Showerthought: I tried two different ways to track my freelance hours last month

Honestly, I was just scribbling notes on a notepad for a while, which was a mess. Last week I finally tried a free time tracker app, Toggl, and it was way better. I billed for 12 more hours in April because I actually remembered all the small tasks. Has anyone else found a simple system that doesn't feel like extra work?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice_foster21d ago

Okay but the notepad thing is a huge trap. You think you'll remember to write it down later, but you never do. I did that for months and was basically donating hours to clients. Switching to an app, any app, is the real fix because it's right there while you work. The trick is making the timer part of starting the task, like putting your keys in the same spot so you don't lose them. It stops being extra work once it's just what you do.

riverw8521d ago

Oh man, you're totally right. I used to fight the app idea but forcing that habit is what finally worked.

karen_nelson402d ago

Donating hours to clients" is the perfect way to put it, lmao. I was basically running a charity with my terrible notepad system. You're right that the app just has to become the automatic thing you do, like turning on a light.