The School Counseling Files
  • Program Planning
  • Counseling Activities
    • Activities for Kids on the Autism Spectrum
    • Anger Management Activities
    • Activities for Anxious Kids
    • Girl Power
    • Zones of Regulation/Emotional Regulation Activities
    • Social Superheroes
    • Individual Counseling
    • General Counseling Activities
    • Mindfulness Activities
  • DATA COLLECTION
  • Communicate
  • Share/Connect
  • Blog

Where does the time go?

1/30/2017

12 Comments

 
Picture
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. I've had to disable the sharing option, but at least you can use my example as a jumping-off point for your own.

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.
12 Comments
Leah
5/15/2017 01:51:07 pm

What program did you go use to make your brochure? It looks great!

Reply
Laurie
5/15/2017 03:19:28 pm

Hi Leah, Do you mean my school counseling brochure for parents? I just use Pages (the equivalent of Word) on my MacBook. I know other programs would probably make life easier, but I don't want to bother learning them. I've been designing everything in Pages for uears.

Reply
Vickie
10/10/2017 08:03:08 am

When using this spreadsheet are you just adding the time in minutes that you did each section each day??

Reply
Laurie Mendoza
10/10/2017 09:20:09 am

Yes, I just enter the total number of minutes. I jot down a quick note to myself during the day with any unscheduled crises or consults I did and how long they took. If it's something major, I'll make note of it in the comment line on the spreadsheet itself too.

Reply
Kendrah
5/6/2019 09:15:06 am

Hi, I am wondering what the numbers at the very bottom of your time tracker indicate?

Reply
Laurie
7/15/2019 05:23:31 pm

Hi Kendra,
Sorry for the late reply. Those numbers at the bottom are the totals for each column and category over the course of the year.

Reply
Madison
9/17/2019 08:11:51 am

How do you create graphs using the data you collected for the time tracker?

Reply
kristi lindley
9/23/2019 08:40:58 am

How do you go about creating the time tracker?

Reply
Rosario Arriola
9/25/2020 01:03:50 am

Thanks for this tracker. May I ask permission to modify as we do not track time spent for the service but number of students serviced.
Thank you!

Reply
Laurie Mendoza
9/25/2020 03:34:41 pm

Hi Rosario,

Once you make a copy and save it to your own Google Drive you can make any changes you want without it impacting my original. Thank you for asking!

Reply
monica
5/12/2022 10:17:03 am

What does SAC mean on your sheet?

Reply
Swinger Club Arizona link
1/2/2023 06:31:46 pm

Awesome bloog you have here

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author
    Laurie P. Mendoza, 
    MA, CAGS

    I've been an elementary school counselor in Massachusetts for almost 20 years, so have a lot of opinions on everything!

    Categories

    All
    Advice
    Anger Management
    Anxiety
    Appointments
    Authoring
    Bulletin Boards
    Bullying
    Calming
    Communication
    Counseling Life
    Data
    Friendship
    Jealousy
    Minute Meetings
    Office
    Parents
    PBIS
    Random Acts Of Kindness
    Rants
    Resilience
    Respect
    Schedule
    School Wide
    School-wide
    Size Of The Problem
    Social Thinking
    Summer
    Superheroes
    Teacher Relations
    Testing
    Worry Board
    Zones

    Archives

    August 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    March 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013

    RSS Feed

What My Customers Have to Say

You are kind, smart, and consitorit.
Kaitlyn T., Grade 1
When I leave this school I'm going to get you fired and tell my new school to hire you.
Ryan D., Grade 2
​

© 2013-2018    Laurie P. Mendoza   The School Counseling Files
  • Program Planning
  • Counseling Activities
    • Activities for Kids on the Autism Spectrum
    • Anger Management Activities
    • Activities for Anxious Kids
    • Girl Power
    • Zones of Regulation/Emotional Regulation Activities
    • Social Superheroes
    • Individual Counseling
    • General Counseling Activities
    • Mindfulness Activities
  • DATA COLLECTION
  • Communicate
  • Share/Connect
  • Blog