How Tracking My Time Changed The Way I Work

My friends think the life of an entrepreneur starts by waking up to the sound of birds chirping or at least snoozing the alarm until you feel like getting up, leisurely walking to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast (or even lunch if you snoozed your alarm a little too long), working for a few hours and then having the rest of the day to yourself. Essentially, it’s a perpetual vacation with minimal working. I’ve learned that’s not the case.

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I’ve found myself pushing back on my friends who believe that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow because I don’t have an official boss. I’m my own boss and therefore I am only accountable to myself. I remind them that yes, I technically don’t report to a “boss” but no I can’t just skip work every Monday because I’m tired or don’t feel like it.

Now, working for yourself is not for everyone. Some people love having a full-time job with a steady paycheck and that’s awesome. You should do whatever makes you happy.

One day, I realized that I was overworking myself, trying to do too many things at once, and the worst part was that I didn’t see a difference in my bank account that showed the added effort. It was at this point of frustration and excitement at new projects I’d missed because I didn’t have time, that I decided to go out on my own and start my own company.

As an extrovert, it took me a while to get my bearings on working alone. You don’t realize how much of your daily socializing comes from interacting with your coworkers until you don’t have them. As I went out into the great unknown of remote consulting work, I realized that I was going to need to take control and ownership of my work hours.

I’d had experience tracking my time at my old companies and I liked the clarity I felt when I could look at my weekly and monthly timesheet. I decided that I would track my time in fifteen minute blocks. It was specific enough to catch the small tasks but wasn’t too overbearing that I wasted valuable time tracking my time.

I track my time based on the project, splitting up my different client work, volunteer gigs, and the administrative and marketing time I spend on Logan Strategy Group. Each row is a different project and each column is a different day so at the bottom of each column, I add…