Time audit
Log what you actually did today, block by block. At the end of the day you'll see where the hours really went — and how far it drifted from your plan.
Today's log
Where it went
How to run a time audit
- Log as you go. Every hour or two, add what you did. Memory at the end of the day is kind to us and wrong.
- Be honest about small things. "Checked messages 11:10–11:35" counts. Those are usually the surprise.
- Compare with the plan. Where did deep work shrink? What expanded to fill it?
- Change one thing. Move a meeting, batch messages, protect a morning block — then audit again next week.
Most people find that shallow work (email, chat, small admin) takes far more time than they thought. The fix is usually task batching and a deliberate time-blocked plan.
Questions people ask
What is a time audit?
A time audit is a record of how you actually spent your time over a day or a week, compared with how you planned or believed you spent it. It is the most reliable way to find where hours go.
How long should a time audit last?
One typical workday gives a first picture; a full week is better because it catches weekly meetings and patterns. Peter Drucker, in The Effective Executive, recommended logging time as it happens rather than from memory, and repeating the audit a couple of times a year.
How does this compare plan vs actual?
If you planned the same day in the Executoday day planner, the audit compares your logged minutes per category with the planned minutes per category, so you can see where the plan and reality diverged.