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If you\u2019re a freelancer, you probably already know that time tracking is, well, worth your time.<\/p>\n
On a micro-scale, time tracking gives you valuable insight into how long you spend on specific projects and activities; your most productive hours of the day; and what, if anything, may be distracting you from your priorities.<\/p>\n
On a macro-scale, time tracking can help you develop greater time management skills, become more productive, and earn more cash<\/a> (who doesn\u2019t want that?).<\/p>\n That being said, there\u2019s a right (and wrong) way to track your time. Tracking your time incorrectly, which often results from manual tracking or start-and-stop timers, can do you more harm than good by giving you an inaccurate picture of how you spend your precious minutes and hours.<\/p>\n But by following strategic steps in your time tracking, you can get the most out of this wise and productive habit \u2013 helping you to gain more detailed, in-depth knowledge of your own work habits, speed<\/a>, and level of efficiency. The basics will get you a good start on time tracking.<\/p>\n Automatic time tracking ensures that you get an accurate, thorough overview of your time usage. It doesn\u2019t rely on you \u2013 a distracted human-being \u2013 to keep track of how long you spend on every project and task.<\/p>\n And it doesn\u2019t let you \u201cfly under the radar\u201d when you spend 45 minutes on social media.<\/p>\n Timing<\/a> automatically tracks every minute you spend on your laptop or desktop computer, so that you get an accurate overview at the end of every day.<\/p>\n At the end of every working day, you\u2019ll want to look at the \u201cbigger picture\u201d of how you spent your time.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what an end-of-day overview on Timing looks like:<\/p>\n As you can see, Timing gives you a daily report of your working minutes and hours, broken down by application, category, or project. You\u2019ll be able to view not only how much time you spent on a given task, but when you did it.<\/p>\n \u201cOverview\u201d will also show your most productive working hours of the day, giving you a better idea of when you\u2019re most focused, and in turn how to strategically schedule your time accordingly.<\/p>\n With Timing, you can go to the \u201cReview\u201d tab to see a more detailed breakdown of your time organized under paths \u2013 various places on your drive, or keywords \u2013 which are auto-generated to sort your work (for example by client name or topic).<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the \u201cReview\u201d tab looks like: Under Review, you can use the \u201cDrag and Drop\u201d function to assign specific work to categories. For example, if you notice you spent 15 minutes on YouTube to prepare for a writing assignment, you can drag and drop the URL into your \u201cWriting\u201d category.<\/p>\n Across the top of \u201cReview,\u201d you\u2019ll notice a timeline where you can see color-coded blocks that tell you when you have accomplished certain tasks, worked on specific applications, and more. You can also modify these blocks to categorize tasks.<\/p>\n Reporting your time tracking results to clients can be an extremely efficient way to invoice your clients if you bill by the hour.<\/p>\n Timing will automatically generate reports for you, making this step easy and time-efficient.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the \u201cReports\u201d tab looks like in Timing:<\/p>\n You can still customize your reports using \u201cReport Settings\u201d and even choose how you want it to be exported in \u201cExport Settings.\u201d<\/p>\n Take \u201cNext Steps\u201d to level up your time tracking by generating the most accurate results from Timing, and get a larger-scale idea of changes in your productivity over time.<\/p>\n Understanding your overall time expenditure may be helpful, but knowing how much time you spend on various tasks, projects, and clients is immeasurably helpful.<\/p>\n For example, you might have a client that doesn\u2019t pay very well, but is taking a large number of working hours every week. Knowing this can encourage you to either adjust your rates or to consider cutting down on this type of work.<\/p>\n Timing automatically categorizes your time by application, general category, keyword, and path, but you can also create projects manually to gain even more valuable reporting on various clients.<\/p>\n Under the \u201cReview\u201d tab, select \u201cCreate New Project,\u201d and then select a color and productivity rating (in other words, rank how important this task is), and finally assign a keyword to the project.<\/p>\n You can even set up complex rules for your projects under the \u201cRule Editor,\u201d helping Timing to give you ultra-specific results<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trust us: Investing a few minutes of your time into developing complex rules will pay off later on, when you get automated results with precision and accuracy.<\/p>\n Rather than revisiting your time at the end of the day and re-organizing it, assign specific tasks or applications to projects or clients with the \u201cDrag and Drop\u201d function, as mentioned above.<\/p>\n For example, if you use Mail exclusively for your \u201cCommunications\u201d category, you can drag and drop Mail into \u201cCommunications\u201d under the \u201cReview\u201d tab. And if you keep the Option\/Alt key pressed while dragging, Timing will automatically create a rule for you.<\/p>\n Now, any task you perform in Mail will automatically be assigned to \u201cCommunications.\u201d You can perform the same function by creating categories for specific clients. For example, if you only use Excel for a specific client, Timing will automatically allot any time spent in Excel to that client category.<\/p>\n Automatic time tracking is ideal, but you may perform some important tasks offline, in which case you will have to add them manually.<\/a><\/p>\n If you hold a meeting, have a conversation over the phone, or spend time brainstorming on paper, make sure to add those tasks to your overall time expenditure. You may even want to log in time for going to the gym, grocery shopping, or having drinks with friends.<\/p>\n You can do this in Timing by pressing the \u201cNew Task\u201d button in the upper left-hand corner.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can adjust the settings on your desktop so that Timing will automatically ask what you were doing after \u201cidle time.\u201d Then, you can enter your task manually.<\/p>\n Timing will also automatically sync to your calendar events, so that your time management and administration are kept all in one place.<\/p>\n You can assign calendar events to specific projects under the \u201cReview\u201d tab, located on the timeline across the top of the screen.<\/p>\n [content_upgrade cu_id=”682″]Have you downloaded your free \u201cQuick Manual of Timing\u2019s Premium Features\u201d yet?<\/strong>[content_upgrade_button]Click Here[\/content_upgrade_button][\/content_upgrade]<\/p>\n Optimizing your time tracking requires just a little planning and organizational effort on your part to produce stellar results. Timing does most of the hard work for you by automatically tracking time, organizing and tagging events, and even letting you know how productive you\u2019ve been on any given day with a personal \u201cProductivity Score.\u201d<\/p>\n Intentional time tracking can help you significantly boost your productivity so that you become a more effective, successful freelancer.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t already use time tracking, give Timing<\/a> a try by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re a freelancer, you probably already know that time tracking is, well, worth your time.<\/p>\n On a micro-scale, time tracking gives you valuable insight into how long you spend on specific projects and activities; your most productive hours of the day; and what, if anything, may be distracting you from your priorities.<\/p>\n On a macro-scale, time tracking can help you develop greater time management skills, become more productive, and earn more cash<\/a> (who doesn\u2019t want that?).<\/p>\n That being said, there\u2019s a right (and wrong) way to track your time. Tracking your time incorrectly, which often results from manual tracking or start-and-stop timers, can do you more harm than good by giving you an inaccurate picture of how you spend your precious minutes and hours.<\/p>\n
\n[content_upgrade_scripts]
\n[content_upgrade cu_id=”682″ preload=”1″]Grab our \u201cQuick Manual of Timing\u2019s Premium Features\u201d for free now!<\/strong>[content_upgrade_button]Click Here[\/content_upgrade_button][\/content_upgrade]<\/p>\nThe Basics<\/h2>\n
#1: Use automatic time tracking.<\/h3>\n
#2: Look at the \u201cbig picture.\u201d<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/01b_overview_30days_desktop-2-1540x963.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStep #3: Pay attention to specific tasks, projects, and client work.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/07_timeline_hover_today-1540x927.png\")
<\/p>\nStep #4: Report your time.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/09_reports_30days-1540x927.png\")
<\/p>\nNext Steps<\/h2>\n
Step #6: Form a habit of reviewing your time.<\/h3>\n
Step #7: \u201cDrag and drop\u201d to automatically assign your time to specific projects.<\/h3>\n
Step #8: Add time manually when necessary.<\/h3>\n
![\"Optimize](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/image6_timing.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/05b_menu_desktop-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStep #9: Consider your time usage over one week, one month, or one year.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/08_review_30days-1540x927.png\")
<\/p>\nStep #10: Use Timing to view your calendar events.<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timingapp.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/calendar_add_task-2310x1359.png\")
<\/p>\nClosing Thoughts<\/h2>\n
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