Time is Money: How I Track My Freelance Time

As a freelance editorial services provider trying to make a living, delivering a quality product with quality service to my clients is my No. 1 priority. Running a close second is tracking my time. Until recently, pen, paper and an Excel spreadsheet were my go-to tools. They served the purpose, but sometimes I forgot to log my time. Of course, this oversight always worked to the benefit of my clients because I always erred on the side of caution, shorting myself instead of running the risk of overcharging my clients.  

One of my professional goals for this year is to put even more effort into building my client base, making the need to track my time more efficiently that much more important. Enter Easy Tempus, a free app for Android devices. 

Easy Tempus is the perfect tool for me. I can organize multiple clients by project and task, and I can track my time by either running a timer or setting a start-and-stop period. The app generates a detailed history, tallies my earnings  and creates reports to view or export. I can also take photos and write notes, although I haven't had the need to do so yet. The premium version (just a few bucks)  lets users generate invoices, view an expanded history timeline, sync to Google calendar, and store expenses and receipts. 

The app definitely helps me more precisely track my time on hourly projects, but I also use it for flat-fee projects. By doing this, I can gain a better understanding of how long various projects take me to complete. Over time, I will be able to use this data to develop project-based rates that are fair but competitive and that more accurately reflect my talents and the value I provide to clients. 

(True confession time: I do still enter my time into an Excel sheet. Old habits die hard. I just like the security of a hard copy backup.) 

How about you? What time-tracking tips have your discovered for your freelancing adventures? 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.   

P.S. No one paid me to use Easy Tempus or write a review. This was all me.

Hurrying Up & Slowing Down ... Both Need Space in Our Days

  Image courtesy of [Vlado] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few weeks ago a friend emailed me a link to  "The Day I Stopped Saying 'Hurry Up'" by Rachel Macy Stafford. Shortly after receiving the e-mail, Stafford's blog post began popping up in the social media outlets, being shared by people everywhere. Obviously, it struck a chord. It certainly did with me. I'm always harassing my daughters to "Get a Move On," spouting "Later, We Don't Have Time Because We'll Be Late," and "Chop Chop, Lemon Drops." These phrases make up a significant portion of my communication with my peeps. Guilty.

After reading Stafford's blog, I vowed to try eliminating those time-stamped statements from my vocab. And I have gotten better. Correction. I've gotten better about not hurrying situations when it truly doesn't matter. But I continued to think about the post because something about it itched me. While the post has a message that needs to be heard, it's also grounded in mostly in Ideal Reality. Because in Real Reality, sometimes time matters. Being on time to a job, a  party, a dinner date, a meeting or a doctor's appointment matters. Being aware of time and being on time are matters of respect, and they are life skills that everyone needs to learn. Are there exceptions? Certainly.

But increasingly, it has become almost socially acceptable to be late and expect the waiting party to deal with it. And because so many adults show blatant disregard for others time,  we're raising a generation of kids who don't think its important to be on time for anything. Stafford used one phrase that really hit the nail on the head: "... over committed schedule ... ." You are the only person in control of your schedule. Your overscheduled life shouldn't become someone else's problem, and it's not a valid excuse for being late.

There has to be some balance between helping kids enjoy life and teaching them importance of being on time, regardless of who they are meeting or what they are doing.

Sometimes kids (and adults) need to hear "Hurry up!"

And on that note, I'm going to go enjoy "Cars 2" with the peeps because it's Sunday night, it's blazing hot and we are maxin' and relaxin'. No hurrying up in here tonight.

Wherever you , whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.

Time IS On My Side - All 168 Hours of It

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I think it's fair to say that most people feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day to do what they have to do as well as what they want to do.

This feeling of never having enough time, of feeling harried and rushed most of my days, of feeling that all that I ever do are the things I have to do led me to the book, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam.

It's a time management book about discovering how to find more time to do what you enjoy by a process of research and reflection (aka a time log). It offers advice for both home and work.

I totally geek out on schedules, research, tracking and documentation, so even if I choose to do nothing with my time log results, I get the joy of just recording my activities on a spreadsheet. Love getting my geek on!

It's been a little tough to admit that I might need some guidance in this area. I used to be the Queen of Time Management. The Prima Donna of Productivity. But for the longest while, I've been letting myself become so overwhelmed by the day-to-day stuff that I don't do anything. I hate that.

I've already charted one week, with some interesting finds about how I spend my time. I  started a second time log today. You can bet I'll be more mindful of how I spend my time over the next seven days.

Here's what I've learned so far, and I haven't even finished the book. My Ideal Reality of having more time can quickly, and fairly easily, become my Real Reality, if I choose to make some changes. While I may not always agree with her methods or advice, Vanderkam is certainly right about one thing: I do have more time than I think.

What about you? Are you in a constant time crunch? Or have you found a balance that works for you? I'd love to hear about it.

If you're looking for some good reads (or listens), be sure to check out my Project 2013 and More Books! pages.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.