Tracking Time Tactically
I started retrospectively tracking my time at work near the end of last year. In this time audit, I categorise my time into several buckets (e.g., sprint work, meetings, learning) and conduct a review at the end of the week. The process is intentionally low tech with no fancy tracking app, just manual entries into my calendar. Granularity is low — only to the nearest half-hour — since I assume things will balance out over the week.
The initial motivator was to make sure I was spending 20% of my time on impactful tasks — those tasks that are important but not urgent, as Stephen Covey would say. It was eye-opening to see how far off the mark I was. It's so easy to fool yourself into thinking you're doing more, but data doesn't lie.
This reactive approach has been valuable in revealing where I stand. Spending 25% of my week in meetings is definitely not where I want to be. However, it hasn't instigated much of a change in behaviour. As a result, I decided to take the next step this year and start proactively managing my time instead. Rather than track after-the-fact, I now plan my entire day as soon as I sit down in the morning. This is not a novel idea and it is often referred to as time blocking or calendarising.
I haven't been using this system for long, but it already feels like a superpower. I've recently rattled through more of my personal backlog than I have in all my previous weeks of post-hoc tracking. The act of planning is valuable in itself — specifically, identifying what my most important tasks (or daily highlights) actually are. Once identified, I then need to ensure there is an adequate amount of time devoted to each one. One unforeseen benefit of doing this planning ahead-of-time is that I can tangibly see what the opportunity cost of an unexpected ask is. You want me to review your PR right now? Well, that means I won't get this crucial design doc done today. I say "no" more often now, as Essentialism preaches, or at least "not right now" (hint: my "reviews" block later in the day instead).
It might be premature to rave about time tracking, given that I only recently started it in earnest. However, there's plenty of literature floating around the internet that swears by it, so it's hardly an unpopular opinion. In any case, I'd highly recommend giving it a whirl at work or in your personal life and see how you get on. If you want to ease yourself into it, try time auditing first to understand the current state of play. Once comfortable, go to the next level of time blocking and watch yourself start effortlessly chipping away at your to-do list. Good luck!