Timesheets that are useful to the people who fill them in
A timesheet that only serves control gets filled in badly and late. One that gives something back to the person filling it in gets filled in every day, without reminders.
Classic timesheet
What entry gives back to Lola
In many organizations, the timesheet is a Friday chore: a grid filled in from memory, for accounting or management control. It gives nothing back to the person filling it in. So it gets filled in quickly, roughly, and often late.
What the grid does not say
An hours grid records the past: so many hours on such a project. It does not say what remains to be done, or whether the week is manageable. For the person filling it in, it is a box to tick.
Give something back
The same entry can first serve the person making it. When Lola reports her 6 hours on Tuesday on the new site preparation, she sees her week: 13 hours done out of 35. She updates her remaining work, 8 hours. She knows where she stands, and so does her project manager, without a meeting.
Enter time every day, in two minutes
A daily entry, on your own tasks, takes two minutes. It is more accurate than a Friday reconstruction, and it feeds the workload plan and progress directly. Time spent becomes steering information, not just control.
Key points
- a timesheet that gives nothing back gets filled in badly;
- entry should show each person their week and their remaining work;
- a short daily entry beats a weekly reconstruction.