Huge Mistakes When Using Time Tracking Software
Everyone wishes to be the master of his time. And is there a better way than to become a freelancer? You work whenever you want, go out whenever you want and sleep till 10 a.m. if that’s your desire. However, if you want organize your time effectively you’d better install time tracking software on your PC or laptop.
You may wonder what would change if you have time tracking software. There are many reasons why you should do that and we will mention just some of them. First of all, with the help of time tracking system you will easily manage the work on the different projects. Also, you will calculate the pending amounts correctly. Let’s not forget that when you have a list of all the projects you are working on, along with the progress on each project, you will plan your activities ahead.
However, many people make mistakes when using time tracking system. For instance, more than 50% of the people who use this software forget to include the time spend on writing emails on their time manager. In fact, checking your email 10 times a day will take you at least half an hour, especially if you have to write an email to your employer or project manager. To sum up for a week you will work minimum 3-4 hours without being paid.
According to experts, this is one of the “hidden” expenses we don’t charge our employers for.
Another huge problem that is costing you loss of money is not accurate time tracking. Some people believe that if they enter the information once or twice a month, they will save their time. That is absolutely wrong! It is recommended to fill your timesheet minimum once a day. However, most employees fill their timesheets multiple times a week. Still there are some that fill the timesheet once a month – 3.6 % of the questions employees.
Results from the latest survey on time tracking show that around 40% of the people, who use this software don’t track the working time correctly. So how to be sure you are not included in the per cent of people who are loosing money?
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First of all, check twice whether you have included checking your email and responding to your project manager in the routine tasks.
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Second of all, you have to be absolutely aware that if you don’t fill in the correct information, you won’t be paid for it.
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Our third advice is to fill in the timesheet after you have worked on the project. Don’t fill in the timesheet in advance because there is no way to know how much the specific project will take you. You may fill in that you have worked an hour on the project. In reality this project may take you 3-4 hours or even more which won’t be paid, unless included in the time sheet.
All in all, time tracking software has many advantages and will help you optimize your time. However, you need to learn to use it properly.
