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<p><em>If you are a freelancer or a self-employed worker, you will quickly realize that your time is one of your most precious belongings. You might have decided to become an entrepreneur because you wanted to have more time for yourself or your family. In the article, we will see why one should use a time tracker; there are a lot of advantages to knowing how much time you spend working.</em></p> <p></p> <h3><strong>To bill the worked hours more easily</strong></h3> <p>If you bill by the hour, you must be able to track your time easily to invoice the right amount to your clients. Whether you are asking for $40 or $120 per hour, your clients will want to know how much time you spent completing the tasks. Every working minute counts; it would be a shame not to bill all your work hours because you forgot to note your work times.</p> <p>Also, if you track your time, you will avoid rounding up and have a precise number of hours you work on your different projects. If you use time banks, tracking your time will help you deduct the correct number of hours.</p> <h3><strong>To set your rates</strong></h3> <p>You may have decided not to bill by the hour but according to a package. It is something more and more popular among freelancers and self-employed workers. <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/freelancers-6-tips-to-think-about-when-setting-your-rate" target="_blank">To set the rates</a> of these packages, you will likely need to track your time. Indeed, if you want your offer to be profitable, you need to know how much time, on average, it takes you to complete the different tasks.</p> <p>For example, if you are a community manager, you could take a month and note down the time it takes you to create the visuals, write the content, and do strategic monitoring. When you make your package, you will know when you need to proceed and can adjust your rates if required.</p> <h3><strong>To take some breaks</strong></h3> <p>On another matter, tracking your time to know when you should take some breaks could be interesting. When we are focused on our tasks, we often forget to take a moment to stretch our legs. It is essential to take small breaks all along the day to avoid eye fatigue or exhaustion, especially if you work from a computer.</p> <p>Do you know the Pomodoro technique? It is a way to work by taking small breaks every twenty minutes to remain focused and productive. Indeed, choose a task and work for twenty minutes. When done, take a 5-minute break and then go back to work. After four cycles, it is recommended to take a longer break.</p> <h3><strong>To find the most time-consuming tasks</strong></h3> <p>Another advantage of tracking your time is that it can help you find the most time-consuming tasks. Indeed, if you spend more time than planned to finish a job, it may be possible that it is not profitable. It is normal that you might be good at everything you do. If needed, you can work with another professional to <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/should-i-delegate-my-tasks-if-so-which-ones-and-how-" target="_blank">delegate the tasks</a> you like the least.</p> <p>During this time, you will be able to focus on the most profitable tasks. And if you have no time left to manage your social media or your invoicing, you can work with a virtual assistant.&nbsp;</p> <h3><strong>To analyze your most productive moments or hours</strong></h3> <p>If you track your work time, you might notice that you are more productive at some specific moments of the day. A task may take you two hours to complete when doing it on Tuesday mornings and three hours on Friday afternoons. A way to improve your work productivity is to do tasks at the most convenient moments. You may be more creative just after drinking your first coffee of the day. Consequently, why not keep the administrative and invoicing tasks for the afternoons?</p> <p>By knowing how much time you spend on completing your tasks, you will be able to have a few statistics and data regarding your productivity in general.</p> <h3><strong>To respect your boundaries and work hours</strong></h3> <p>If you have decided to become a self-employed worker or a freelancer, it is probably not because you wanted to work more. It is not unusual to see new entrepreneurs make the mistake of not <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/freelance-life-how-to-set-boundaries-" target="_blank">setting boundaries</a> when they start. Instead of working 40 hours per week when they were employees, they now work 60 because they are scared of saying no or losing clients. It will likely be easier to respect your work hours and limits if you track your time.</p> <p>Sometimes time goes fast, especially when we love what we do. Before starting your work, take the time to set a goal and respect it. You have the right not to work on evenings and weekends and even take some days off.</p> <h3><strong>How to track your work time with Momenteo</strong></h3> <p>As you might already know, Momenteo now has a time tracker. Indeed, no needs anymore to note down your work times in an Excel spreadsheet or a piece of paper. Please note that this feature is available with the Explore and Plus plans.</p> <p>To start the time tracker, click on the Time tab located on the left. Then, on the right side of the screen, you will see the option of starting the timer. You will see your time displayed in the header. You can pause the time tracker or merge different times and bill them to your clients. It is as simple as that.</p> <p></p> <p>In conclusion, we believe that there are many advantages to tracking our time and knowing the number of worked hours. Besides allowing you to bill the right amount of time, it can help you get some statistics regarding your productivity. If you want to know more about the features of our invoicing software, take a look at <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/10-frequently-asked-questions-about-momenteo" target="_blank">10 frequently asked questions about Momenteo</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>