Mastering time management with Toggl

You're gonna get used to clicking this.

I drive 70 mph.* It takes me thirty minutes to eat a meal. I still send postcards and the occasional letter. Now that I’ve slowed my roll, I’m finding that I need to speed up—in writing.

It  just shouldn’t take an entire day to write a blog post. Especially when my favorite blog pounds out an average of 8 well-written, engaging and insightful posts a day.

So between wanting to figure out how long specific posts take, wanting to accurately determine time spent on projects and wondering whether I spend far too much time commenting on Facebook, I found a little tool to track time.

From their website: Toggl is an online time tracking tool. It features 1-click time tracking and helps you see where your time goes. Free and paid versions are available.

I’ve been using the free version for about a month. It’s fricking awesome. You can access your time tracker in three ways:

• online
• desktop app
• phone app (Available for iPhone and Android phones. No wi-fi needed.)

I love it because I can record time spent on every task and client. There’s a tool called Autopilot that nags you to work. It learns what desktop applications are associated with what projects. At first, it asks you what you’re working on like a two-year-old asks, “Why?”  Then it calms down and starts asking if it should turn off the timer when you’re liking everything on Facebook.

The free version is awesome: you get time tracking, projects, 5 users and a weekly time report. The weekly report is proof to the 80/20 rule.

The paid versions range from the Solo account at $5/month for one user to the Max at $79/month and 40 users. With the paid plans, you can track your earnings and mark projects/tasks as billable.  You also get a task planner and ability to integrate with Basecamp, RSS and iCal.

My biggest issue with Toggl is that I forget to start it sometimes. That can be remedied by the ability to add time into your tracker. I don’t but am getting better at recording my time.

I’ve discovered that it takes less time to do copy writing related writing than thought (2-4 hours). The 24 Hours in blog posts are the most time-intensive (8-10 hours). My current project is a whopper of a time commitment.

There are a number of time trackers out there. Let me know if you are keen on any. For now, I love Toggl.

 

*ish.

London Heathrow Airport: Showers & Storage

"Silly, tourist. She's taking a photo of Left Baggage!"

The last time I flew to London, I arrived at 7 am and had 10 hours to kill until my train departed for Edinburgh. Even if you’re sitting in business class and your luggage consists of a roller bag that fits under your seat and a purse, you’re still going to land feeling like a homeless lady wheeling a shopping cart.

I packed for a week trip in this houndstooth bag and a tote bag.

Luckily Heathrow’s got it all figured out.

Get Refreshed

You can take a shower at LHR. If you don’t have access to an airline lounge, go to Terminal 4 for a free shower. The showers are located post security near the Express Abbey entrance.

Free shower stall @ LHR.

You’ll need your own toiletries and towel but you get a private changing area and shower space. The space is clean and big enough for you to open a large suitcase and get yourself refreshed.

It's old but it's clean.

Stow It

Next stop is  Baggage Storage and Shipping.  Without the specter of 9/11 haunting them, LHR still has on-site luggage storage at every terminal. Each bag is £8.50 per 24 hours. I opted to take my bags to Kings Cross Station where my Virgin train to Edinburgh was departing. They have the same set up — bags are scanned and stored but left baggage is £8.00 per bag for the first 24 hours then £4.00 per 24 hours thereafter.

"Silly, tourist. She's taking a photo of baggage storage!"

Now, you’re free to go do something fun!

Top 5 freebies on your birthday

"birthday" Image by Aron Kremer (AKphoto) via stock.xchng

Around this time, I start wondering what I can get for free on my birthday.  Since I’m not into wait staff singing to me or amusement parks, I thought I’d put together a list of freebies I’d actually enjoy even if they weren’t free.

Here are my top five:

1. Borders Rewards: Free dessert and 15% off coupon with Borders Rewards sign-up.
2. Sephora: Free eye makeup kit. Sign up for Beauty Insider card and come within two weeks before or after your birthday.
3. Bear Mountain Resort: Free ride on your birthday. (Too bad my b-day is in the summer.)
4. Glen Ivy: Free admission to the spa on your birthday. (Guess where I’ll be.)
5. Todai: Free birthday meal voucher with paying adult.

For more comprehensive lists, go to:

Totally Free Stuff

Hey! It’s Free!