Time tracking questions

[redmond007]

I've been tracking the time I spend on various projects in order to motivate myself and get a better idea of how I tend to spend (and waste) my time. I've been using an excel spreadsheet with some custom macros to track my time.

I have a small question: If I am doing a couple of things at a time - for instance, if I am working out at the gym, but also listening to an audio book on personal finance on my iPod - do I count this time as 'working out 1 hour', or 'financial research 1 hour' - or both? I multitask like this quite a lot.

[jwz]

Dunno if I'm qualified to answer the question, but IMO, listening to the audiobook doesn't interfere with your workingout routine and vice versa.
So, I believe you can count this one as 1 hour of both.

-Jan

[DrMartinRussell]

Originally Posted by jwz

Dunno if I'm qualified to answer the question, but IMO, listening to the audiobook doesn't interfere with your workingout routine and vice versa.
So, I believe you can count this one as 1 hour of both.

-Jan

Count a proportion of each eg 45 minutes and 15.

Multi-tasking is usually not. Eat while socializing and you tend to over eat or not notice you are eating things you don't actually like or even taste.

Do you actually apply the info in the audio? Then count that time, but you were like me you were probably ignoring much of it.

[redmond007]

Originally Posted by DrMartinRussell

Do you actually apply the info in the audio? Then count that time, but you were like me you were probably ignoring much of it.

I guess I'm not like you because I retain much of the information. I don't listen to books that are mainly practical information - i.e., something like the Motley Fool financial workbook - on audiobook, what's the point in that when it is better used as a reference? I mainly listen to theoretical books, non fiction, etc.