When people are looking to find out what things are wasting their time, I tell them to start by keeping track of their time. I usually give them this tool. Along with it they get a really simple process to follow each day. The biggest challenge when it comes to tracking your time is making the space to do so. It’s really easy to get caught up in what you’re doing for a few hours and then suddenly realize that you didn’t write down the last couple of things you did or you look at your log at the end of the day and see that you didn’t record the interruptions you had that day. Before you write anything in your time log, you’ve got to create the space for what you’re about to do. That has to be part of the process, or you won’t get the best results.
Here’s my process:
- Know why you’re tracking your time (You’re looking to see what you’re procrastinating on, identify time wasters, etc)
- Set your intention for the outcome you desire
- Start your day by acknowledging that you’re going to record what you do as you do it
- Record each activity and its level of importance (If you’re using my tracking tool)
- Each time there’s an interruption, make note of it
- Include the breaks you take-intentional or not
- Keep tracking for about 5 days
- Look at each day’s log to see what it reveals
Once you see what’s in play you can make the necessary shifts to shore up your daily habits to get and stay productive. Creating and holding the space to be consistent with your tracking for that week is crucial for getting the entire picture of what’s actually going on. Right now choose when you’re going to start tracking your time, get your log and dive into the process.