People who have traditional jobs often "watch the clock" to know when they finish work. That does not seem to happen when you are an independent worker because, in general, you are so busy that you don't know how the day went or you are getting busy with many distractions that you also don't know how the day went by.

For the self-employed, the workday seems to fade without actually knowing how time went by. If you do not use the time to earn money, you are essentially wasting time and money.

It is important to control the time to know how you used it, but also because there are four more reasons why you should keep track of your workday as an independent worker, as it can generate greater productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

1. Precise billable time

You do not want to fool with the time dedicated to an independent project nor to overcharge your clients. If someone asks you about the time spent on certain tasks, you will have an accurate and detailed record of the billable time. 
As a self-employed person, time tracking apps

"Time tracking helps you to determine which task actually takes longer to get done and make you less productive."

2. Professional image

Still, some people consider that the freelance workers are amateurs and they realize a "little" work in the living room of their home, in spite of the popularity that acquired this work. However, by having an accurate record and sharing specific details of how the project time was used, customers can be impressed and increase confidence in you as a professional partner.

3. Greater responsibility

Although you may not consider spending too much time on Facebook or Instagram, or paying attention while you are analyzing the following article or phase of project development, it is helpful to have a tracking tool to have the evidence you need to know where is your time going

Seeing what you do in each minute can make you more responsible for staying on a task and use most of the time for productive jobs and generate money.

"Time tracking app can help you to eliminate or re-think about your bad habits like spending the whole day on Facebook."

4. Better calculations

Analyzing the time you devoted to previous projects can help you have better cost and time estimates on future projects with new or existing customers. This improves expectations while reducing any area of conflict if you realize later that you offered a lower price for the project or promised too much.

5. Reduction or elimination of multiple tasks

Despite what many people may think about various tasks, they actually lead to fewer things being done. It is more efficient to focus entirely on one project at a time than to divide the time for two or more projects. It is more likely to generate better quality work and maximize your time to accept more work than before. Time tracking will help you see why multiple tasks are not the best strategy.

6. Customer analysis

There may be clients who are not the best for your time and effort, but you will only know precisely if you track the amount of time you spend on each account and evaluate the earnings you get from the relationship. If you see that you are spending more time than the work is worth, you can leave that customer and leave the door open for one that is much better at the return on investment time.

7. Delegation of tasks

Before you reject clients, however, see if you can refer that work to someone new to independent work who can do it for you at a lower rate so that you can focus on the clients you get the most value for the time/money ratio.

If there are tasks within your business that are not very good and do not allow you to make more money, try delegating them to others who specialize in those areas. If you evaluate the time you earn by charging them and making more money, you can gain critical knowledge.

8. Improved financial decisions

Studying the time you spend on your business can show you whether life as an independent worker pays off for you or if there are ways to improve to make more money without working so hard, or at least being able to live on what you currently do.

Evaluating the time and money for the designated moment, you are using can give you a bigger financial picture of how you are achieving it. Often this is not distinguished due to daily activities that distract you from having a more detailed look at your processes.

9. Productivity schedules

Observing how the time and hours of the day when you are most productive can help you reorganize the workday according to those periods.

For example, if you see that you could make more money during the early morning or late at night compared to other years where you were more distracted, you could reorganize your day according to those habits and events.

It's okay to have productive and unproductive times during the day; Therefore, keeping track of what they are will only make you have a happier independent job.

10. Progress, motivation and goal setting

Although he loves independent work, there may be times when he feels like a hamster on a wheel. However, by recording time and getting a visual image of how productive it has been, you can increase the chances of staying motivated.

Having the ability to keep track of time also gives you a set of quantitative data with which to work to establish new goals in each quarter or year you spend in the independent business. Therefore, you can continue and see progress while maintaining that motivation

Anyway, investing in time tracking provides you with profits and makes "sense" to freelancers.