The perfect time tracking solution?

[photon]

Lately I'm having to track my time a more closely, and anyone who's had to do this knows it's horrible terrible painful.

I run a program called ManicTime on my computer which tracks what application I'm in and what files I have open which helps quite a bit when I forget to actively track.

There's lots of apps out there to help with this stuff though I haven't really tried many, Harvest being the only one.

When I tried Harvest I constantly forgot to update it for what I was working on, and usually had to go back and edit things anyway making it useless.

But check this out, I may try this.

http://timeular.com/

I like that it's a physical thing that has a simple reminder of what I'm currently working on. Maybe seems like a useless gimmick but I think for me I might remember to use it consistently.

[GGG]

I used a notebook.

I also forced myself to work on one thing at a time and not answer phone calls or emails accept at set times. When I could be disciplined like this I was much more effective. Though my current job doesn't allow for that kind of task by task work.

[photon]

Yeah that would probably help too. Developers are a different thing, to be really productive it takes a certain amount of uninterrupted time, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the task, to get into the 'zone'. Being constantly interrupted not only makes it harder to track time, it actually kills developer productivity.

There's also something some people call 'incubation', which is subconsciously working on a problem or design in your head while doing other things. I can be trying to get something to work or look nice or whatever, and be stuck. I can pound away at it for an hour and get no further ahead. I could go look at cat videos for an hour, come back and have a perfect solution in 5 minutes. Or leave early and wake up with a better solution fully formed in my brain.

Anyway, trying to stay more focused and not checking emails or calls right away is a good suggestion, thanks!

[FurnaceFace]

I don't have a tool but am interested in what you find.

I worked for a company that developed a time tracking system with 15 min increments which is what we billed in. It was a manic system. If you managed a pile of projects like did and got to busy to update your time for the morning you were pretty much F'ed and left guessing where all those 15 mins went.

The interuptions and focus is super difficult. If you believe the studies that it takes you on average 23 mins to get back in the groove after an interruption, I'm not sure if any of us get more than a half an hour of real productive time. I covet the magic 45-60 minutes first thing in the morning before everyone gets in. It would be interesting to run a stopwatch and see what the average time was between interuptions. I'm not sure I ever go more than 15 mins.

[photon]

I signed up for updates from that website I linked, if the device is cheap enough I'll give it a try.

[gottabekd]

I use KanbanFlow for project planning and time tracking. There are lots of features for managing tasks, planning, estimating, whatever. But the beauty of a tool like this is it has enough base features that you can customize for your use. For example, just for time tracking, you could have 4 or 5 items in your list, select one, start the timer.

I don't track for anyone buy myself, and just use it to get some general insights. I have 3 monitors, and mostly dedicate one to project tracking, and I find I rarely forget to start the timer. If this data will be audited by others, maybe a more strict tool would be best. I'm thinking something that locks down your computer unless you are actively billing towards a project

A similar and probably more popular tool is Trello. Trello doesn't have time tracking built-in, though there are some free browser plugins that add it. Both KanbanFlow and Trello are free with many features, and have some paid options for more features (mostly around multiple users and reporting).

For productivity, try the Pomodoro technique. The basics is to commit to a set period of focus (suggestion is 25 minutes), then take a full on break (suggestion is 5 minutes). I find committing to 25 minutes of focus at a time is easier than thinking "1:00 PM. OK, time to doing something towards that 2 week task...". Similar to your tool, some also like the idea of a physical timer for the Pomodoro technique. There are many apps, programs, web apps, etc.

Finally, for general productivity, I've found that Microsoft OneNote is the best for notes. It has clients for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, but unfortunately not Linux. And it syncs all your notes to the free Microsoft cloud.


EDIT
Hmm, it seems one of the premium features of KanbanFlow is a Time spent report. If you primarily want this tool for time tracking and reporting, the basic time tracking in the free version might not be suitable for you. Well, there is a free trial for the premium service

[Titan]

I have started using the Pomodoro technique. I purchased Be focused Pro for the desktop and iPhone. The timer syncs so you know when your breaks are over. You can set the work and break time to whatever you want. Very flexible and I find I a am able to be quite focused for the 25 or so minutes then get a short break.

[Flash Walken]

I can give a +1 for trello as a project managing tool, also handy if you are collaborating with others, helps keep the whole team on the same page as to who is doing what.

[photon]

Yeah I use Trello for personal stuff and when a client doesn't have a preference. Right now all my clients use JIRA though so I do all my Kanban stuff on JIRA.

Still use Evernote though I'm migrating to OneNote sometime since they restricted Evernote's free tier to just 2 devices.

I'll check out Pomodoro, thanks!