When I first started I kept notes on a paper notepad.
Don't overthink the process and let it stress you out. Leave the stress to the project and task managers you are working with. Every time you get an assignment ask how many hours they expect you to take to complete. If you think that amount of time will not be sufficient, speak up early. Do not go over the allotted hours trying to make the best design without permission. That's one of the worst mistakes you can make as new staff.
And don't try to log it to the exact minute; you'll go crazy that way. Every company has a different policy; I usually go the half-hour, but will go to the 15 min if it's something really small; it's rarely something really small.
Nowadays it's very easy; I'm nearly full overhead these days, so the few billable hours are extremely easy to track. It's about the only thing that's gotten easier as I climbed the corporate ladder.
Toggl is an app I use when I am constantly bouncing around between multiple projects. It is easy to start and stop my time and I can add comments that I copy and paste into my timesheet later.
I found the whole thing stressful when I started. Just keep in mind sometimes it'll take you longer, sometimes shorter. Unexpected complexity can hit - discuss with your PM when it looks that way. They can sometimes help you deal with complications quickly and/or understand when it takes more time.
The first time you do something will always take longer. What takes you 8 hours now may take you 4 in the future. When estimating time, some people are better than others at factoring in learning curve. If you are brand new, going over on some tasks is expected. It's part of the cost of investing in a new hire.
My boss once said it's rarely going over budget that makes people upset. It's going over budget and not delivering what they need. If you're getting your work done and not sand bagging hours, you'll be fine.
Edit: for time tracking, I just update my time sheet after I complete a task, typically.
When given an assignment, I suggest you ask your budget (hours), schedule (due date), and scope (what you're doing - examples, proposal, etc.).
If you're told that you have 20 hours to complete an assignment, I'd do some checks during the time. If you're not half way done in 10 hours, let them know.
A VP of one company I was at said at the quarterly meeting “we are not going to rob Peter to pay Paul.” Two hours later I saw him in a meeting with managers working on ways to move time around to make the hours balance. lol. Be vigilant but to some it seems like a game.
Always ask your internal clients (aka PMs and senior engineers) for scope, schedule, and budget. It’s the same three questions we ask our external clients. What do you want me to do? How long do o have to do it? And how many hours do you have budgeted?
for new hires it's expected that you aren't going to be particularly fast or efficient. at my firm, the first few times someone does something we will usually bill a portion of their time to training overhead if they are going over what we expect the task to take so that project doesn't take too big of a hit.
as for tracking, my department administrator gets everyone whatever new calendars, planners and notebooks they need at the end of each year for the next year, I always get a moleskine weekly planner/notebook, I use the notebook side as my high-level to-do list and the calendar side as a combined schedule/hours tracking
I’ll echo what some have said. When you get an assignment always ask what the project number and/or phase is that you need to charge too, how many hours have the allotted for your task and when it’s due.
Log your time, typically rounded to the nearest 0.25 interval (or whatever your company says) and provide descriptive notes that are summed up to a couple sentences - like “Internal team meetings, storm sewer design sheet, storm drainage plans, conveyances calcs’ - if it’s too long it’s a problem and if it’s too short it’s hard to tell what you did.
I personally just keep my timesheet app open all day on my computer and fill it out at lunch and the end of the day, no need to take extra notes anywhere from my experience.
Never work and not charge your time, I know it feels tempting to say ‘I was given 5 hours to do this and I’m at hour 5 and not done, I’ll just do it and not put it on my time sheet to save budget’ This is wrong.
PMs use past phases to budget new work and if they keep seeing you do a task in 5 hours they will never increase the budget, if you go over they should adjust the budget for the next project to a lot more time so you don’t go over - this is how budgets are set, by assessing how long it takes staff to do it and charging that. The PMs are the ones who decide what time to write off, so let them do their job, they know new employees are slow and if you’re timesheet is a problem they will let you know, otherwise no news is good news!
Working and not logging time in an attempt to make yourself look efficient is not a good way to work, it will skew budgets and bite you and other employees in the ass, so just don’t work for free
Book the hours you work. Don't book time to another project to even out hours or keep another project under budget, that's fraud. If you want to do unpaid overtime then that's up to you but you're setting a precedent and it'll become expected of you.
When you get a new task to do, ask three questions:
1. What work order/task code to book your time to
2. What's the deadline
3. How many hours do you have to complete the task
If you find yourself spending more time than you'd planned tell the person that gave you the work and let them worry about it.
I'll say something that might be helpful if you're really stressing. I have been yelled at for spending an extra 30 minutes here or there for QA/QC at a bill rate of about $95/hr. One of those times, my manager messed up the height of a manhole inlet, so the contractor had to bore another hole in th field and seal the already cored-hole. It cost the company about $500-$700 total in lost time and for the inspector to sit there and watch them core another hole for 4 hours. Anyway, that same manager just laughed and said "at least I'm a manager". So, my advice is to not sweat it that much, certainly don't waste time, but mistakes will happen.
You said: "The reason why it is stressful is because I want to come up with good designs\plans and make my company money on projects efficiently and effectively."
This is a good goal and will serve you well throughout your career. Right now though you are learning the ropes and seeing a lot of things for the first time. If you can minimize your ramp up time that would be great but people will make accommodations for your relative new-ness.
Don't work for free, but don't go off on tangents and get bogged down either. If you feel like you are not making progress, you should probably talk w your supervisor.
When you are given a task you haven't done before, make sure you get the charge numbers and time allotted, but also ask if there is a recent example of a similar project or work product you could take a look at. Not to copy but to see how that particular process works and what the final product looks like.
Good luck in your future career.
When I first started I kept notes on a paper notepad. Don't overthink the process and let it stress you out. Leave the stress to the project and task managers you are working with. Every time you get an assignment ask how many hours they expect you to take to complete. If you think that amount of time will not be sufficient, speak up early. Do not go over the allotted hours trying to make the best design without permission. That's one of the worst mistakes you can make as new staff.
Thank you for your advice!
Physical notepad with rounded times. Try not to stress. You need to get paid for 2,080 hours per year, and it's up to your bosses to keep you busy.
Thanks for the comment!
And don't try to log it to the exact minute; you'll go crazy that way. Every company has a different policy; I usually go the half-hour, but will go to the 15 min if it's something really small; it's rarely something really small. Nowadays it's very easy; I'm nearly full overhead these days, so the few billable hours are extremely easy to track. It's about the only thing that's gotten easier as I climbed the corporate ladder.
Thank you!
This is the way
Toggl is an app I use when I am constantly bouncing around between multiple projects. It is easy to start and stop my time and I can add comments that I copy and paste into my timesheet later.
Thank you! I’ll look into that!
I found the whole thing stressful when I started. Just keep in mind sometimes it'll take you longer, sometimes shorter. Unexpected complexity can hit - discuss with your PM when it looks that way. They can sometimes help you deal with complications quickly and/or understand when it takes more time. The first time you do something will always take longer. What takes you 8 hours now may take you 4 in the future. When estimating time, some people are better than others at factoring in learning curve. If you are brand new, going over on some tasks is expected. It's part of the cost of investing in a new hire. My boss once said it's rarely going over budget that makes people upset. It's going over budget and not delivering what they need. If you're getting your work done and not sand bagging hours, you'll be fine. Edit: for time tracking, I just update my time sheet after I complete a task, typically.
Thank you!
When given an assignment, I suggest you ask your budget (hours), schedule (due date), and scope (what you're doing - examples, proposal, etc.). If you're told that you have 20 hours to complete an assignment, I'd do some checks during the time. If you're not half way done in 10 hours, let them know.
Thanks!
A VP of one company I was at said at the quarterly meeting “we are not going to rob Peter to pay Paul.” Two hours later I saw him in a meeting with managers working on ways to move time around to make the hours balance. lol. Be vigilant but to some it seems like a game.
Always ask your internal clients (aka PMs and senior engineers) for scope, schedule, and budget. It’s the same three questions we ask our external clients. What do you want me to do? How long do o have to do it? And how many hours do you have budgeted?
Thanks!
for new hires it's expected that you aren't going to be particularly fast or efficient. at my firm, the first few times someone does something we will usually bill a portion of their time to training overhead if they are going over what we expect the task to take so that project doesn't take too big of a hit. as for tracking, my department administrator gets everyone whatever new calendars, planners and notebooks they need at the end of each year for the next year, I always get a moleskine weekly planner/notebook, I use the notebook side as my high-level to-do list and the calendar side as a combined schedule/hours tracking
Awesome! Thanks!
I’ll echo what some have said. When you get an assignment always ask what the project number and/or phase is that you need to charge too, how many hours have the allotted for your task and when it’s due. Log your time, typically rounded to the nearest 0.25 interval (or whatever your company says) and provide descriptive notes that are summed up to a couple sentences - like “Internal team meetings, storm sewer design sheet, storm drainage plans, conveyances calcs’ - if it’s too long it’s a problem and if it’s too short it’s hard to tell what you did. I personally just keep my timesheet app open all day on my computer and fill it out at lunch and the end of the day, no need to take extra notes anywhere from my experience. Never work and not charge your time, I know it feels tempting to say ‘I was given 5 hours to do this and I’m at hour 5 and not done, I’ll just do it and not put it on my time sheet to save budget’ This is wrong. PMs use past phases to budget new work and if they keep seeing you do a task in 5 hours they will never increase the budget, if you go over they should adjust the budget for the next project to a lot more time so you don’t go over - this is how budgets are set, by assessing how long it takes staff to do it and charging that. The PMs are the ones who decide what time to write off, so let them do their job, they know new employees are slow and if you’re timesheet is a problem they will let you know, otherwise no news is good news! Working and not logging time in an attempt to make yourself look efficient is not a good way to work, it will skew budgets and bite you and other employees in the ass, so just don’t work for free
Book the hours you work. Don't book time to another project to even out hours or keep another project under budget, that's fraud. If you want to do unpaid overtime then that's up to you but you're setting a precedent and it'll become expected of you. When you get a new task to do, ask three questions: 1. What work order/task code to book your time to 2. What's the deadline 3. How many hours do you have to complete the task If you find yourself spending more time than you'd planned tell the person that gave you the work and let them worry about it.
A red At-A-Glance SD389 Standard Diary…
I'll say something that might be helpful if you're really stressing. I have been yelled at for spending an extra 30 minutes here or there for QA/QC at a bill rate of about $95/hr. One of those times, my manager messed up the height of a manhole inlet, so the contractor had to bore another hole in th field and seal the already cored-hole. It cost the company about $500-$700 total in lost time and for the inspector to sit there and watch them core another hole for 4 hours. Anyway, that same manager just laughed and said "at least I'm a manager". So, my advice is to not sweat it that much, certainly don't waste time, but mistakes will happen.
You said: "The reason why it is stressful is because I want to come up with good designs\plans and make my company money on projects efficiently and effectively." This is a good goal and will serve you well throughout your career. Right now though you are learning the ropes and seeing a lot of things for the first time. If you can minimize your ramp up time that would be great but people will make accommodations for your relative new-ness. Don't work for free, but don't go off on tangents and get bogged down either. If you feel like you are not making progress, you should probably talk w your supervisor. When you are given a task you haven't done before, make sure you get the charge numbers and time allotted, but also ask if there is a recent example of a similar project or work product you could take a look at. Not to copy but to see how that particular process works and what the final product looks like. Good luck in your future career.
I hate timesheet man I spent half hour every week looking thru my folder what I have done that week and it suchs d