The Time Diary
Writing down what you did as you do it. The most accurate method, the most expensive, and the one most people try first and abandon. 4 min
Methods
Five methods with different costs and different blindness. The expensive one is not the best one; it is the most accurate.
7 notes · about 25 min in total
Sampling Instead of Recording
Answering a few prompts a day instead of logging everything. Costs almost nothing, is accurate enough for the commonest question, and is what most people should do. 4 min
Automatic Capture
Software that records what was on screen without being asked. Zero ongoing effort, no distortion from being watched, and a specific blindness that matters. 3 min
Retrospective Estimation
Reconstructing the day from memory at the end of it. The cheapest method, systematically wrong in known directions, and useful once you know which. 4 min
Timers and the Pomodoro Family
Fixed work intervals with breaks. A focus technique that also produces a record, sold with numbers that have no research behind them. 3 min
Calendar as Record
Using the calendar you already keep as the time record. Almost free, already half-populated, and wrong in one specific way that has to be corrected. 4 min
Which Method Fits Which Question
The five methods against the five questions, with the cost of each, so the choice takes two minutes rather than a month of the wrong one. 3 min