Managing a WordPress website requires a lot of dedication and competence. From site security to stability, you must ensure everything runs well, making every second of your typical work day valuable.
That’s why time management is one of the critical skills required for WordPress workers to master.
The need for time management becomes more apparent when you consider that workers spend an average of 2 hours each day procrastinating. Also, 50% of professionals in a survey admitted they’re not always productive during each workday.
Whether you’re a supervisor or employee, it’s vital that you know how to manage your time to measure and master your productivity and understand your workflow.
You can’t talk about time management without talking about time tracking. It remains one time management practice that has maintained its value across different industries and professions.
Time tracking comes with undeniable benefits that not only keep companies ticking, but also help workers achieve more.
It becomes more apparent in the digital age where remote work has swept through almost every aspect of work life.
This article covers the importance of time tracking for WordPress workers and how to set it up.
How time trackers can help WordPress workers
From productivity to financial perks, time tracking offers many benefits to WordPress workers.
Even if you’re a supervisor, you can get more out of your workers using time tracking data.
Let’s unpack those benefits.
Accountability
Accountability is one of the defining traits of competent workers and successful organizations. Time tracking ensures you’re focused on the job and your obligations.
Tracking work hours can help WordPress workers be more transparent. That’s because it’s easy to know what has been done by whom.
The knowledge that they’re being tracked also boosts their sense of responsibility and keeps them on task.
If you’re a WordPress worker, time trackers also make you accountable to yourself. Knowing how much work you can put boosts your sense of competence and job satisfaction.
Effective project management
Meeting deadlines and producing tangible results is a necessity for any business. Time tracking helps WordPress workers optimize their time for maximum output.
Using time tracking data, it’s easier to develop project roadmaps and break the schedule into milestones and objectives. Managers can also identify who’s more suited to handle specific tasks.
What’s more, you’re able to identify and plug potential holes in the project schedule and provide accurate timelines.
Increase productivity
Time tracking boosts productivity in many ways. For starters, the sense of accountability ensures workers are laser focused once their trackers are turned on. This way, they’re able to do more without distractions.
Time trackers are also effective in helping you identify distractions and measuring performance.
Moreover, managers can use time tracking data to determine who’s good at what. Then, they can assign jobs more efficiently, improving the team’s collective productivity.
Reduce time waste
According to a 2021 time management study, people waste more than 90 minutes on activities that are not important to their core responsibilities. This kind of work pattern can significantly reduce productivity.
With the presence of time tracking, managers and workers can reduce the time they spend on communication. That is, daily physical reports and meetings would be trimmed. This would create more time for productive work.
Time tracking data can also help you identify time-wasting activities so you can remove them from your schedule.
Financial benefits
Time trackers are primarily designed to track billable hours and create accurate timesheets. This record-keeping eliminates paycheck irregularities for employees who are paid by the hour.
If you decide to work overtime, you will get paid accurately because there will be proof.
So, workers get to be paid accurately and on time, and employers enjoy the benefits of avoiding overpay.
Prevent burnout
The World Health Organization reported that working 55+ hours a week on average increases the risk of stroke by 35% and lowers average life expectancy.
Overworking can also significantly reduce work quality and hurt productivity.
Time tracking data allows you to know when you or your workers are overworked. This way, you’re able to take time off to avoid burnout.
Best time tracking practices
You must employ the best time tracking practices if you want to enjoy all its perks. You might think time tracking is straightforward until you start figuring out the best policies to put in place.
The tips below will show ideal time tracking practices you can use as a WordPress worker.
Use a time tracking application
There are different time tracking systems. On one hand, you can use a spreadsheet or piece of paper to indicate when you start and end a job. On the other hand, you can use a digital time tracker with screenshots installed on your computer.
The first method requires you to remember to look at the time to enter your records whenever you start and stop.
With the second method, the application starts tracking your time down to the second once you hit the Start button.
The second option is better because it provides more accuracy and numerous other options. For example, some time tracking programs can track how much time you spend on specific apps and websites, showing you what eats into your productivity.
If you’re using the time tracking system to calculate billable hours, then using an application will be the efficient choice.
Use time trackers that measure productivity
Many time tracking applications double as productivity trackers that you can use to measure and improve your performance.
These applications monitor how much time you spend on each task and provide detailed analysis. Since the tracker keeps records for every job, you can see how fast you execute them during a time period.
With that data, you have an idea of how much time on average you spend doing specific things. So, for example, you’ll understand how long it will take to perform routine security checks and update the website with new content.
Knowing how much time you spend on these jobs points you to where you can improve. Then, overtime, you can reduce the number of minutes or hours you spend per task.
Use time trackers to find distractions
Every workplace is riddled with distractions. It’s up to you to identify and block them. Sometimes, it’s emails from clients, other times, it’s social media and non-critical tasks from colleagues.
Some time trackers show you where you spend your most time and how much time you spend on each website or application.
So, let’s say you’ve wasted a significant part of your day replying to irrelevant emails or following social media stories. Once you check your time tracking data for after a work day, the program shows exactly how much time you could have spent doing more productive things.
The good thing is that you’ll be able to identify these websites and apps. This way, you know what to avoid.
Know when to use automatic and manual time-tracking
Automatic time trackers start tracking your time once you turn on your computer.
Some applications use smart features to know when to start tracking. For example, the time tracker can start monitoring time once you open a work-related application or website.
This method is valuable because you don’t have to remember to turn on the time tracker.
That said, using time trackers you start yourself can be more beneficial. With automatic trackers, you may not be able to accurately track time since you might break your habit and start working on other apps or websites.
You also won’t be able to correctly calculate billable hours since you must meet specific behavioral patterns to trigger the tracker and keep it running.
The manual method allows you to start the timer, knowing when you hit the button. This way, you can monitor specific work activities and have more control and flexibility. You’ll also have access to accurate overviews of how you spend time on different projects.
So, you can go for automatic tracking if you want to see how you spend your day. However, if you want precise metrics and accurate numbers, go for a time tracking app you can control.
Use your time tracking data to shape your schedule
We’ve already established that time trackers offer more than calculating billable hours. They help you understand the average duration for each task.
With that information, you can create more effective to-do lists and schedules. You can further optimize your calendar and even get your priorities right.
Since you’ve identified your major distractions, you can remove them from your schedule. Unimportant tasks can be delegated and others can be scheduled for different periods that won’t interrupt your workflow.
Takeaways
Time tracking has long been an important staple of time management, and can be the difference between an exceptional and average WordPress worker. So, continue optimizing your schedule using your time tracking data and remember to follow the best practices that suit your workflow.