MARKETING ACTUARY

March 27, 2012

THREE TIME TRACKING TOOLS THAT WORK

What matters gets measured.
What’s measured gets done.

Five months ago, we looked at three gadgets that boost productivity. Now we look at tracking. Do you know how you're using your time? Do you know how long repetitive activities take?

I started paying more attention since I'm part of a Pick Four goals program. Here are three tools that work work together

time awareness
passive tracking
active tracking

Time Awareness

In his new book, How Your Best Got Better, Jason Womack makes an observation that's “obvious” in retrospect. If you divide your 24 hour day into 15 minute chunks, you get 96 blocks. That means that each block is about 1% of your day. Waste 30 minutes and you've wasted 2%. This simple observation made we understand the importance of time.

Can you focus for 15 minutes? Yes. If you have a 2 hour project, you have 8 blocks. You don't need to work on them consecutively but doesn't 8 blocks look more manageable than 120 minutes?

Jason recommends using a simple egg timer. If you're at your computer, you can use the free e.ggtimer.com website (try it). I didn't want to look at a computer screen because there are too many distractions. I got a physical digital timer from Wal-Mart for $9. It counts down or up.

I've been amazed at how my productivity improved.

Some activities can suck up time. Your trap might be web surfing, Facebook, LinkedIn, videos or gaming. Allocate 15 minutes and stop when you hear the buzzer.

Passive Tracking

There's an amazing web-based tool called RescueTime (affiliate link) that runs in the background on your computer and Android phone. RescueTime silently tracks where your time is going. A simple gauge shows how you compare with other people. A graph shows how productively you use your time. Users are said to save 3:54 hours a week.

You can improve your results by setting some parameters. The paid version ($6/month if you pay for a year) will even tell you which applications were running. I started with the free version and upgraded to paid within a few days. There's a free trial.

If you're mobile, you can run track using a mobile app on your Android phone. The results get logged and consolidated online.

Active Tracking

You probably work on repetitive activities or projects. For instance, you might prepare proposals. I blog but wasn't sure how long writing a post really took.

I started using a web-based tool called Toggl.com. There's a nicely-equipped free version. I got hooked and upgraded to the full version which costs $5 per month. This puts your activities on your calendar and has other features. Besides, you’re supporting the developers. There are apps for iOS and Android.

If you charge for your time, Toggl lets you set different projects for different clients. You can specify what's billable and what's not. You get reports too.

If you're mobile, you can run track using a mobile app. The results get logged and consolidated online.

Surprises

I was surprised to find that I use my time more effectively than I expected. The timer makes a huge difference. There's so much that we can get done in 15 minutes.

As a minimum, try using a countdown timer (even the free e.ggtimer.com). Next, try one either a passive or active time tracking. Or both.

LESSONS FROM THREE DIFFERENT MASTERMINDS (THANKS, NAPOLEON HILL)

Do you have trouble meeting your goals? Do you want to discuss issues but don't know with whom? Do you want perspectives from outside your company?

A large company might have an external Board of Directors. There's a practical solution for smaller businesses too: a mastermind.

With a mastermind, you get peer support and are held accountable for meeting the goals you set. The idea comes from Napoleon Hill in Think And Grow Rich (1937). You only need two participants. He had three, including steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and his stepmother. (I finally got to use "steel magnate" in a sentence!)

Last year, I helped establish and run three masterminds updated for today. Two fizzled. One is going strong.

The Agenda

Each group followed this simple three step agenda.

1. Victories: What's working?

We start with good news. What are you bubbling to share? Your achievements could be personal or professional, minor or major. Avoid bad news.

Duration: 1-2 minutes each

2. Challenges: What needs work?

Have you met your commitments since the prior session? What challenges are you facing that you’d like our input on? This is the time to raise bad news.

Duration: 15-30 minutes each, depending on the group size (includes the group discussion)

3. Actions: What will you Ship?

What will you commit to complete by the next session?

Duration: 1 minute each

The Trio

Each mastermind is described in chronological order.

I. Online Mastermind (2-9 members)

Travel time in Toronto is lengthy and unpredictable. Selecting members based on proximity is suboptimal. After the initial session, this mastermind met online via free Skype videoconferencing.

To work out the kinks, this experiment started with two participants. The process worked well. There were glitches with video due to Internet congestion but audio worked well as a backup.

Meetings were originally weekly, then each two weeks and then never. There wasn't enough happening for two people to discuss. This group may start again.

Pro: Eliminated travel time; designed the format used in the other masterminds
Con: Didn't grow beyond the two initial participants

II. Mastermind Meetup (5-10 members)

This monthly mastermind was the most ambitious and had a Meetup group. The original members were going to help others by running other masterminds. Members of all the masterminds were going to meet for social events.

Each session included a meal. Gatherings became social. Members didn’t set goals or work towards them. Others wanted to join but weren’t suitable. The usual crowd selling real estate, investments or insurance.

Pro: designed to scale via Meetup.com
Con: members didn't set or meet business goals; became social; irregular attendance

III. Peer-To-Peer Mentoring (2-5 members)

This monthly group is the sole success. We meet in person at a coffee shop. Originally, sessions were during the day but shifted to evenings to accommodate more members.

Pro: equal participation, high support, visible progress, experimental/open-minded
Con: progress on some goals has been slow

Keys To Success

A successful mastermind, requires the right participants. Chemistry is essential. They must also be committed, open and trustworthy. Competitors can’t be admitted. What's discussed in the group remains strictly private. Complementary skills lead to better discussions and better results.

The Price

The above masterminds were free and member-run.

You may benefit from a paid mastermind run by an experienced facilitator if you

have more serious issues and don't want private coaching
can't find a suitable free group and don't want to start one
want the administration done for you

Sessions seem to run once a month for half-day or full-day. You might also get private coaching.

Pick Four

If you have goals you want to finish within 12 weeks, Pick Four from Zig Ziglar and Seth Godin may help you. I'm currently in week 8 of this peer-supported program. The experience has been positive.