I’ll Take A Time Tracker Over A Million Dollar Pen, Thank You

Imagine this workspace: an open desk, with a comfortable leather swivel chair equipped with a pre-programmed custom massage component, your Aurora Diamante fountain pen lined up parallel to a blank notepad, not one crumbled piece of paper in the trash can, and a piping hot cup of Joe right next to your computer. Oh, and it gets better: on your computer screen is a rectangular time tracking box that has your daily tasks outlined by order of priority. Sounds pretty appealing, right?

To some, the $1.47M dollar pen is the alluring workplace element above (but I hear the resale value on those puppies is atrocious!) but in all honesty, I would replace the massage chair and hot java for the simple, yet valuable, benefit of having my workload outlined in front of me, destined to make this Monday a fruitful day. And how does that little rectangular time tracking tool generate all of those glorious things, especially on a Monday? I’m glad you asked… because I function best when I take all the clutter out of my brain and make room for focused, creative, dynamic and quality work. And to me, an effective time tracker translates to: clutter out and hello innovation.   

Let me explain (I know there are some who are hung up on my challenge to forego the fountain pen treasure above for a simple time tracking tool and are probably questioning my sanity but hang with me a little longer). This is exactly why I chose the latter – it was a juggling act to manage my overflowing plate and if I had the time to make a prioritized to-do list, number one would have been not to go insane! I finally broke down and bought myself some time tracking software and was amazed at how much more brainpower I had to use on the important things while my time tracker handled my lengthy list of clients, who on my team was working on what project that day, and the details on what we all needed to do to get things accomplished.

 Here are just some of the benefits I have personally witnessed since implementing a time tracking tool:

-        Plummeting stress level – even the best Swedish massage could not better alleviate the tension in my shoulders than when my workload was organized and I spent less time organizing what needed to be done and all my time completing it!  

-        Renewed sense of commitment and focus – just by clicking one button “Clock In” specific to one of my clients, I feel the unwavering commitment to work on tasks solely for that client. And seeing the clock ticking :54, :55, :56, it keeps me focused on completing that task so I can click the magic button “Clock Out.”

-        Effective communication – gone are the days of having to manually generate and communicate reports to each team member. My time tracker does it automatically and I’m excited, yet embarrassed, to admit they are entirely more accurate than before.

-        Eliminate clutter – well, my desk doesn’t look exactly like the one described above but the amount of unnecessary paper is reduced and there is a degree of organization that never saw the light of day before. And I didn’t hunch over it for hours.

I still use your basic Pentel fine print pen (you know the one with the comfy gripper at the end?) and I truly enjoy going to work on a daily basis because I feel an element of control and efficiency. Let’s be honest, we all like doing what we are good at and my time tracking tool has made me feel like a rock star in my workplace!