Glossary
Time audit, explained
A time audit is recording how you actually spend your time for a period, usually one or two weeks, and comparing it with how you think you spend it. Peter Drucker made it the first step in The Effective Executive (1967).
What it means
Drucker argued that people's memory of where their time goes is unreliable, and that managing time starts with recording it. The gap between the plan and the record is where the improvements are.
How to do it in a calendar
- Plan your week in blocks as usual.
- Tick off what you actually did; leave the rest unticked.
- At the end of the week, compare planned and finished hours by category.
An example
The record shows 12 planned hours of sales but only 5 finished, and 9 unplanned hours of email. Next week: two fixed email blocks, and sales moved to the morning.
Common mistakes
- Auditing without a plan. Without a plan you cannot see the gap.
- Judging instead of learning. The audit is data, not a grade.
Where it comes from
Peter F. Drucker, The Effective Executive (1967), chapter 2, "Know Thy Time".
Questions
How long should a time audit be?
One to two typical weeks is usually enough to see the pattern.
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