There are many ways to measure working hours. In fact, the real value isn’t necessarily in how many hours you or your colleague worked, but rather what you worked on and how much focused time you spent on a specific task.
Did you know that the average employee’s focused work time is closer to 2-3 hours per day rather than the full 8 hours?
The data obtained from tracking work hours can be extremely valuable.
✅ A client asks what took so much time? – You can easily pull up the exact data down to the minute.
✅ Do you charge by the hour? – What better way to ensure accuracy than by keeping a precise work log?
✅ Capacity planning is also crucial. – You know approximately how long tasks take and when it’s time to expand your team.
Many people still track their work hours using Excel, Google Sheets, or even paper, but these methods are becoming outdated compared to the AI-powered tools available on the market today.
Let’s First Look at the Free Solutions:
1. Using Free Online Work Hour Calculators
There are many solutions that measure work hours for a specific task with a simple start/stop button.
Some examples include Gammatica, Clockify, and TimeCamp.
✅ Key Advantages: Detailed reporting, easy to use and no installation required.
❌ Key Disadvantages: Employees have to manually log their work hours.
2. Something Everyone Has Used at Least Once…
Excel or Google Sheets.
In a simple spreadsheet, employees manually enter when they started work, when they finished and how long their breaks were.
Unfortunately, the biggest downside is that there is a high chance of errors and it does not generate detailed reports.
But let’s see what the pros use.
Professional time trackers and AI-powered solutions may cost money, but many people don’t realize how much money they could actually save...
3. How To Calculate Hours Worked With Simple Math
- First, determine the end of your workday. (e.g., 18:00 or 6 PM)
- Then, subtract your start time. (e.g., 9:00 or 9 AM)
- Next, subtract your break time. (e.g., If you took a 30-minute break from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM, subtract 0:30)
And you’ll get your total worked hours.
Here’s a quick example:
18 - 9 - 0.5 = 8.5 hours of total work time.
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Paid Time Trackers (Which Actually Save You Time)
1. Gammatica AI timer (Pro Version)
Most parts of the software are free to use, but advanced AI features are only available in the PRO package.
With the Gammatica AI Timer, you can easily allocate time to the following:
- Tag (You can create any tag like "PRIO")
- Task
- Project
- Contact
- Custom descriptions
You can set limits, so if you spend more time on a specific contact than necessary, the system will notify you.
You can also set whether the work is billable or not.
With an upcoming feature, Gammatica AI Coach, you will receive personalized feedback on your work habits and discover automation opportunities to save time.
(This feature could help you save up to 2 days per week!) 🚀
