It takes the small chores off your plate. For example, every YouTube video you like can be added to your Spotify playlist, or every time your dishwasher starts, your roomba will start cleaning the kitchen. The website lets you create small actions called applets, that trigger certain behaviors in your computer or phone. If This Then That is a very popular and useful app we’ve mentioned quite a few times on the Clockify blog. Milestones can also include successfully tracking time X number of times throughout the day, tracking a total of four hours at least (leaving some room in case you forget), etc. When gamifying your time tracking, make sure to set specific milestones and appropriate rewards.įor example, if your goal is to successfully track time five days in a row, the reward can be a pricey takeout dinner, shopping for something you’ve wanted for a while or… just a guilt-free nap in the middle of the day. And that is okay, because a short term motivational boost can be equally successful. The benefits of time tracking are obvious, but not always a tempting end goal. Maybe the long term benefits of time tracking aren’t a good drive forward for you. On his website, Migurski had left a link to a Github repository, to check out Angry Productive Birds for yourself. If the bird flies over the pig’s head, you’re losing money/resources, and if the bird flies past the pig, you’re way behind your deadlines. Here’s how it looks:Īs Migurski himself explains it’s simple goal, you are supposed to hit the pig. He programmed a browser-friendly app that displays time spent on a project, with a twist: time would be tracked with a famous Angry Birds bird avatar, as it moves to hit the pig (aka the deadline). Way back in 2011, former Stamen tech lead Michal Migurski devised a clever, funny way to keep track of his team’s time. Bring color and creativity into your timesheets Either way, if you’re even the smallest bit of a gaming type of person, this should work nicely. It may sound complex, but it was the simplest math, and with a hand-drawn exp bar on my desk, I somewhat felt like a video game character leveling up.įortunately, there are plenty of progress charts and templates online that you can either copy, or adapt them to suit your needs. If I failed somewhere, I would deduct the points accordingly.If I tracked each task successfully, I would get the full 10 points.Goal: Earn 10 points a day while tracking time.I have 5 days of work each week, making it to 10 points maximum per day.I have four work weeks, meaning I can earn a maximum of 50 points per week.I need to reach level 4 in one month of time tracking.For example, each task can carry a different number of experience points – if it takes an hour, it’s 5 points, and if it’s 20 minutes, it’s 2. You can make the concept as simple as this, or expand on it. Every time you successfully track time on a task, assign an experience point (or more).Assign them values or, experience points.Make a progress bar much like the ones you see in video games.The same method can be applied if you treat time tracking as a game skill, and your tasks as experience (exp) points. You gain experience bit by bit, and after some time, you level up. Time tracking can become a game if you think of it in terms of filling out an experience progress bar. Treat time tracking as a skill to level up When you take the unnecessary seriousness out of time tracking, it’ll suddenly be more entertaining to start up your timer and take note of how you spend your time. Gamifying your productivity can bring a lot of progress. This is something you can put up on a pinboard, above your work desk, or on a post-it on your monitor to help you get through mental pushback and level up your productivity. Once you have your reasons on paper, time tracking has more of a purpose. I’ll get a better idea of where I waste my time, and can do something about it.My clients are likely to be more trusting and/or willing to pay more because I come across as diligent and transparent.There will be a “paper trail” of my work time, so I can back myself up when needed.I’ll avoid misunderstandings with my boss/manager/team lead/coworkers.The only “abstract” advice I will give here is finding a very good reason why you need to track time. While motivation in itself can be very fleeting (if you’re waiting for inspiration to strike), one shouldn’t neglect the power of the right motivator. “Time tracking is like eating broccoli”.“It’s okay to fail every once in a while”.Bring color and creativity into your timesheets.Treat time tracking as a skill to level up.
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