Where does the time go?

One would guess, looking at my blog, that I'm a real data nerd.  I'm really not, but I do see the value in tracking certain information in order to be more efficient and effective in my job.

​At the start of the school year I posted about my SMART goal to provide more parent outreach.  I mentioned in that post that I was also going to start using a time tracker. I know there are several commercially available trackers, but since I'm never happy unless I'm reinventing the wheel, I made my own.

I'd never used spreadsheets in either Excel or Numbers.  The learning curve for Google Sheets was steep.  I figured out a lot through trial and error, and when I couldn't figure it out I asked the people at our iSchool. I now have a totally customized spreadsheet that has only the general headings and sub-categories I want.  The set-up makes sense to me and I made it pretty, which means I don't dread using it.  

We're now halfway through the year, and I've faithfully spent 5-10 minutes at the end of every day entering my numbers.  All I have to do is type the number of minutes I spent in each category. (I round them to 5-minute increments because I'm not that anal-retentive). The spreadsheet is set up to automatically add up each row, column, and general heading.  At the end of the year, I'll be able to easily compile it into a colorful pie chart to share.

Here's a link to a copy of my spreadsheet so you can see how I set it up.  If you want to try to use it and customize it yourself, make a copy of it (go to "File" then "Make a Copy"), download the COPY to your own Google Drive, and rename it.  You should be able to then go ahead and edit it and fill in your own data, though sometimes it doesn't work and I still don't know why.  In any case, you can use my example as a jumping-off point for yourself.

So far I'm noticing some things that I wouldn't have noticed without tracking my time (like I actually do manage to get some planning time most days even though it feels like I never get my prep). You may also be surprised what you learn (and so might your administrator).  Give it a try.