Tidtaking

Tidtaking is the systematic practice of recording how time is spent. It typically involves logging when activities begin and end, and classifying time into tasks, projects, contexts, or outcomes. Entries may be made in paper logbooks, spreadsheets, or through digital tools that automatically track usage and generate summaries.

Practices vary from manual time logs kept by individuals to more automated approaches that monitor computer or device activity, or that integrate with calendars and project-management systems. Common methods include simple start–stop timers, time-blocking diaries, and category-based time tracking for clients or projects. Data can be aggregated weekly or project-wise to reveal patterns in productivity, interruptions, or prioritization.

Historically, timekeeping for work emerged with industrial efficiency movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and has evolved into modern time-tracking software used by freelancers, teams, and researchers. In contemporary settings, tidtaking supports personal productivity, billing accuracy, project planning, and research data collection on study habits or workflow.

Benefits include increased awareness of how time is spent, improved planning, and objective data for resource allocation. Potential drawbacks are privacy concerns, the risk of over-quantification, entry errors, and the possibility that measurement changes behavior in nonproductive ways.

Ethical considerations center on consent, data retention, and the appropriate use of collected information in workplaces or schools. Critics argue that not all activities are readily measurable and that excessive monitoring can induce stress or reduce intrinsic motivation.