5 Reasons Why Time Tracking is Good for You

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.
William Penn
Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.
Alan Lakein
Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.
Theophrastus
These quotes speak for themselves. Time is our most valuable resource, yet we often use it carelessly. Fortunately, there is one way to help us use our time wisely: time tracking. I’ve written about how to use Rachota for time tracking. Now I’d like to share why I believe time tracking is good for you:

1. You will know exactly where your time has gone
   If you are like me, maybe you often wonder where your time has gone. Suddenly you reach the end of the day and wonder why you have accomplished so few. Well, time tracking can help you. You will know exactly what activities you’ve spent your time on and for how long.
2. You can identify your areas of improvements
   After knowing where your time has gone, you can identify your areas of improvements. Simply compare the actual time you spend on each activity with what you think is the best amount for each.
   The ones which actual duration exceeds your ideal duration are your areas of improvements. This is where you waste your time. One thing that obviously falls into this category is idle time. Try to minimize your idle time whenever possible.
   The same thing goes for activities which duration is below your ideal duration. These are the activities in which you do not invest enough time.
3. You can budget your time
   You can go further by budgeting your time for each activity in the beginning of the day or in the night before. In this case, you set a specific amount of time for each activity and watch yourself not to spend more or less than the allocated time. Time tracker like Rachota makes it easy for you to monitor your progress throughout the day.
4. You will have a sense of responsibility
   This is another benefit of time tracking which may not be obvious in the beginning. I realize it only after I use it. Time tracking gives you a sense of responsibility in using your time. Why? Because you must “report” your time usage. It is as if you must report your time usage to your boss, only in this case the boss is you.
5. You will be unlikely to get distracted
   If you use a time tracker, you need to clearly state the purpose of the time you spend. For example, you state that this time is the time to read book and you put it into the time tracker. The time tracker will then start counting the time you spend in reading book. Since you have a clear purpose in mind, you will be unlikely to get distracted. You know exactly what you are doing right now.

For practical tips on using time tracking, check my previous post.

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