We are all busy, plugging away non-stop until late in the day.  Then we often feel that we didn’t get anything done.  How could you stay so busy and not accomplish what you wanted to do?

If you find yourself frequently asking, “Where did this day/week go?”, there are two strong possibilities that may reflect the way you are working:

1. You get absorbed in, or sidetracked by, Internet and email activities
2. You jump from one task to another and back, trying to multitask and manage everything.

Re #1:  On the first point, loosing precious time at work is epidemic.  Back in 2007, Salary.com found the we waste about 20% of our time in the office.  34% of those interviewed said that the Internet was the biggest distraction.  I’m sure those numbers have increased since then.

Re #2:  Despite our best efforts and claims that we are good multitaskers, it remains impossible to multitask effectively.  You will be taking longer to accomplish two things performed at the same time, and neither will be done at 100%.

If you are serious about getting more done with your days, here are some examples of programs that can help you track time. 

• RescueTime Pro monitors your computer activity as well as noting time away and provides you with graphs to show actual minutes spent on computer applications and websites.
• Klok lets you set your tasks for the day and then note starting and ending times.  It’s a good program for seeing how your estimates and reality may not be in sync.  Plus your initial input means you have a game plan for the day.
• ManicTime tracks your computer time, with a summary showing percentage of minutes spent on each application, as well as idle time on computer so you can see how many “mini-breaks” you take.

Any of these will help you see if you are multitasking too much or easily distracted, and then you can make needed adjustments for better time management.  Find out:

•   How quickly do you bounce from one activity to another? 
• Are your day’s projections fairly accurate? 
• What can you do to stop wasting that 20% of the day that gets lost due to inefficient work habits?