How do you keep a time log?

[Paul Mernon]

There is some mention of time logs on these forums, but, as I can tell, there was no in-depth discussion of this extremely powerful personal effectiveness tool.

How do you use time logging? Do you use pen and paper, text files, Excel, or special software, like LifeLog?

What impact time logs have on your productivity? Does just keeping a time log makes you more productive, or does the main benefit comes from log analyzing afterwards?

How do you analyze the time log? What feedback it gives you? Do you use categories? Do your categories overlap, more like tags (for example, doing web browsing for work can go both to 'browsing' and 'work' category?

Do you use any tools to chart how much time went to one category or another?

My personal time log keeping experience is relatively short yet. I've started to keep a time log a week ago, and my first impression is that it made me more productive just because I keep a log. That is, keeping a log disciplines me, makes me think 'What are you going to do now?' or 'What are you doing now?' and I have to come up with answer that can be entered into the log, so I can't just 'do nothing', unless I consciously decided to get a break and do nothing for some time.

Right now I'm keeping a log using a .LOG trick in Notepad. If you create a file and put .LOG as the first string, then every time you open this file again, Notepad will automatically start a new line and insert a timestamp with current time. So it looks like this:

.LOG
10:14 09.06.2007
your entry here

I created a text file named timelog.txt, placed shortcut to it on the desktop, assigned a hot key (Ctrl-Alt-T), so, every time I need to make an entry, I hit Ctrl-Atl-T, enter the text, hit Alt-S to save the log and Alt-F4 to close it till the next time. It is lighting fast, because no mouse involved in the process and you do not need even think what time it is.

At the end of the day I glance over my time log, trying to find some ideas how to improve my schedule and habits, and rename the file to timelog-YYYY-MM-DD.txt. After that, I clean up timelog.txt for the next day.

I now think how to add categories to my time log and how to analyze it more efficiently. It can be better than just reading the log I think.

The problem that I've encountered is that I sometime forget to make an entry. It happens seldom, but it is very distrurbing. I handle it in two ways now - if I don't remember when I switched tasks, I append the description of the new task to the current entry, for example 'reading docs + checking mail', so I at least know that I did two things. If, luckily, I remember the exact time of task switching, I enter the new task manually in timelog.txt.

But my intention is to eliminate forgetting to log a task completely. Can anyone offer an idea how to do it?

I welcome everyone to share experiences and thoughts on time logging in this thread.

Thank you!

[nurikabe]

.LOG ... I'd never seen that before. That's definitely going into my bag of tricks; especially for some of the server work I do.

I'd been using a little app from Welcome to AllNetic home! to automatically log my time (and force me to categorize it), however it's having a lot of trouble since I've moved to Vista. Looking for a replacement if anyone has one.

[Phil Newton]

I wrote about this on my blog the other day: Increasing your productivity with a time log.

Despite being a computer nerd, I find a paper system to be much easier to maintain. It can be carried around and can be scribbled on for notes etc. The other advantage is that having a (somewhat) rigid structure keeps me from spending time messing around on writing scripts or whatever to maintain a log.

The results over the years from using a time-log have been extremely impressive. It helped me to concentrate on a single task, and it made me realise just how much time I wasted on the 'net. I try not to be too detailed with what I'm doing, and if I'm going to be doing a lot of a little tasks, I'll write something like "working on x's todo list". I find that adding too much detail eventually becomes counter-productive as you end up spending more time logging than doing.

[ivylamp]

I'd love to hear more input on this. I think that the notepad idea is really neat, by the way. I've used time logs and not used time logs and now I'm sitting on the fence between the two. I think that free form time management has the potential to be much more effective BUT you almost have to start with the structure of a time log or schedule of some sort. It's kind of like learning the piano. First you learn the scales. Then you play from the sheet music. Eventually, you just sit down and play and discover all this other stuff you can do. This is probably a bad analogy for me, since I'm not musical at all....but it's the only one I can think of. The frustrating thing for me is that, every time I start a new project, I find myself going back to playing the scales...after I've gotten used to flying over the keyboard. I don't know why this is. On the days that free-form is working, it's awsome. I get so much done because I'm fitting this big puzzle together (oh, yeah, that's Don Aslet's analogy, isn't it?). On other days, I'm lost without structure and lose half the day. I would love to hear what other people are doing that is working (or not working) for them. Oh, and nice article, Phil!

[Jes]

My time log is pretty simple. I have a schedule that I prepare the night before (all tasks allocated to the exact minute---no rounding), and it covers my complete daily routine. Example:

4:30 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. Wake up, get out of bed, turn off alarm clock, get a Red Bull from the fridge, pick up your Bible and read.
5:00 a.m. - 5:10 a.m. Get a towel and take a shower.

Now, when I log my time, I don't write all of that, because I already did the night before! If I stray from my routine, I obviously put that down, but otherwise I just note the time and and number of the task (everything from 4:30 - 5 is #1, 5:00 - 5:10 is #2, etc.).

What's great about the schedule/log is that it forces me to plan ahead. If I take the time to prepare, then great! I just have to write some numbers! But if I don't, I regret it pretty fast.

Hope that helps!

[Tuumble]

Something else for you to look at and maybe use...

Time Log

This is a PDF page which breaks up a normal working day (0800-1800) into 15 minute periods so that you can track how you spend your time.

Each 15 minutes has been given two lines so you can even break that down that period into even smaller chunks.

It has a column for diary reminders, another for phone calls and emails and whether they are being received or sent with space for comments on the subject matter. It all makes it easier to track how your time is spent on a daily basis.

In addition there's a column for smileys so you can see at a glance how your day went. If you pick up that mornings are going badly you can take action into changing what happens at those times.

I've had some good feedback from others that have used it but I'd like to hear from you guys too.

[Paul Mernon]

Thank you all for the responses!

nurikabe: Thank you for AllNetic Time Tracker recommendation, I've tried it and it looks like a quality tool. I haven't found a way to start/stop tracking and switch a task from keyboard, but maybe I've overlooked it. Do you log your breaks with AllNetic or only periods of time when you work?

Phil Newton: Great article! I liked the idea that you can use a time log to analyze specific parts of your day where you want to improve. About improvements over weeks - where they usually come from?

ivylamp: Can you explain free form time management some more? It sounds interesting and I never heard about it before.

Jes: I think schedule and time log work best together. Schedule gives you a structure of the day, so you can schedule to spend 1 hour on programming, for example. But after this hour passed, you can still end up with little done or much done. Time log is a tool that allows you to look behind the schedule - how you actually spent this hour of time? How much were you reading docs, actually coding, writing documentation, debugging, testing or maybe you switched to a browser to look up some thing and ended up web surfing for half an hour.

I feel that making schedule/todo list on a day before and numbering tasks is a strong complement to time logging. I think I should try it.

Tuumble: This sheet for time logging looks nice. I prefer keyboard, but I hope someone will find it useful. And I like the idea of putting smileys in a log!

My idea about time logging is that making an entry must take a minimal effort. It is a personal thing. For some, pen and paper is effortless, others like to do a few clicks with mouse. For those who prefer keyboard, logging using keyboard shortcuts and text typing is more appealing.

I personally like the keyboard approach more. I feel that keyboard is just faster. Ideally, new entry should be done with three steps:

1. Press shortcut
2. Enter text
3. Press Enter

All other things (adding entry and current time to a file) should be done automatically. The .LOG trick with Notepad approximates it best to me, but it still requires two extra steps (save and exit). I'm thinking about writing a script which will allow making an entry in 3 steps. I will continue to write about my experience in this thread.

[eduard]

i think the pen and paper are the best to use. i do not keep my pc on all the time....

[Paul Mernon]

Yes, but most of us have a mobile phone, smartphone or handheld. With some software support and some system (such as designating a number to each task/activity) you could quickly log your time with your mobile device.

I've just got an idea. You can use camera, or any device with a camera to shoot every activity you begin doing! Picture files will have timestamps so you will be able to analyze photo-time-log later. Is there anyone who tried this approach to time logging?

[Sheeo]

Originally Posted by Paul Mernon

Yes, but most of us have a mobile phone, smartphone or handheld. With some software support and some system (such as designating a number to each task/activity) you could quickly log your time with your mobile device.

I've just got an idea. You can use camera, or any device with a camera to shoot every activity you begin doing! Picture files will have timestamps so you will be able to analyze photo-time-log later. Is there anyone who tried this approach to time logging?

That's an awesome idea! I think the easiest camera-device would be a mobile phone, don't you agree? Some of the SE phones should be scriptable, so you ought to be able to do a script that moves pictures from the phone to your computer during sync, and somehow automatically adds them to your time log.

[Ilya]

I have two approaches for logging time. One is for the time I spend at (or near) my computer. Another is for "unplugged" time.

When I am away from the computer, and need to log time, I just use a small binded notebook, that fits into my wallet. I use it for all logging - time, money, GTD capture while on the move, random ideas etc. The main beauty is ergonomics.
Instead of an actual wallet, I use the old removable leather cover from a notebook I've got ages ago as a birthday present. It has a lot of small pockets. I use them to keep money, credit cards, receipts and other small papers in order. But unlike any other wallet, it has this small loop for my jotter ballpoint pen and a place to attach my notebook. It takes me a couple of seconds to fetch it from my pocket, take the pen and be ready to jot things down. (It is especially helpful when tracking expenses. Every time I take out the wallet, the notebook is right there.)

Recently I've been experimenting with my new PDA. It is good enough for writing down notes, but I haven't figured out how to do the timelogging effectively.

When in front of the computer, I use Excel spreadsheet. The beauty of it is
the <CTRL+;> shortcut, that puts current time into the cell. I put times down in a column and have a couple of custom formulas in each row, that do basic analysis - how much time elapsed between two time stamps, what percentage of waking (or work) time it took and so on. I keep this spreadsheet always open. I just need to switch to Excel, press the shortcut and type in a description. With autosave running, I don't even need to save it. Each morning I replicate the clean master worksheet to use for the day. It allows to keep several logs in one file, for easier analysis later on.

This setup allows me to muscle-memorize the routine and keep the log, without breaking the flow state. Otherwise, my productivity suffers just because of the switch needed for time-logging and analysis would become useless.

[Paul Mernon]

Ilya, thank you for sharing Excel approach. I've heard about <Ctrl+;> shortcut for the first time, and idea of using formulas is an excellent example of how analysis can be automated. I wonder if the same approach can be used with OpenOffice Calc (open source equivalent to Excel, part of OpenOffice suite).

Sheeo, as for using a camera to time log your day, I agree that a mobile phone is the easiest choice, almost all mobile phones have a camera these days.

But there is a potential issue with keeping a log with a camera - not all actions are easily represented on a photo. To get full advantage of this method one should develop a system of symbolic photos representing one or another action.

[JohnGalt]

I'm old fashioned. I have a big whiteboard and magic marker

None of the fancy computer stuff, but I've got to say as crude as my method is, it's effective.

[TheFlyingMan]

Heh, sorry for digging up this old post, but does anyone just use a notebook and a pencil, in front of the desk? If I use a fancy computer software or a whiteboard or whatever I get too busy or "nah I'll update it later"...but having a small notebook in front of me means I list every time I get distracted and check my email, etc. Which makes it very effective.

[xander3]

Keeping up the resurrection. . .I've found Toggl.com to be effective - a web app obviously - free and as highly featured as rival getharvest.com.

As for keeping a paper record, why not just post a notice or something in front of you when you're working to remind yourself to use that program/web app?

[Brutha]

How much of your tasks are computer based?
Free Time Management Software | RescueTime tracks which program (and the dokument name) you run for how long.

[simonsta]

I find recording it on paper the easiest - its the most accessible way I find. Its so easy to forget to log the time if the log isn't accessible!

I carry a journal book around with me - its a leather-bound book with plain paper in it - great for recording all sorts of stuff, particularly actions. I mark up a log entry with an asterisk * and the time - that all.

[Kindred]

I prefer keeping a list of daily objectives and goals in my day planner, which I can take around with me. Once I finish something, I tick it off. It's really easy to assess whether I was productive or not at the end of the day, and my memory can tell me the reason for any lack of productivity.

A few months ago I got heavily into logging my time, but ironically I started loosing productivity. I create projects holistically, so I'm constantly switching between tasks. Logging how long I spent on a task every time I switched, then analyzing it all at the end of the day just wasn't worth it.

Sticking to my day planner has worked best. In my opinion, time logs help you get into the mindset of being conscious of what you're doing. Once you're in that mindset, you don't really need to log your time anymore, because you know whether you're productive from moment to moment in binary terms.

[ilovetoday]

I use a paper list, sometmes as detailed as shower at a certain time etc if I really have to organize my time to fit in everything otherwise I write a list of things I have to do the night before. I jsut cross or tick them off during the day.

I find it helps increase my productivity - almost like creating my own deadlines for the day.

I did try out a program that came with my new computer but I dont find it as easy to access as my peice of paper in my wallet or pocket all day.