{"id":11511,"date":"2019-07-16T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=11511"},"modified":"2022-09-15T02:32:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T02:32:15","slug":"how-to-track-your-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-track-your-time\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Track Your Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takeaway:<\/b>Keeping a log of how you spend your time, even if just for a few days, makes you aware of whether you\u2019re spending time on what\u2019s actually important to you. Keeping a time log sounds like a hassle, but it takes less time and attention than you might think. Plus, doing so lets you discover how many hours you actually work, step back from the stories you tell yourself, makes time feel richer, and may end up being the push you need to change how you spend your time.<\/p>\n

Estimated Reading Time:<\/b>3 minutes, 45s.<\/p>\n

Podcast Length<\/b>36 minutes, 50s.<\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Time tracking is something I often write about on ALOP<\/strong>, and rightfully so: tracking your time helps you gain perspective on your life, so you can determine whether the way you spend your time is true to your priorities and what\u2019s important to you. On this week\u2019s episode of Becoming Better<\/a>, my special guest Laura Vanderkam<\/a> and I dig into the intricacies of managing and tracking your time\u2014including how and why you should keep a time log, the stories we tell ourselves around how we manage our time, and what Laura has learned from tracking her time every single day<\/em> for years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The episode is well worth a listen\u2014and there\u2019s a link to play the episode at the bottom of this post\u2014but as always, in case you don\u2019t have the time to do so, here are the best nuggets from our conversation, including how to track your time, and why you should do it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How to Track Your Time<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Tracking your time is a pretty simple practice (here\u2019s a printable PDF and an Excel template that\u2019ll let you track a week<\/a>). Each half-hour, you jot down how you spent your time during that previous half-hour. Once you have about a week\u2019s worth of data, you look it over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In looking over your time log, Laura recommends asking yourself a few things:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n