The way I see it there’s 3 basic methodologies in which people track their time.
1. Track time with a stopwatch
This is the most accurate method available to track your time, because you don’t need to rely on your memory. Okay, so maybe it would be more effective to have an executive assistant standing next to you with a clip board and a stopwatch, but not everybody can afford that! Using a stopwatch is the next best thing because you are tracking time as you work.
2. Track time after the fact with manual time entry (from memory or notes)
I suspect a significant number of people are still tracking time manually — after the fact — when they could switch to a stopwatch with better results. Based on my experience it’s nearly impossible to remember everything you did, and how long it took.
3. Use software that “knows” what you are working on, and then filter and sort the time later
A number of tools have been released that track your computer usage and then give you reports about what you were working on Two that come to mind are RescueTime and Lapsus.
How do you track your time? If you are tracking your time using one of these methods, you’re way ahead of the next guy. A large number of people don’t see the value in tracking time — so keep being awesome!