How Passive Time Tracking Transforms Work & Boosts Focus

Laundry.

Doing the dishes.

Vacuuming.

Humans have invented technology to automate all kinds of chores. What used to take hours of manual labor back in the day is now a question of pushing a button. The automation of chores is one of the perks of the technological revolution and something we should all take advantage of whenever we need to save time and free up the energy for more meaningful activities.

Work is no exception. We all use computers with clever software to run complex calculations, build models, and minimize human error. Clever tools do the job for you much like the washing machine does your laundry. You’re still in control of your laundry but you delegate the manual labor to technology.

Time tracking is a chore and a mean one at that. It gets in the way of work and doesn’t get you promoted. We at Memtime like to say that nobody has been promoted for good time tracking. And yet you’re supposed to find the incentive to do it diligently on top of your actual tasks.

Like many other chores, time tracking can be delegated to technology. Tools will do the manual, time-consuming job of tracking your work hours for you while you reap the benefits of focused work and accurate timesheets. This is the essence of passive time tracking. It’s done for you the same way your robot vacuum handles your floors, i.e., hands-free.

This is a guide to passive time tracking. We’ll explore what it is and how it works to shine a light on this exciting piece of technology that can transform your work and boost your focus.

What is passive timekeeping?

Passive timekeeping is one that doesn’t require your involvement. Involvement can be any amount of manual work like starting and stopping a timer, launching an app, entering work hours manually, etc. Passive time tracking requires zero effort on your part.

In fact, this is how time tracking works for some professionals, e.g., senior partners at law firms. Some of them have legal assistants who track and log time on cases on behalf of their senior managers. This type of assisted time tracking is one of the ways in which lawyers track their time.

Passive time tracking is that minus the paid assistant. It’s done by a piece of software while you work without interrupting your day, breaking your focus, or compromising your privacy (more on that later).

Passive vs active time tracking

Like all chores, time tracking is traditionally done manually or actively. Actively here means involving manual actions such as pressing the start and stop buttons when switching from one task to another. Or moving tasks between columns, or changing the status, etc.

Let’s look at some examples of active vs passive time tracking side by side for an easy comparison.

As you can see, active time tracking is what we could normally call manual time tracking. It’s not wrong in and of itself, much like doing the dishes manually is not wrong and works quite well for a number of people. However, when given the option to use a dishwasher that does the job just as good, if not better, and saves you time, very few of us would say no.

The same goes for timekeeping. It can be done manually and there’s an array of methods and tools for that. When you automate the process and make timekeeping a passive task that gets done for you, you not only save time but also improve the quality of your data.

How passive time tracking works

The fact that passive time tracking requires zero effort on your part can be hard to grasp. How can you trust a piece of technology to capture every second of your work while also protecting your privacy? Let’s find out by using our very own Memtime as an example.

1. Desktop app records your day

The difference between web-based and desktop apps is that a desktop app can run in the background without you keeping it open or having an internet connection for that matter. Passive time tracking can also be offline time tracking or self-hosted time tracking, which comes with full control over the time tracking process and your data.

Having a desktop app tracking your time means that you don’t have to worry about accidentally closing the tab or window it runs in. It also means you never compromise your privacy because your time tracking data remains offline on your computer, i.e. nobody but you can see what you’re working on.

This is the main idea behind Memtime. Being a desktop app, it runs in the background every minute you’re active on your computer. And every minute it records is stored offline on your device so you can be sure it’s not uploaded to the cloud or shared with your employer.

2. All programs, files, and tabs are recorded

How does a passive time tracker know what you’re doing, even as you’re jumping from one tab to another and switching programs? It simply follows your mouse and keyboard movement with machine-level precision. So it can capture every second of your day, including intense multitasking.

Because you don’t have to do anything, not even press a button for it to begin, passive time trackers need to be able to follow all your computer activity. The biggest advantage of that – besides zero effort required from your side – is the level of precision.

Memtime not only records every minute of your day but also allows you to view any past work day in as short as 1-minute increments. You can adjust the increment from 1 to 60 minutes to have the level of detail you need on any given day.

No matter how fast you switch between programs and tabs, passive time tracking tools can capture all of your work and make sure you never lose track of your time, not even a minute.

3. You decide what to do with your data

What you do with your time tracking data is completely up to you. It’s stored locally on your computer so you’re free to manipulate it knowing it’s the only copy there is.

After reviewing your day in any level of detail in Memtime, here’s what you can do.

Now that you know how passive time tracking works using Memtime as an example, you can give it a try and get first-hand experience with a fully automated time tracking process. This means unprecedented accuracy of data, full control over your privacy, and absolutely zero effort required on your part.

The pros and cons of passive time tracking

We get it, you’re not yet convinced to give passive time tracking a try. You have your doubts and want to learn more about the benefits and downsides of a fully automated timekeeping process. Look no further as we’re going to address all the pros and cons below.

Pros of passive time tracking

Let’s first reiterate the benefits.

1. Effortless process

Going from a manual time tracking system involving a timer or stopwatch to having your timekeeping done for you is a huge relief. Employees spend up to 30 minutes out of an 8-hour day just logging time on projects. This alone saves 2,5 hours of billable time every week per person.

2. Uncompromized privacy

Once you understand how passive time tracking works, you realize its superiority in terms of ownership of your time tracking data. Self-hosted offline apps for passive time tracking are the most employee-friendly solutions for keeping track of time at work.

3. Improved focus & creativity

When you’re spared interruptions and tedious admin, you’re more likely to find yourself in the flow state or at least peacefully multitasking and focused on your work. People tend to be more creative when they don’t feel the stress of keeping a record of their tasks.

4. Accurate timesheets

Even with the most dedicated, detail-oriented professionals like legal office workers and consultants, there’s always a risk of half-accurate time tracking data. This is due to the nature of modern work and the number of interruptions. Not to mention the human brain’s limited capacity to remember every little admin detail while being focused on accomplishing tasks and delivering value.

Cons of passive time tracking

Let’s take a critical look at the downsides.

1. A harder sell for the team

The biggest obstacle on the way to automation and better processes is convincing your team you have their best interests at heart. New tools, especially desktop apps, will always cause resistance from any group of professionals. You need to have “the talk” and prove to your people the superiority of the new time tracking process.

2. Privacy concerns

A big part of getting your team’s buy-in is reassuring them of the privacy of their data. There’s no passive time tracking without computer activity recording but that also means that all time tracking data remains offline and users have full control. Memtime is an excellent example of high privacy standards and employee-friendly solutions.

3. Additional investment

Passive time tracking requires premium tools and that’s always an investment. Especially if your current process is people using a free timer or a spreadsheet, you need to go from spending $0 on time tracking tools to allocating some kind of budget.

Wrapping up

Passive time tracking is the only time tracking method justified in the age of the technological revolution. Just like robot vacuums and dishwashers came to rescue to automate manual chores, passive time trackers provide a relief from manual timers and stopwatches.

Service business professionals who track their time require effortless, privacy-first solutions for keeping track of billable hours and optimizing productivity. Especially in industries such as legal and consulting where time tracking needs to be done in the smallest increments and still be accurate for fair billing.

Passive time tracking software is available to anybody who wishes to boost productivity while having full control of every minute of their work days. If you’re ready to leave the manual timekeeping chore in the past where it belongs, create your free account with Memtime today and never look back.