One of the biggest learnings from my “big agency” life is about tracking time. Many Creatives, including myself, have thought at one time or another “I can’t wait for the day I don’t have to do a timesheet.” …And then one day it happened for me. I left agency world for a stint at a big CPG company and said goodbye to tracking my time.
But by that time, it was so engrained in me that I’d often be in meetings and think about its billable hours – how many people were in the room, how many times we had already met about the topic, who was adding value that warranted their time, etc
Fast forward to Altura. Now I ask my team to think of timesheets as more than a billable device.
We use timesheets…
For the Business:
• Ensure we’re meeting with purpose. While we love our laughs and are a close-knit team, we also appreciate meetings that help us define and deliver.
• Identify challenges we encounter that increases our time on certain projects.
• View time to determine capacity/staffing.
• Transparency with our clients. We jointly estimate how much time we will need to complete a project, to keep everyone accountable.
• How much time should I put into this job based on our scope
Development:
• Reflection. We pack a lot in our week. It’s awesome to reflect at the end of the day/week your list of accomplishments. Also a great tracker to show your Manager just how much impact you’re making. ;)
• Discipline. In a world of agility and moving swiftly, tracking time helps us stay focused.
• Developing Goals. Seeing the percentage of time you spend in different areas of your role. And as a Manager, how can I help this employee spend the more time focusing on their expertise and a less time working on things that don’t add team value.
Ultimately, the proof is in your timesheets! Even if your company doesn’t utilize them, I’d encourage you to track your time for a month. At the end, you may find you have identified efficiencies you would have never imagined, be amazed with how much time you spend in a certain area that you may not have realized and ultimately feel satisfied with all you have accomplished.
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