It's All About Timing

From very early days here in law school, my fellow 1L's (first year law students) and I heard about the importance of time. As students, we have been learning to manage our time in order to get things done on time. As lawyers, we have been told that we will be tracking our time in fifteen minute intervals for billing clients. I decided that it is never too early to apply and learn career related skills. To that end, over the holiday break, I dug out one of my favorite parenting tools. Here it is:

Yep, it is that magical bit of technology known as a kitchen timer.

When the boys were young, we employed these lovely gadgets in many different ways. Quite often, we would make a game of cleaning up their rooms by setting the timer for fifteen minutes and scrambling to clean up as much as possible in that time. This made a game out of cleaning and it also made it more bearable. Those handy timers also were employed in our school room (we homeschooled). Of course, the timers were also used in cooking class (that is homeschool speak for making dinner). After many years of service, the timers had been languishing unused until this one was returned to service to help me track exactly what I was spending my time doing here at school.

However, I am afraid that my poor timer is going to fall back into disuse since I was introduced to Toggl* this week. In the words of the developer, Toggl is "a simple online timer with a powerful timesheet calculator." Basically, it is a timer on steroids. I am using the free basic version, and it is suitable for my needs. (Although, if you have need of more features, there are other versions which would be suitable for business use). Also, it has the option to mark time as billable which means it will be able to move right into my law office after graduation.

So far, I have tried the web browser, the mobile app, and the desktop app and I like them all. The best part is the graphical displays showing exactly where my time has gone. Here is a screenshot from my phone:

Mobile App Screenshot

As if that wasn't enough, Toggl also incorporates a "game" to help motivate you by unlocking "achievements" for using the program. It is a good thing that I am not competitive...(Hubster, stop rolling your eyes!).

If you are in need of a way to track time, give it a try! It may just suit your purpose.

*Not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.