# Why should freelancers involve Time Tracking in their work ethic

Freelancers do not work on a tight schedule and working hours and therefore, many a time, they risk making way less than they actually should.

Therefore the concept of [time tracking](https://productive.fish/blog/time-tracking/) is ever more important for freelancers. Initially, the process itself may seem tedious, but as a person who charges on an hourly basis, the need for time tracking is much more.

Enjoy reading our reasons why freelancers should track their time.

**Improves your workflow**

If you are an employee in the 21st century, you know that you need to deal with several tasks and as a freelancer, you need to deal with multiple clients at a time.

Once you start tracking your time, you will know key areas where you need to improve your efficiency, where you are taking up more time than needed. Such inputs will help you streamline your processes.

When time tracking happens over a period, key insights and self-analysis become easy, fostering your time management skills.

**Eliminates putting off tasks**

If you frequently take breaks to looks at what's happening on Facebook or Twitter, it might seem harmless. With effective time tracking, you would know that a great deal of time is spent on procrastination and social media apps play a major role as they provide the so-called "instant gratification."

It is really easy to engage in unimportant things and leave work for the eleventh hour, but this has a serious impact on your mental health and quality of work.

Time tracking can help you put off unnecessary distractions at bay and focus on the work at hand. With metrics provided by your time tracking app, things become much more clearer and you can make smarter decisions about your work.

**Avoid doing too many things at a time**

If you ever try and indulge in time tracking while multitasking, you know it is a herculean task. Doing quite a few things at once may seem productive, but according to American Psychological Association, it "causes a 40% decrease in productivity."

Time tracking is designed to note down how much time you are spending on a given task and therefore, if you make a sincere effort to involve time tracking into your work ethic, you will avoid taking on too many things at once, thereby increasing productivity.

**Selecting the best paying clients**

As a freelancer, you have to deal with different kinds of clients and there are some, that need to be updated about every second, demand high quality at low rates. They might end up taking extra time with no additional payments.

Start tracking your time that you spend on each client's project and compare it to what you make on it. This shall allow you to segregate clients based on profitability.

**Make Better Financial Decisions**

Since freelancers work on an hourly basis, you might be charging way too less than you need to when working on a project. Using a time tracking application can help you monitor each second that you spend on a project.

The historical data on a similar project also lets you quote the right amount for a project, which you might have underestimated in absence of relevant data.
