What Every Freelancer Should Know About Tracking Your Time

By Angie Nelson

latest version November 3, 2020. Disclosure: We may receive compensation if you sign up or purchase products linked below. Details of offers may vary and you should confirm them with the company before taking action.

This post is sponsored by Time Doctor.

People are notoriously bad with two things: time and money. When it comes to running a home business it can spell disaster, and fast.

Regardless of what you’re doing and how you’re billing, tracking how you’re spending your time is essential.

Are you billing your clients correctly?

This is the most obvious reason to track your time. Many freelancers bill their clients hourly. Estimating your time can be dangerous. Even a difference of 3 minutes per day adds up to 90 minutes per month. Just like you don’t want to work for an hour and a half for free, your client probably doesn’t want to pay for an hour and a half that you weren’t actually working on their project.

How can I lose 3 minutes?

This brings up another reason to track the time we spend online. Some apps like Time Doctor will nudge you when they detect you’re on Facebook or checking your inbox while you’re working. One of the biggest reasons you should track time is stealth. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

Are you staying focused?

Sometimes just having someone’s thoughts, or something, over our shoulder helps keep us focused. Once you take back those 3 minutes wasted on Facebook every day – you can find it more than 3 minutes – and if you’re more focused, you can find time to start those side projects or passive income opportunities that mean more money.

Time Doctor is a remote time tracking application specially designed to track the productivity of remote employees. Unlike other apps that have screenshots, Time Doctor tracks your actual productivity so you can improve how productive you are at specific tasks. Visit the site Learn more about how it can help your freelance business.

Are you getting paid enough?

Many freelancers get paid by the project and therefore don’t feel the need to track their time. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While $50 per article sounds great, it doesn’t when it takes you eight hours to research and finish the piece. Always track your time on projects even if you’re not billing hourly. This can help you ensure you remain profitable. If you don’t, adjust your rate accordingly.

Is it time to represent?

If you track your time and find that you’re doing everything you need to do and still falling behind, you now know it’s time to delegate.

If you don’t track your time spent online, you are likely to lose valuable minutes and instead money. You need to train yourself to be your most productive and profitable self.

How can tracking your online time help you?