Have you ever tracked how much time you spend on your various activities throughout the day? If you haven’t, it may be an eye-opening exercise for you. Try it out for a week or even a couple days. It may seem tedious at first, but it will pay off in the end. Diligently tracking what you spend your time on will help you be much more productive going forward.
What is a Time Log
A time log, or activity log, is essentially a log of how much time you spend on each activity you do during a set time period. It can be written manually in a notebook, tracked electronically on an app on a mobile device, or entered into a spreadsheet on a computer. The important thing is to remember to write down every single thing you do during the day and how much time you spend doing it. Other categories you may want to track could include if the activity was planned, if you were supposed to do it at a different time (earlier or later or even a different day), the value or importance of the activity, how you feel (emotions and energy level), and any miscellaneous notes.
How Does This Help
Tracking how much time you spend on each activity throughout the day will make it easy to look at the full picture of your schedule. It will show you how you spend your time, what time of day you are most productive, how you feel during various activities, and more. Having it all tracked makes it easy to analyze your schedule and time management as a whole. This data helps you to see any areas that may need improvement.
Affecting Productivity and Happiness
Once you have filled in your time log for a couple days, you can utilize the information to eliminate any time-wasting activities. You may not have realized how long you actually spend on social media. You may not have realized how much time you spend gossiping by the water cooler. Activities like these are time wasters and steal your productivity and happiness. Like we talked about earlier, they can create more anxiety and stress in your life.
Your time log will also allow you to clearly see what time(s) of the day you are most productive and efficient. You can then be sure to schedule your most important activities or hardest work during those times, when your energy level is the highest and you are most alert. Another benefit to tracking, reviewing, and analyzing a time log is that you may see a new way to batch certain tasks.
Taking a step back and seeing an overview of how your time is truly spent throughout the day is an eye-opening experience. It allows you to take in the big picture and notice patterns or habits you may not have realized were forming. You can eliminate any time-wasting activities. You can also cut back on – or delegate – any activities that have low importance. You may find that you have more time in your day than you originally thought! Completing this exercise and adjusting your schedule accordingly will help you to gain more time, be more productive, and boost your happiness levels.
