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Title: Time Management through Time Tracking and Reporting


1
Time Management through Time Tracking and
Reporting
WNY/O ACRL May 6, 2005
  • Nancy Warren DYouville College

Note This is an expanded version of the slide
show used at the conference and includes text
that was delivered only verbally and images of
examples that were shown in other formats such as
Excel spreadsheets. This version is not designed
for use as a slide show but rather as
documentation of the presentation.
2
Introduction
What is time tracking?
It is the observation and record of what activity
takes place at a given time.
It is a form of data gathering.
Other common forms of data gathering in
libraries database usage statistics, circulation
statistics, ILL statistics, info on BI classes.
3
Introduction
We can also gather data on the human resources in
our libraries by tracking what we do or how much
time on different project or services.
How we spend our time is important because we are
the ones managing and providing our libraries
information services and resources.
4
Agenda
1. Reasons for tracking activities
or What do I need to show?
2. Benefits of tracking activities
or What can I do with the data?
3. Ways to track activities
or Do I really have to record everything?
5
http//home.swipnet.se/mooamp/wallpapers.html
(Image for audience to look at while reading Zen
story on next slide.)
6
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind
To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious
meadow is the way to control him.
So it is with people first let them do what they
want, and watch them. This is the best policy.
To ignore them is not good that is the worst
policy.
The second worst policy is trying to control them.
The best one is to watch them, just to watch
them, without trying to control them. The same
works for yourself as well.
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind Informal Talks on Zen
meditation by Shunryu Suzuki (ed. Trudy Dixon,
New York Weatherhill, 1970, p.28)
7
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind
To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious
meadow is the way to control him. So it is with
people first let them do what they want, and
watch them. This is the best policy.
Watch them. Watch self. How do we do that? By
taking repeated inventory of our activities
daily, hourly, or at whatever interval is
necessary to get the information we need to take
control of our time.
To ignore them is not good that is the worst
policy.
This is when we go through the motions of our
jobs, day-to-day, or move from crisis to crisis,
without taking stock of what we are doing.
The second worst policy is trying to control them.
This would include using time management
strategies without any reason behind them.
The best one is to watch them, just to watch
them, without trying to control them. The same
works for yourself as well.
By observing and recording what I do each day, I
am aware of how I use my time and no longer have
to work to manage it.
Zen Mind, Beginners Mind Informal Talks on Zen
meditation by Shunryu Suzuki (ed. Trudy Dixon,
New York Weatherhill, 1970, p.28)
8
(Placeholder slide used while introducing the
next section)
9
Agenda
1. Reasons for tracking activities
2. Benefits of tracking activities
1. Allocation of Time
(how much time is spent on what)
2. Communication Presentation
(being able to communicate what activities have
taken place and being able to present
accomplishments)
3. Value Prioritization
(being able to prioritize ones work and know
that it has value)
10
Introductory Questions
  • What are your job areas or responsibilities?
    (What can you remember from your job description?
    What do you actually do?)
  • Estimate the percentage of your time that you
    spend in each area on a given day, week or month.
    (choose one time period)

(Questions asked throughout the presentation were
included on a handout for all conference
attendees.)
11
Agenda
1. Reasons for tracking activities
2. Benefits of tracking activities
?
1. Allocation of Time
TEXT DELIVERED VERBALLY DURING PRESENTATION My
original job responsibilities included being
assigned to the reference desk 3 hours a day,
which didnt give me the physical freedom to
attend to the systems parts of my job, such as
server management, computer problems, technical
support for patrons and library staff, or phone
calls to vendors. It also didnt give me enough
chunks of time for large projects, such as
refurbishing computers, working on the librarys
website, or upgrading system software. I needed
a concrete way to show the Library Director that
even though reference wasnt even one-tenth of my
job, it took up sometimes as much as a third of
my time, short-changing my other areas of
responsibility especially the areas that I am
solely responsible for. In order to show this
imbalance, I started tracking all my activities,
and then tallied up the time spent in each area
over the course of a month, and in my monthly
reports, included a table with this information.
12
(Placeholder slide used before looking at table
for time usage.)
13
Table showing Time Devoted to Each Area of
Responsibility for Three Different Months
NOTES (verbal during presentation) TOTAL TIME
Notice that my total time is greater than 100.
I did this in order to show how much overtime it
took for me to accomplish what I did during the
month, with the idea that because reference took
up so much of my time, I had to work overtime to
accomplish my regular responsibilities in the
other areas of my job. REFERENCE Over the
course of eight months, my Library Director began
to see the consistent imbalance in the allocation
of my time and as a result, he reduced the hours
I was assigned to the Reference Desk COLLECTION
DEVELOPMENT It was important to include that
collection development was getting no time
because each of the librarians has assigned
subject areas for collection development and my
Library Director highly values collection
development activities.
14
Time Allocation
(This slide is text that was delivered verbally
during the presentation.)
Using time tracking to address an imbalance in
time allocation can be done at an individual
level or departmental level.   For example, I
know someone who just started tracking all of her
time two months ago as part of a departmental
effort to show that the demand for the services
provided by their department cannot be met given
current staffing levels. To track their time,
they purchased a commercial project management
tracking software package, and created categories
for the different services they provide. Each
person in the department records how much time
they spend, on what activities, for what clients,
for what services, so that reports can easily be
generated based on service type, client or client
type, staff member, etc.   The benefit of being
able to show what you can actually accomplish
with your time is that whomever oversees your
area can decide how your accomplishments relate
to the needs of the organization, and whether or
not your time should be allocated differently or
your area should have more people.
15
Time Allocation Questions
  • Have your job responsibilities changed?
  • Do you have any new or added responsibilities?
  • Does your job description need to be updated?
  • Do you work in more than one area of the
    library, report to more than one person, or are
    considered a blended librarian?
  • Do you work on grant-funded projects?
  • Do you need to account for time spent on new
    service initiatives or programs, or do you need
    data to support them?

If you answer Yes to any of these questions,
tracking your activity for a period of time or on
a continuing basis could help.
16
Agenda
1. Reasons for tracking activities
2. Benefits of tracking activities
?
2. Communication Presentation
TEXT DELIVERED VERBALLY DURING PRESENTATION
After 4 months on the job, I had to produce an
annual report reflecting activities of the
Systems Department, and had a hard time pulling
together the information because I couldnt
remember what I had done over the last four
months, let alone account for the eight months
before I was hired. I asked the other librarians
how they created their annual reports and they
said that they use information from their monthly
reports. To which I said, Monthly reports?
They explained that even though monthly reports
are voluntary, they gather statistics on their
activities and accomplishments during the month
and present them in a report along with the plans
and goals for their department. Needless to
say, it didnt take much for me to figure out
that tracking my activities would not only
provide the information I needed to show the
imbalance in my time allocation, it would also
provide the information I needed to produce
monthly reports for the Systems Department.
17
Monthly Annual Reports
1. Review of activities and accomplishments
(Items are listed by each job area all
information for this section is taken directly
from my time-tracking spreadsheet) 2. Problems
Needs (Of the department. All items mentioned
should include solutions.) 3. Status of Goals
Completed, In Progress, Future(Items listed for
Goals Completed and Goals in Progress correspond
to items listed in the Review of Activities and
Accomplishments section)
18
Monthly Annual Reports
4. Plans for Improved Services (How the Systems
Department can improve access to the Librarys
information resources and services for the
College Community) 5. Meetings/Conferences/Traini
ng/Days Out(All information for this section is
taken directly from time-tracking
spreadsheet) 6. Statistics/Attachments(Statistic
s include table showing time allocation.
Attachments are examples of documents mentioned
in any section of the report.)
19
Go to Template
(Placeholder slide.)
20
Communication Presentation
  • Personal Benefits of Monthly Annual Reports
    - Reflection, assessment planning - Sense
    of completion and project cycles - Sense of
    progress and accomplishment
  • Communication Benefits of Monthly Annual
    Reports - Help Library Director coordinate
    depts. - Manage expectations for requests -
    Record for follow-up

21
Communication Presentation
  • Presentation Benefits - Tenure or renewal
    materials - Job or promotion applications -
    Resumes and CVs
  • Other Reports or Presentations -
    Justification for Budget Requests - Project
    Timelines - Presentation of Library IT
    Initiatives
  • Unanticipated or Future Needs

22
Communication Questions
  • In general, who needs information from you and
    what do they need?
  • Do you need to produce monthly or annual
    reports?
  • Do you go through a tenure or renewal process?
  • Will you apply for promotion or a new job?
  • Do you need to follow-up on many items or with
    many people or over long periods of time?

If you answer Yes to any of these questions,
tracking your daily activities could help.
23
Agenda
1. Reasons for tracking activities
2. Benefits of tracking activities
?
3. Value Prioritization
TEXT DELIVERED VERBALLY DURING PRESENTATION
With ten jobs areas and too much to do in all of
them, I wanted to know how to better prioritize
my time. I also wanted to be able to assess the
value of my work, not only for personal
satisfaction, but because I had to figure out how
to describe the value of my activities for my
renewal packets in terms of how my activities
support the mission statements of the College and
Library, and how my activities benefit the
College community. Value to the organization
comes from aligning what you do with the mission
of your library and of your institution.
24
Determining Value
Mission of Institution
(The arrows mean that the areas in the bubbles
should align with or be derived from each other.)
Mission of Library
Job Responsibilities
TEXT
TEXT
TEXT
Time Usage
The reason that I put stars around Time Usage is
that this is what we have the most control over.
25
Prioritization Value
DYouville College - Mission Statement offers
baccalaureate and graduate programs to students
of all faithsin programs that emphasize
leadership and service...
Montante Family Library - Mission
Statement support the research and curricular
needs of the entire college community and
provide the resources and services to foster
academic excellence and freedom of inquiry in the
areas of study supported by the Colleges
curriculum.
TEXT
TEXT
TEXT
Systems Librarian Areas of Responsibility ILS,
elec. resources, website, computing resources,
strategic planning, reference, info. literacy,
coll. dev.
26
Renewal Packages
Renewal Packages at DYouville College are
similar to tenure applications. Information for
the materials in my renewal packages are taken
from my monthly reports, annual reports and time
tracking spreadsheet, and described in terms of
value to the College.
  • Effectiveness in Librarianship- a description of
    my accomplishments during the evaluation
    period and how they benefit the College-
    organized by items listed in job description
  • 2. Scholarship Professional Activity-
    publications, presentations, professional
    committee membership, conferences, continuing
    education, etc.
  • 3. College Community Service- library
    governance, college governance, college
    service, community service, etc.

27
Renewal Packages
4. Curriculum Vitae 5. Job Description 6. Letters
of Support 7. Supporting Documents examples of
documents mentioned in first three sections
28
Prioritization
Aligning my job areas with the librarys and
schools mission statements takes care of
prioritization On a broad level what projects
to tackle before others On a daily level what
I can do in the next hour that will make the most
difference
29
Prioritization
The act of observation influences the outcome.
Because I record what I do throughout the day, I
continually ask myself What am I doing
now? Is this the best thing for me to be
doing? What will most benefit the college
community in terms of accessing the Librarys
resources and services?
30
Prioritization Questions
  • What is the mission of your institution?
  • What is the mission of your library?
  • What is your personal philosophy of
    librarianship?
  • What are your supervisors values or priorities?
  • How do these influence how you spend your time?

31
Agenda
3. Ways to Track Activities
1. What I use
2. Other Methods
3. Choosing a Method
32
Go to Tables
(Placeholder slide used before looking at
spreadsheets.)
33
Time Tracking Spreadsheets
First attempt at tracking my daily
activitiesSample from time tracking spreadsheet
for May 2003
  • PROBLEMS
  • I couldnt remember to fill it in every day.
  • I couldnt even remember what I did throughout
    the day on the days I did fill it in.
  • I couldnt decide what was important enough to
    record.

34
Time Tracking Spreadsheets
Two months laterSample from time tracking
spreadsheet for July 2003
PROBLEMS Even with an increasing level of
detail, I still didnt have enough information
for my monthly reports or an accurate way to
quantify the time spent in each job area.
35
Time Tracking Spreadsheets
Sample of my time tracking spreadsheet from April
2004
36
Time Tracking Spreadsheets
(TEXT DELIVERED VERBALLY DURING PRESENTATION)
After three months, I finally broke down and
created a spreadsheet with a cell for each hour
of the day, and then found out that it was
actually much faster and easier to fill in than
the previous ones. Plus I could determine how
long my activities took by how many items were
written in each cell. It took four months before
I figured out a method I liked for recording my
activities and six months before I figured
exactly what to record to get the information I
needed for my reports. Developing a method that
worked and that I could use consistently was an
iterative process of recording my activities and
then writing reports from what I recorded.
Advantages of using a spreadsheet with one cell
per hour of the day 1. CLEAR I usually write
between one and four items per hour and can tell
how long an activity took by how many items are
in the cell and by the nature of the activity. 2.
FAST It only takes me 3-4 minutes to fill in an
entire day's activities. 3. FLEXIBLE I use my
own abbreviations and can describe my activities
any way I want because only I see the
spreadsheet. What do I put in the cells?  1.
What needs to be known by me? I record
activities for follow-up, accomplishment, and
planning/assessment 2. What needs to be known by
Library Director? Status of projects,
updates, departmental needs, goals in progress
and completed things for my monthly reports. 3.
What needs to be known by President and Renewal
Committee? How my work supports the
Librarys mission and the schools mission
37
Other Methods
Free Applications for Time Tracking
http//www.myhours.com (screen shots on next
slides) free for individual users, web-based
application easy to use, has real-time browser,
works w/PDA http//www.freetimesheet.com
free for up to 5 people, web-based application
http//www.journyx.com free for up to 10
people, local or hosted application
http//products.actimind.com/actiTIME/ free for
any number of users, local application only
38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
Choosing a Method
  • What type of data do you want to collect -
    hourly activities or project-related activities?
  • What level of detail do you need to record?
  • Where are you during your work hours what is
    your usual physical location?
  • What is your preferred medium - print or
    electronic? (think of your calendar or to do
    list)
  • Where are you willing to put in the work
    entering data or producing reports?
  • IMPORTANT What method will you use consistently?

41
OF COURSE I DON'T LOOK BUSY... I DID IT RIGHT
THE FIRST TIME!
42
Agenda
Questions/Comments
Conclusion
Two years later, I am still tracking my
activities every hour of every day. Why? In the
style of David Letterman, here are my TOP 5
REASONS
5. I still have to create annual reports and
renewal packages. 4. The data I collect continues
to meet unanticipated reporting and communication
needs. 3. Having to fill in the spreadsheet
throughout the day is a form of accountability as
I keep asking myself, What am I doing now? Is
this the best thing for me to be doing? 2. I
can better manage my time because I know how I
use it. 1. And one of the main reasons I continue
tracking my time is that I feel better at the end
of each day, even though I still have a lot to
do, because I know what I have done.
43
THANK YOU
Nancy WarrenSystems LibrarianDYouville
Collegewarrenn_at_dyc.eduPicture taken at Mt.
Hood, November 2004
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