Where Does the Day Go?

Recently, I was privvy to a discussion where an organization was debating the merits of continuing on with a particular fundraising event. When weighing the pros and cons, the amout of time required to effectively pull off this event was brought forth as a strong negative. 2,000 staff hours was the amount they had roughly calculated.

The problem with rough calculations and guesstimates is that you never really know what your true investment and returns are. At 37.5 hours/week (people do need time to eat), 2,000 hours translates into 1 staff person working full-time, all day, every day (no vacation, no sick days, no statutory holidays) for 53.3 weeks. And that's okay - if your event returns proportionate financial and public awareness benefits.

As is the case with most of us, I tend to have several projects on the go at once. I track my time using an application called Time Tracker. It's not pretty, but it's functional. Wikipedia (another great FREE resource) has posted a comparison of time tracking software . Some are free, others are fee.

The most difficult thing about using time tracking software is remembering to start and stop it. However, it's a great way to track and analyze where you are expending your most valuable resource - your time.