Keeping a Time Log
Over at Laughing All the Way to Work, Patricia wrote a very good post on how to prepare for your annual evaluation.
I’ve found that many times, my bosses don’t really have a real understanding of what I do all day. So it is my habit to keep a time log so that at any time, they can see what exactly it is that I do. I developed this system when I was working for a graphic design firm where I had to keep a time sheet to track billable hours for client billings. I found it so useful, though, that I continue to keep one where ever I work.
Here’s a link to a sample of my current time log. I’m working for a non-profit agency where I’m the only administrative support person, so I do work for all of our departments. The cost of my salary is distributed amid the various departments depending on how much time I spend working for them. I also have a column included to track the type of work I do since I wear many hats, and whether it’s a daily, weekly or monthly duty or a special project, just so the boss can see my time distribution. On one sheet is the basic data page, and on the other is a pivot table to help analyze the data for my boss.
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3 Responses to “Keeping a Time Log”
April 4th, 2008 at 11:46 am
When I want to find out how much time I’m wasting, I do a time log of every task for that day. The wasted time really adds up. I also find that I try to do too many tasks at once, constantly interrupting myself.
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April 6th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Nice article. I find doing this type of thing helpful for making sure that I’m spending enough time on the truly important projects and not getting caught up in the small, everyday tasks that can really eat up my day.btw, I stumbled you.
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April 7th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Thanks for the comments!
Yes, it is helpful at pointing out how you can be wasting time. For instance, I was doing background checks as they came in, but I found I saved a lot of time if I just held them in a folder and did them once every day or two. Now I only do them when I get them if I get a specific request to do so.
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