this as a viable option.
• Toggl – looks really nice and I like some of the interface ideas they have implemented.

I may do another post in the future about my selection. If you’re interested in this topic, check out my article from 2010 about my obsession with time tracking.

Great idea!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/658677510/aboutfaceclock-hangs-on-a-wall-corner-or-ceiling

Pretty cool looking app – http://www.eisenhower.me/
I’m going to give it a try this week.

Organizing Is Often Well-Planned Hoarding. The key paragraph:

“No matter how organized we are, we must continue to care for the stuff we organize, cleaning and sorting our methodically structured belongings. When we get rid of the superfluous stuff, however, we can focus on life’s more important aspects. Said another way: We can spend the day focusing on our health, on our relationships, on pursuing what we’re passionate about. Or we could, of course, reorganize our basement again.”

What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

Interesting results from a two-year study of tax lawyers at an undisclosed Big 4 firm.

This beautiful walnut clock is made from a solid piece of Walnut which is then fitted with a solid American Made mechanism and brass accents. The three brass “O”s live in the three position. This clock wants to be in your living room, whether your style is vintage modern, mid-century, or soho chic.

Via: Customatic

Some great ideas at this Quora answer.

Keeping as much state persistent across sessions as possible. I leave all my editors, browser windows, etc exactly the way they are so I can pick up and resume where I left off. This means I usually never shut down my computer, preferring to put it to sleep or standby where possible.

Everything else in your day – is not important. You just have to do these two things. Nothing more, nothing less.

http://mindfolder.com/blog/30-minutes-day/

An interesting post that I saw, and liked this part which I can relate to:

Excessive side projects. Side projects are like comfort food for coders. I’m a believer in doing a side project here and there to keep burnout at bay. Unfortunately, there was a period where I overdosed on them and was working on enough side projects to rival my real startup. I think it’s particularly easy to fall into this trap when your company is new but not brand new, i.e. traversing the Trough of Sorrow. Better to just suck it up and stay focused on product.

http://talkfast.org/2012/05/05/early-startup-time-wasters

Now:

The average work week in US is 43 hours. To be precise, it is on average 8.6 hours per day worked.

Working 11-12 hours is definitely not common. Of the few people I know who do it, all do it voluntarily.

People consistently overestimate the number of hours they work, particularly if they work more than 40.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/06/art3full.pdf

This is the funkiest song EVER! listen to the guy playing the bass. pure funk! if I could play the bass, this would be the only song I played.

TIME IN WORDS

features a uniform grid of 110 letters, which it uses to display phrases like “It is half past nine” whenever you press the side-mounted stainless steel button. Other features include a square brushed stainless steel casing in natural or black, the ability to show the calendar day or seconds — with two and three presses of the single button, respectively — and a rubber or leather strap.

This is so true: Burnout is caused by resentment

When people have to make sacrifices for work – like missing their child’s soccer game – they end up being resentful. She is proactive with her employees to make sure they don’t experience lots of resentment-causing activities. If being at tuesday night dinner with friends is the one thing you need to keep you happy, you should be there every week.