One of the things I’ve struggled with when working from home is tracking my time. I work on so many different projects that I needed a way to see how much time I was spending on each vs. how much time I was spending working per day vs. how much time I was working per week. It’s a lot of information to keep track of, but I have two methods that have worked so far for me. Maybe they’ll work for you.
1. Using an app like Harvest
I’ve only recently started using Harvest and it has revolutionized how I consider the time I spend working. It’s traditionally used for teams of people working on complex projects with invoicing and client tracking, but I use it to handle my workload and it has all of the breakdowns I need to form a picture of my workweek in a meaningful way. Here’s a screenshot of what a project tracking entry looks like:
You can either log time you’ve already spent on a project, or leave the time blank and start a timer. I use the timer function because it keeps me on task knowing that I’m being logged (even just by myself). I highly recommend the app if you have a lot of different tasks to keep track of, or if you just want to get a better idea of how much time you’re spending doing nothing but work during your day.
Here’s HarvestWorking From Home – Bullet Journaling Calendar SpreadsWorking From Home – Bullet Journaling Calendar Spreads in the Google Play Store if you want to check it out!
2. Pen and paper
In this post I briefly touched on how I use a time tracker in my bullet journal, color coded so that I can group tasks together into a general work color. This way, at a glance I can see how much of my day is green (my work color) compared to other tasks I spent my time on. Here’s a picture of what that looks like, or you can check out the linked post to see an example of my time tracking.
The Short Version
Tracking my time is a form of accountability that has kept me on track compared to just winging it when it comes to my hours spent working. No matter what form you use, whether it’s an app like Harvest or with good ol’ pen and paper, tracking time can help you make the most out of your time while working from home.
What do you think? Which method makes more sense for you? What color would you use to represent your work? Let me know in the comments!
-Katy
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