Track Your Time With a Time Log

How many times have you caught yourself saying the following:

• "I just don't have enough time!"
• "Where did the time go?"
• "It can't be 5:00 p.m. already. What have I been doing all day?!"
• "There are so many things I wish I could do, if I could only find the time!"

If you're like most people, you probably say these things often. Fortunately, there's a tool that you can begin to use right away, which will help you to take control of your time. That tool is a time log.

By keeping a time log you'll be able to keep track of how you're spending your time, analyze the data, and then decide what changes you're going to make.

This article will show you how to create and use a time log.

Here are the basic steps for keeping a time log:

1. Decide on the amount of time during which you'll keep a time log. You should track your time for a period of 5 to 10 days.
2. Keep your notebook and pen with you at all times and record all of your activities as they occur. Don't wait until the end of the day and then try to write down what you did all day from memory.
3. Enter a priority for each item. Is it a high priority, a medium priority, or a low priority task?
4. At the end of the period you decided on, go over your time log. Analyze how you're spending your time. Are you happy with the way in which you're spending your time? Can you identify time-wasters? What changes do you need to make?
5. Create a time budget. Now that you know how you're spending your time, you can decide how you want to spend your time from now on. Decide on categories, such as the following: Commuting; Meal Preparation; House Cleaning; Income Generating Activities; Sleep; and so on. Now decide what percentage of your time you want to devote to each category.
6. Once you've created a time budget, keep track of how you spend your time for another period of 5 to 10 days in order to make sure that you're sticking to your plan.
7. Every 6 months or so go back through the process of keeping track of how you're spending your time for a few days to make sure that you haven't reverted back to your old behavior.

(Image: Railroad Watch)

As you're analyzing how you're spending your time, ask yourself questions such as the following:

• Are you spending too much time on trivial matters?
• How much of your time is devoted to doing the things that are most important to you?
• How much of your time is devote to doing things that you enjoy?
• Is there a common interruption (one person, event, or circumstance that keeps getting in the way of your productivity)?
• Can you think of ways to minimize interruptions?
• Do you procrastinate between tasks?
• Look at each task and ask yourself: "Does this really need to get done?" and "Am I the best person to be doing this task?"
• Is there anything that you can outsource or delegate?