This isn't a post about the billable hour (no really!)
But it is a post about time recording
In a world tending towards measuring everything that can possibly measured, be that:
- heart rate on our run or swim
- calories in our food
- how deep our sleep is at night
- health markers in an at-home blood test
- financial health; be that bank or mortgage balance or pension accrual
Is there not a case to be made for measuring how we spend our time?
It is, after all, a truly finite resource
Around a decade ago Tim Urban penned a great visual post at waitbutwhy.com (link: https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/life-weeks.html)
My reflection on this was to be more conscious with how I'm spending my time, and how that compares to how I want to be spending that time - adjusting as I go
And how to make that comparison, if not by measuring in some way?
This isn't to necessarily advocate for recording time in 6 minute increments.
I haven't done this for years. Instead I colour code activities in my calendar so I can look week to week to make sure my time is being spent in the right places
But it is to say that, if you do happen to record your time in 6 minute increments, there's a lot of personal value in that data if you record the time intentionally and review it
And that value is far broader than how many billable hours did you clock up
If we're monitoring what we're doing when we're asleep, why would we not monitor what we're doing when we're awake?
Comments