A few months ago, I downloaded a tiny time management application that runs on my desktop computer where I work online.
It runs in the background, unobtrusively. I don’t even notice it.
Once every week, I receive an email in which there’s a summary time management report – about how I spend my online time.
It is always eye-opening.
This is how a summary report might look:
When I hover over the bars on the right side, it gives me a break-up of which websites or applications I’ve spent time on.
By assigning each activity a ‘productivity rating’, ranging from highly productive to severely unproductive, I get a visual representation of how well and effectively my time is being spent online.
Now, there are some drawbacks and limitations to a time management tool like this. I don’t always log out when I leave the computer to tackle offline tasks, including when I leave to the hospital – so at times, the tool over-calculates a specific activity. But, by and large, it is an accurate and fair representation of the time I spend on various sites and activities.
It has been TRANSFORMATIONAL in keeping me on track to meet my goals.
I never realized just how often I slip from my self-imposed targets to limit time on certain activities, such as engaging on social networks or browsing news sites. And this time management tool has been priceless in tracking my productive time spent on writing and development activities.
Simple and easy-to-understand trend graphs can help you pinpoint areas of wasted time, and also see how effectively you’re fixing them.
See the graph below:
I took to playing online chess for a while, and hadn’t realized how addictive and wasteful of time it was – until I saw from my Rescue Time report that my “Entertainment” time category had soared to 13.9 hours a week!
I bit the bullet. Deleted my account at Chess.com. Almost instantly, my “Entertainment” time expenditure dropped to 5 hours a week… that’s an EXTRA hour and a half EVERY DAY.
How many hours are YOU wasting – without even realizing it?
What could you do with the time you’ll save – once you know?
As soon as this awareness hit me, I signed up to the PREMIUM plan (it’s just $9 a month, with a discount for pre-paying annually). The additional information I’ll get from this time management tool will be well worth the investment.
Even if I save ONE HOUR, it’ll pay for a YEAR of Rescue Time Premium!
So, here are my biggest take-aways from this analysis.
- 1. We all waste time – often without even noticing it.
- 2. Knowing where we spend time is a powerful first step in fixing this problem.
- 3. Rescue Time is a great tool to track your time utilization online.
And after you’re convinced about the value of this tool (for me, it took around 4 months to realize), get the PREMIUM version – and transform your productivity and boost your efficiency.
My guide on improving your efficiency, “HOW TO FOCUS – How To Stop Procrastinating and Get Things Done“, may also be of some value. You can pick up a copy on Amazon.com or from Clickbank.com for less than 5 dollars.
When you sign up to our free “Time Taozine” email newsletter, you’ll get updates on various time management techniques. You will also learn more about the Time Management Tao system which is based on learning how to
- Find your center – know WHAT to do
- Understand your order – know HOW to do it
- Pick your timing – know WHO to use & WHEN
Hopefully this brief overview of a powerful Time Management tool was of help and value to you.
