Comments on: Time Tracking: In Analog Style http://wendbaar.nl/blog/2009/01/time-tracking-in-analog-style/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:33:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Pasz http://wendbaar.nl/blog/2009/01/time-tracking-in-analog-style/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Pasz Thu, 07 May 2009 15:53:45 +0000 http://beriedata.nl/blog/?p=64#comment-6 I kind of envy the people that succeed in using pen and paper tools (a paper agenda, hipster PDA's, and the time tracking system you're using) to organize their lives. I tried the low tech approach a few times but everytime I run into these problems: - My handwriting is horrible - Spotlight search doesn't work IRL... I have a natural talent for misplacing paper items. I like to keep it digital because things are legible and findable that way :). The tools I'm using now are: - Omnifocus, for managing todo's - iCal, for planning the time to do the todo's in Omnifocus - Billings 3, for timetracking and invoicing. The timer is placed in the menubar on the right, which make app-switching unnecessary. When I get a phonecall or an unannounced visit, I just press the pause button next to the timer! - Spotlight search ;) See you in two weeks at the next Open Coffee? :) I kind of envy the people that succeed in using pen and paper tools (a paper agenda, hipster PDA’s, and the time tracking system you’re using) to organize their lives. I tried the low tech approach a few times but everytime I run into these problems:

- My handwriting is horrible
- Spotlight search doesn’t work IRL… I have a natural talent for misplacing paper items.

I like to keep it digital because things are legible and findable that way :).

The tools I’m using now are:

- Omnifocus, for managing todo’s
- iCal, for planning the time to do the todo’s in Omnifocus
- Billings 3, for timetracking and invoicing. The timer is placed in the menubar on the right, which make app-switching unnecessary. When I get a phonecall or an unannounced visit, I just press the pause button next to the timer!
- Spotlight search ;)

See you in two weeks at the next Open Coffee? :)

]]> By: Dick http://wendbaar.nl/blog/2009/01/time-tracking-in-analog-style/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Dick Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:25:03 +0000 http://beriedata.nl/blog/?p=64#comment-5 The analog way is indeed a very good way to have a quick and clear overview of your daily productivity. You could set up a database (in Filemaker for example) where you can fill in the billable hours once a day/week. Link those hours to the assignment they're for and see the total hours you spend on it as soon as the job is done. You can also set it to a maximum amount of hours for a certain assignment. When you make too many hours for it you can warn the client in time or learn from it the next time you work on a simular assignment (that has a fixed price). It works fine for us at the studio. I also gives you a clear status which job is done and which one is not. And when you have to take action to keep the project going. Only lack is: filling in those hours at the end of the day/week. Not my favourite hobby either! :-) Cheers and good luck with it! The analog way is indeed a very good way to have a quick and clear overview of your daily productivity. You could set up a database (in Filemaker for example) where you can fill in the billable hours once a day/week. Link those hours to the assignment they’re for and see the total hours you spend on it as soon as the job is done.

You can also set it to a maximum amount of hours for a certain assignment. When you make too many hours for it you can warn the client in time or learn from it the next time you work on a simular assignment (that has a fixed price).

It works fine for us at the studio. I also gives you a clear status which job is done and which one is not. And when you have to take action to keep the project going.

Only lack is: filling in those hours at the end of the day/week. Not my favourite hobby either! :-)

Cheers and good luck with it!

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