The answer is simple: then you must be doing something wrong.
Sure, we know how you feel: a dozen of tasks on the list, and deadlines pressing down on you. You must be crazy to waste your precious time on stupid time-tracking when you are swamped like this… right?
The truth is that timesheet software companies know how busy workers are nowadays. So they have done their best to make tracking work time just as simple as making a cup of coffee (and just as essential). Just imagine creating a task called “Tracking time” and logging hours for that task. Gosh, that would ruin the whole concept!
Top 5 Things to Avoid When Tracking Hours Worked
Record time twice
Often, people track hours worked on paper or in Excel spreadsheets. After that, they have to transfer all their entries to their corporate time-tracking software. It’s time-consuming, so make sure that you record time only once! Besides, when you copy your entries, you tend to make more errors.
Track work time once a month
Have you ever been tempted to do that? We all have, actually. It seems that we will save more time if we log hours only once every two or four weeks. And yet it ends up taking more time: you have to recall everything you did each day, plus make many entries at once.
Track time in advance
That isn’t a good idea, either. You may think the task will take half an hour to complete, yet in reality it takes you half a day (especially if it is on Friday, ha-ha). Don’t make a habit of this, because you will have to re-enter your hours often. P. S. If you need to enter the time budget information, use the time estimates feature for that.
Check for missed entries
If you forget to log your time, don’t be worried — it happens to everyone. However, going back to your earlier tasks and checking if there is anything missing is a tedious process. The solution is simple: set up automatic reminders in your time-tracking software.
Create a complex workflow
Minimal fuss, is what’s important when you are using software for tracking time. Try to keep your task structure to 3 levels or less, avoid novel-like descriptions and comments: there’s no need to make the whole thing look like a skyscraper. If you need to fill out a dozen fields to create a task, it is time you started looking for a more user-friendly solution.
Enter, save, done
That is the key idea. Tracking time for a task shouldn’t be any harder than performing the task itself. To keep it simple it’s enough to follow our tips and keep in mind: it is really helpful.
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