{"id":660,"date":"2019-07-22T16:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/blog\/?p=660"},"modified":"2023-10-25T12:49:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T10:49:41","slug":"leveraging-time-tracking-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/blog\/leveraging-time-tracking-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Leverage Your Time-Tracking Data for More Earnings and Better Productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leveraging<\/p>\n

Congratulations! You\u2019ve started to successfully track your time.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got the reporting to prove your productivity and effective time management. You know where and how you\u2019re spending your precious minutes and hours, and at what points in the day you are most productive. You\u2019re headed in the right direction towards effective time management.<\/p>\n

Now what?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve tracked your time. Now, you\u2019re ready to leverage that valuable information to prove your worth as a professional resource, help you become a higher earner, and increase your productivity.
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Creating Time-Tracking Reports to Increase Your Earning Potential<\/h2>\n

The first step to leveraging your time-tracking data is to deliver the information in a clear, professional manner.<\/p>\n

For example, you can email your client and make the claim that you\u2019re spending 3.5 hours per week on a blog post that should take 5+ hours. But until you prove it, your claim is tenuous.<\/p>\n

Sending your client a valuable, organized report that displays how many minutes and hours you spend on specific tasks is far more substantial (and professional) proof of your value.<\/p>\n

And if you already use a time-tracking system such as Timing<\/a>, you can automatically generate these reports<\/a> \u2013 making the process simple, clear, and efficient.<\/p>\n

Leveraging Your Data \u2014 For Freelancers<\/h2>\n

Your time-tracking data might feel very personal, and you may never have thought of sharing it with a client. However, your data can ultimately give your clients important information about your value and help you explain a raised rate or a high rate-per-project.<\/p>\n

If you bill hourly\u2026.<\/h3>\n

If you bill hourly, your livelihood depends on time-tracking. Leveraging that data is a critical step to becoming a higher income earner, as you choose to raise your rates as your efficiency and value increase.<\/p>\n

Showing your clients how much time you spend on their projects can be a valuable way of proving your speed and efficiency…and raising your hourly rate.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you have a client that pays you $35\/hour. Every week, you schedule their social media posts in a short 45-minute block because of your expertise. This task doesn\u2019t take you long, and you\u2019re making less than $30 to complete it\u2026but your client is raking in hundreds of dollars because of your skill.<\/p>\n

Show your clients how quickly you are able to complete this task. If you feel comfortable, draw a comparison of how long the same task used to take you, or how long it takes on average.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you may simply want to use a comprehensive time-tracking report to show your client how much work you achieve on a weekly basis. When you compare the worth of that work to the amount that you are being paid hourly, you may be able to (politely) identify a gap in monetary value, thus allowing you to justify a raise in your hourly rate.<\/p>\n

If you bill per project\u2026<\/h3>\n

You can still leverage time-tracking data to your advantage if you charge per project.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019ll want to leverage that data in a different way than if you billed hourly. The goal is not to show speed. It\u2019s to prove value. If a client underestimates the value of a specific project, you can use time-tracking data to show a client the number of hours it will take you to complete it.<\/p>\n

For example, you can use a time-tracking report to show a client how many hours you spend on research, writing, editing, and proofing a landing page. Leveraging this data helps you to explain the cost of the project in clear, specific terms.<\/p>\n

Time-tracking can also help you ensure that you don’t spend way more time than you originally estimated for a project. For example, if you estimated that a project would take you four hours to complete \u2013 and billed accordingly \u2013 you’ll want to make an effort to remain within that time frame. Otherwise, per-project work can turn quickly unprofitable.<\/p>\n

Leveraging Your Data \u2014 For Full-Time Employees<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re a full-time employee, you may not pay as much attention to time tracking.<\/p>\n

After all, you make the same amount of money every month, and in many companies \u2013 especially large corporations \u2013 time is not always carefully tracked and employees aren\u2019t always held accountable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, tracking and leveraging your time as a full-timer can become a valuable professional asset.<\/p>\n

Leveraging your time-tracking data can be used for:<\/p>\n