John Livingston is a senior consultant with Well Built Construction Consulting, a Baltimore-based firm that provides strategic consulting, facilitation services and panel discussions for construction executives. The opinions are the author’s own.
Construction professionals often find themselves juggling numerous tasks, deadlines and responsibilities. The concept of keeping track of how each day is spent can seem like an extra burden on an already hectic schedule.
However, understanding and implementing effective time tracking is not just about recording hours; it’s about gaining valuable insight into how you allocate your most precious resource: your time. By focusing on core tasks, time tracking can significantly reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
To begin, think of your workday as a detailed project. Each section of the plan represents different tasks and activities. Core elements are your most important and priority tasks, the ones that really move your projects forward and contribute significantly to your professional success.
John Livingston
Permission granted by Well Built Construction Consulting
Secondary elements represent less critical tasks, while minor details symbolize the smaller, often time-consuming activities that can fill your day.
If you focus too much on the minor details first, the fundamentals may not get the attention they need. Similarly, if you spend your time on low-value tasks, it will be difficult for you to adapt to your most important work. By tracking your time, you’ll get a clear picture of how you’re completing your project, allowing you to prioritize these crucial items effectively.
Time tracking provides a mirror into your work habits, revealing where your hours are actually spent. Many project managers and estimators are surprised to discover how much time they spend on less critical tasks, often at the expense of their most important responsibilities. This awareness is the first step towards more effective time management.
By consistently tracking your time, you’ll begin to recognize patterns. You may be spending an excessive amount of time on administrative tasks that could be delegated or streamlined. Or you may be underestimating the time needed for crucial project planning, which will lead to hasty decisions later.
This knowledge allows you to make informed adjustments to your work routine, ultimately reducing the stress that comes from feeling overwhelmed by to-dos.
Time allocation
In construction, it is common for tasks to become urgent due to poor time management. A project deadline that seemed far away suddenly looms large, or a minor issue that was neglected from the beginning becomes a major issue. Time tracking helps you allocate enough time to important tasks before they turn into urgent crises.
By dedicating the right amount of time to your core elements early on, whether it’s thorough project planning, risk assessment, or client communication, you reduce the likelihood of last-minute conflicts and the stress that comes with them. This proactive approach not only improves the quality of your work, but also improves your professional reputation and personal well-being.
For example, you may find that you are spending too much time in unproductive meetings. With this information, you can work to make meetings more efficient or reduce their frequency.
The result? More time for background work that drives project success and less stress from being pulled in multiple directions.
In addition, accurate weather tracking provides invaluable data for planning and estimating future projects. By understanding how long tasks take, you can create more realistic schedules and budgets. This not only improves your efficiency, but also increases your credibility with customers and team members.
Over time, this data allows you to refine your estimates, resulting in more accurate bids and proposals. In the competitive construction industry, this accuracy can be a major advantage, helping you win contracts while ensuring profitability and reducing the stress associated with financial uncertainty.
where to start
Despite these advantages, many construction professionals are reluctant to track their workdays, considering it an administrative burden. However, modern time tracking tools have significantly reduced the effort required.
Many applications and software solutions offer user-friendly interfaces and even automated tracking features, minimizing the time required to record your activities.
The key is to start small. Start by tracking your time for just one week. The insights gained from this short period often provide enough motivation to continue the practice.
As you become more comfortable with time tracking, you can refine your approach and explore more advanced features of your chosen tracking tool.
In the complex world of construction, effective time management is crucial to success. It’s not about limiting your workday or micromanaging every minute. Instead, it’s about getting the information you need to focus on the tasks and responsibilities that really drive your projects and your career.
By adopting time tracking, you’ll enable yourself to make informed decisions about how you allocate your most valuable resource. You will be better equipped to prioritize important tasks, prevent urgent crises and continuously improve your professional skills.
Most importantly, by focusing on what really matters, you can significantly reduce stress and improve your job satisfaction. In an industry where time often equals money, mastering your time through effective tracking can be the key to unlocking new levels of success in your construction career.
