Table of Contents
- The Reality of Being Time Blind While Running a Business
- My Current Time Tracking Setup
- How I Actually Use These Tools (Because Systems Are Only Good If You Use Them)
- The Truth About Time Tracking When You’re Time Blind
- What I’ve Learned About Time (That Might Help You Too)
- What’s Working For Me Right Now
You know that feeling when someone asks “How long will this take?” and your brain goes completely blank?
Or when you look up from what was DEFINITELY only 15 minutes of work to realize it’s somehow been three hours and you forgot to eat lunch?
Yeah… welcome to life with time blindness. 😅
I’ve been running my web design business for years now, and I’m still not perfect at estimating time. But you know what? I’ve finally found a system that works for me, even with my neurodivergent brain trying to convince me that time is just a social construct.
The Reality of Being Time Blind While Running a Business
First, let’s talk about what time blindness actually looks like in my day-to-day life, because I know I’m not alone in this struggle. Just last week, I was deep into customizing a client’s WordPress site when my husband texted asking if I was ready for our lunch date. You know, the lunch date I suggested and planned myself. Whoops.
This kind of thing happens to me constantly:
- Me, confidently telling my husband I’ll be done work “in 5 minutes” (Narrator: It was not 5 minutes)
- Starting a “quick task” at 2:30 PM and suddenly realizing it’s time to pick up the kids from school
- Having absolutely no idea how long my last project actually took when trying to quote a new one
- Getting completely lost in the flow of working and forgetting that humans need food and water to survive
The struggle got real when I started taking on more client projects. I’d find myself working way more hours than I quoted because I genuinely had no concept of how long tasks were taking me. I’d look at my calendar at the end of the week wondering where all my time went, only to realize I’d spent three hours down a rabbit hole trying to fix something that I should have just asked for help with.
Sound familiar? If you’re nodding your head right now, keep reading because I’m about to share how I manage this while still running a successful business.
My Current Time Tracking Setup
1. Trace App: The Background Detective
This app has been a game-changer for me. Why? Because it runs in the background and tracks EVERYTHING. I don’t have to remember to start or stop it (which, ya know, I never would).
What I love about Trace is that it’s like having a personal assistant who’s actually paying attention to what I’m doing (unlike me, who can get distracted by a squirrel outside my office window – thanks, Oliver, for always alerting me to those dangerous squirrels).
Here’s what makes it so helpful:
- It shows me what I actually worked on all day (not what I THINK I worked on)
- I can categorize time after the fact
- It helps me understand my natural work patterns
- I can see where my time actually goes versus where I think it goes
The data has been eye-opening, and sometimes a little embarrassing.
For instance, I discovered that those “quick checks” of my email were actually eating up almost two hours of my day. And those moments when I think “I’ll just hop on social media real quick to check something for a client”? Yeah, those were turning into 45-minute scrolling sessions.
Knowing this has helped me set better boundaries and create more realistic schedules. Turns out I spend way more time on email than I thought, and those “quick social media checks” aren’t actually that quick (shocking, I know 😏).
2. Moxie: Support Ticket Time Tracking
For client care plan work, we use Moxie’s built-in time tracking. This has been crucial for:
- Making sure we’re not going over care plan hours
- Understanding how long different types of support tasks actually take
- Being able to show clients exactly what we’ve worked on
- Helping me price care plans appropriately
Pro tip: I always round up my time estimates now because past-me was VERY optimistic about how quickly things could be done.
3. ClickUp: Team and Admin Time Tracking
For internal tasks and team projects, we use ClickUp’s (that link gives you 10% off!) time tracking feature. This helps with:
- Tracking admin time (the stuff I used to completely forget about when pricing)
- Managing team workload
- Understanding how long our processes actually take
- Identifying tasks that might need automation
How I Actually Use These Tools (Because Systems Are Only Good If You Use Them)
Here’s my real, sometimes-messy process:
- Trace runs constantly in the background. It’s like having a personal assistant who remembers everything I forget.
- For client work in Moxie:
- Start the timer when I begin a ticket
- Actually remember to stop it maybe 75% of the time
- Go back at the end of the day and fix any running timers (oops)
- For team tasks in ClickUp:
- Try to remember to start timers for big tasks
- Use time estimates for planning
- Review tracked time vs estimates to improve future planning
- Regularly check team workload to avoid overwhelm
The Truth About Time Tracking When You’re Time Blind
Here’s the thing – even with all these tools, I’m still time blind. The difference is that now I have data to help me work with my brain instead of against it.
This isn’t a “I fixed my time blindness and now I’m a productivity machine” story. My brain still works the way it works, and that’s okay.
Just this morning, I forgot to start a timer for a client call, got completely absorbed in solving their problem, and only realized I hadn’t tracked the time when my stomach started growling two hours later.
Here’s where I’m really at:
- I still forget to start/stop timers sometimes
- I still occasionally lose track of time
- I still have days where everything takes longer than expected
- BUT I now have actual data to help me make better decisions
The difference is that now, instead of beating myself up about these moments or trying to force my brain to work differently, I have systems in place that help me work with my natural tendencies. It’s like having guardrails – they don’t prevent all mistakes, but they keep me from completely veering off course.
What I’ve Learned About Time (That Might Help You Too)
- Everything takes longer than I think it will. Always. Without exception. I now automatically add 30% to my time estimates.
- Different times of day work better for different tasks. Thanks to Trace, I know I’m best at deep work in the morning and should never attempt to build a new site after 3 PM.
- Time tracking doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful. Even rough data is better than no data.
- Understanding where my time goes helps me value it more. This has been huge for pricing my services appropriately.
What’s Working For Me Right Now
My current system isn’t perfect, but it works. I’ve learned that perfect is the enemy of functional, and functional is what I need when I’m juggling client projects, team management, and making sure my kids don’t survive solely on chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers.
Here’s what my imperfect but effective system looks like:
- Trace for the big picture
- Moxie for client work
- ClickUp for team and admin tasks
- Regular reviews to adjust and improve
The key has been finding tools that work with my brain instead of against it. Trace catches what I forget, Moxie keeps client work organized even when my brain isn’t, and ClickUp helps me delegate tasks when I recognize I’m getting overwhelmed. It’s like having a team of digital assistants who are much better at remembering things than I am.
Most importantly, I’ve learned to be gentle with myself about time blindness. It’s just part of how my brain works, and that’s okay. The goal isn’t perfection – it’s having enough awareness to run a successful business while still being me.
I’d love to hear from other time blind business owners – what systems are working for you? Do you use any of these tools? Let me know!
P.S. If you’re wondering how long it took me to write this post… I honestly have no idea. But Trace does! 😂
