The idea of time tracking hurts more than the reality of it. The initial resistance to tracking time is normal – you’re changing habits which takes some getting used to. But in reality, can you and your team (and organization) afford not to know where the precious resource of your time goes – and how it affects the business?
The good news is there are a lot of great time tracking apps on the market to choose from; and for our customers, LiquidPlanner has a robust time tracking feature. To get you motivated, here are 17 reasons why tracking your time improves your project management skills.
- It’s the ultimate truth teller. You’ll soon learn how long that “two-minute task” really takes and plan accordingly.
- You’ll become a better project estimator – a key skill for project managers. A key skill for anyone who works on projects.
- The only way to improve a process is to measure it.
- Time is money. If you’ve going to be scrupulous about your budget, be scrupulous about your hours.
- Time tracking sets clear objectives. If you know how you should be allocating your time, you’ll increase productivity.
- You can see the scope creep coming, and take appropriate action.
- You can anticipate project changes.
- You’ll never be caught complaining, “Where does the time go?”
- You’ll be more successful at completing one task at a time, rather than jumping all over the place. Using timers helps.
- You’ll always know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, which provides a sense of purpose. Purpose increases engagement. Engagement increases performance.
- Speaking of performance: If you want to ask for a raise, a promotion or you want to hire another team member, your time sheet could be your best ally.
- When someone makes unreasonable demands on your time, you have proof of why the project/team/organization will suffer if you take on any more work.
- Tracking time naturally forces you to prioritize tasks.
- You’ll know when it’s time to delegate.
- Tracking time keeps procrastination to a minimum.
- You can analyze results and make important decisions based on the information you’ve gathered in your time sheets.
- If you do monthly reviews, your time sheet can help you remember what you forgot.
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Related stories:
How to Track Time and Log Progress Using LiquidPlanner
What’s Time Management Really About? (Hint: Focus)
15 Reasons Why You and Your Team Should Be Tracking Time
Source: Project Management Articles