Adopting time-management tools

You need to quantify how you're spending your time, because time is what you're…selling and you only have so much of it.…Doing so helps you measure your efficiency and it shows your clients where…their money is going.…I'll often track time for myself when I'm doing something unfamiliar so that…I'll be able to estimate work based on that new skill.…I'll track time for clients when they've hired me by the hour.…Even if they're paying me by the project though, I'll sometimes track my hours…for a while, just to be sure that the project will finish on time.…

The main tool for tracking time is of course a timer.…You don't need anything fancy, and in fact I usually measure my time simply by…glancing up at my computer's clock when I start and stop work.…I do use a timer for some things though;…for example, to see exactly how long it will take me to walkthrough a presentation.…It's worth learning to use the timer that's probably already in your phone.…The important thing is that you're absolutely religious about using your timer device;…