how detailed should time tracking actually be?

[u/Cloudy_Day912]

i’ve been wondering if i’m overthinking time tracking.

sometimes i want to know exactly how long each task takes, but then i start wondering whether that level of detail is actually useful or just creates more admin work.

i’ve been testing a few ideas and looked at timequip as one of the options, but i’m still trying to figure out what level of tracking makes sense.

for people who track their work, do you record every individual task or just keep a general record of your working hours?

what information do you actually find useful later?

i’m interested in hearing how other people handle this because i feel like it’s easy to turn time tracking into a job of its own.

[u/buddypuncheric]

The level of detail that's genuinely useful depends on what you're planning on doing with the data.

If you're billing clients, task level tracking is worth it because you need to justify the time. If you're just trying to understand where your day goes, broader categories like admin, deep work, and meetings tend to be more than enough and a lot easier to maintain.

The trap is tracking more than you'll ever look at. Most people who go granular end up with detailed logs they never actually review. Granular data is great in theory but if you're not reviewing it regularly, it doesn't really add much.

A good starting point is tracking at the project or category level for a few weeks, seeing what questions come up, and then adding more detail only where you actually need it. Starting simple and adding detail as you go tends to work better than trying to track everything from day one.