Tracking Time (Part II)

Last week, I wrote about the importance of tracking time for freelancers of all types. And I promised to explain more about the possible methods for tracking time this week. So here goes ...

Different people employ different techniques for keeping track of the amount of time they spend on certain projects. These methods vary depending on the amount of time they want to spend actually tracking their work hours, their personalities, the type of work they do, and so on.

My husband, an attorney, has to track billable hours as well. He does so in a very basic way: By leaving a legal pad sitting on his desk (or in his briefcase when he goes to court) so that he can record the start and end time for each task he undertakes for a certain client. He's a detail-oriented, diligent fellow, and so this works for him.

A former boss of mine—also the organized sort—had a great planner open in front of her at all times. She'd jot down start and finish times on whichever day she was on, so then it was easy to see at a glance what she'd done each day.

I know others who keep a spreadsheet open on their computer all day to note and calculate work time by project, like The Copywriter Underground does.

My method used to be rather haphazard—I'd scribble down what time I began on a notebook if I happened to spot one, on a sheet of scratch paper I grabbed from the recycling bin, on my planner if it was handy. It allowed me to track short bursts of work but wasn't very sustainable in the long haul.

So I went on the hunt for a more permanent method, one that would keep me on track in a way a notebook couldn't.

My search began with a bit of Googling, of course. I wanted to see what other freelancers recommended. At Freelance Switch, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits listed a few that sounded like good options. Freelance Design Business highlighted some possibilities too.

But I realized some of the recommendations only worked if you were connected to the Internet. I wanted something I could use anytime, anywhere I had my laptop with me, even if I didn't have WiFi around. And many downloadable apps were made specifically for PC and weren't compatible with Mac, so that reduced the field.

Then I stumbled upon a few posts about a Mac-compatible program called On the Job from StuntSoftware, which came with a 10-day free trial, and decided to give it a try. (That cute little bee up there is the logo for the program, by the way.)

I thought I might not like it and planned to try more, but after I extended my trial for an extra 10 free days I decided it would do the trick, so I purchased it for $39.95.

I know some of you will smirk at the fact I spent money on time-tracking software, but I'm a few months in now and it works.

It's an easy-to-use interface (it actually looks a lot like iTunes) that allows me to sort projects by client, break each project down into its smaller parts, and track time for each part. Plus I can keep all the vital details—contact information, deadlines, rates—right there in the program. If I'm getting paid by the hour, I can see how much I've earned as it tracks time. And with a quick click of a button, the software creates an attractive invoice with all of the information I deem important. Then all I have to do is click one more button to create a PDF of the invoice or another button to email it. Easy as can be.

But the real reason I decided to fork over the money for On the Job is because it knows when I've been away from my computer for more than a few minutes and, as soon as I come back to it, reminds me how long I've been idle. If I forgot to stop timing when I left, I can tell it to delete that idle time. Or I can keep it, or modify the number to make it accurate as needed.

This ensures that six hours and three projects later I don't suddenly discover I forgot to keep track of the day's time. And it keeps me from leaving the timer running when I'm not on the lock anymore.

(Oh, and on occasion it horrifies me into getting back to work when I discover my quick stop in the kitchen for a coffee refill spiraled into half an hour of mail reading and dog petting. When I see how long it has been since I last worked, I'm chastened, to say the least.)

If you use time-tracking software, what's your recommendation? PC or Mac, share here.

(And if you want to find more time-tracking software for Mac, Appstorm has a great list—one basic option is even free, and the rest are reasonably priced.)

[Disclaimer: The opinion above is solely my own. I was not paid or encouraged to promote On the Job or any other time-tracking software by anyone.]