Do you frequently get to the end of your day and wonder where the time went? It’s so easy to spend the day reacting to whatever comes at you, only to later realize you have no clue what you actually accomplished.
In my free ecourse, Organize Your Week, I ask readers to reply with their biggest struggle with their current weekly routine. I read every single reply, and there are definitely some common themes. One of the most frequent frustrations is getting distracted and losing track of time. I bet we can all relate to this!
Being more intentional with your time starts by designing an ideal weekly routine, something I teach in this free course and more in depth in my book. One of the first steps I have you do in the routine creation process is doing a time study. It’s an exercise that tracks how you spend your time, which gives you an idea of where your time is going and how long various tasks take to complete (important data to have when creating a routine).
Although a time study is a great way to get a grasp on how you currently spend your time over a short period, time tracking can also be an ongoing habit useful for boosting productivity.
The Time Tracking App I Personally Use
I’ve been using an app to track my time spent on projects at work, and it’s super helpful! Even if your employer doesn’t require you to track every minute, I recommend trying it. I am personally using toggl.com (there’s also an app). Toggl is a time tracking app that is simple to use, yet robust enough to generate summary reports with beautiful graphs. (Btw I’m in no way affiliated with Toggl, I’m just a raving fan!)
There are plenty of time tracking apps out there, but Toggl is the one I’ve personally been using with for the last couple years. If you’re in need of a simple time tracking app, you can quickly create a free Toggl log-in and you’ll be off and running. I’d love to hear your time tracking app recommendations!
Toggl makes it easy to log time spent on projects. Each project is color coded, and which creates colorful pie charts when you run a weekly or monthly report. The reports give me a quick glimpse at how I’m dividing my time between projects, which is helpful for checking in and making sure I’m focusing the most energy on my top priorities. I can also download a PDF dashboard to send to my boss to show what I’ve been working on.
Toggl doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as some other time tracking apps do, but that’s why I like it. It’s a no fuss way for me to quickly record my work as I go, which in turn generates professional reports whenever I need them.
10 Reasons I Love Using A Time Tracking App
- You’ll get a realistic view of where you spend your time, which will help you use it more intentionally.
- It forces you to write down what you’re doing as you do it, which curbs procrastination and increases your productivity.
- You’ll naturally become better at prioritizing tasks.
- It’s the ultimate truth teller. You’ll learn how long that “quick task” really takes so you can allow adequate time for it in the future.
- Reviewing the results helps you see if how you’re spending your time aligns with your priorities.
- You’ll be more apt to focus on one task at a time, rather than bouncing all over the place.
- Your results will help you become a better decision maker, since you’ll have a good handle on how much time you have available to take on new things.
- It’s fantastic data to have on hand should you ever need to justify your work performance or want to ask for a raise.
- If you prepare any type of regular reports or regularly reflect on your work, your time tracker reports will remind you of accomplishments you likely forgot about.
- You’ll never be caught wondering, “Where does the time go?”
Do you regularly use a time tracking app? Any recommendations of tools you love?
Wishing you a productive day,
P.S. Looking for more productivity advice? Let me guide you through my step-by-step process for designing an intentional weekly routine! Get free access to my Organize Your Week e-course by enrolling here.