Emergent Task Timer 2009 Updates

See where your time is going so you stay focused

The Emergent Task Timer (or ETT) is a Daily Task Focusing Sheet that works in conjunction with a simple 15-minute timer. Every time the timer goes off, you take a note of what you happen to be doing, and fill in a bubble marking the time. This simple action allows you to build a picture of how you spend your time during the day. The results are often shocking. Like all the Printable CEO™ forms, it's designed to provide maximum gain for minimum input.

Over the years, this form seems to be popular with people working in reactionary jobs (tech support, for example) and students who are trying to stay focused. The use of the 15-minute timer is useful for "pacing" the day; when it goes off, you'll know if you've been on task or off task. Even if you don't note a bubble for every single 15-minute interval, you can often infer how your day has been going from the overall pattern that has built. Some people use it as a simple daily time tracker for billable work. Others have used it to show their bosses that their time gets frittered away by useless meetings.

The 2009 edition is pretty much the same as last year's. If you're using the form to track time, be sure to use the Power User's version; there's a space at the right side of the form to enter in the total amount of time you've spent.

Download 2009 Emergent Task Timing Printable Forms

• The Standard Emergent Task Timer Form (portrait mode)
• The Wide Version (landscape mode)
• The Wide Version w/ 5 minute Intervals (landscape, divider lines in each bubble)
• The Power User Version (landscape, no instructions, total time field on right)

If you are looking for a 15-minute timer, you might try using the ancient online prototype of the Emergent Task Timer. It is not completely functional, but you can certainly use it to try the concept out. Sean Johnson has also created a web app based on the ETT design which is pretty slick. Check it out!

For more information about Emergent Task Timing, the original post describes each design feature in greater detail. Enjoy!

Comments

Let’s hope those Task Order Up! sheets for 2008 are not far behind!

Hi! I’ve printed them all and i’ll use them as soon as i print my agenda too. I’ll let you know if i can get more organized :D, ty, btw, Teresa

You’ve done it again and produced some amazing forms that will definitely improve my productivity. Thank you for your efforts and continued exploration of this topic.

Thank you david you provide a valuable service with these planners. Happy new Year !
I think i am not gonna buy this year a calendar/planner. I will print your sheets out and make them as a book.
Ha !? An idea has born.
Why don’t you go to lulu.com or another print on demand and give them your sheets to make ready made calendars/planners to buy them directly from you !!
That would save time and money ;) Think about it !
See ya.

Hi David,
Could you also mention paper size (e.g. Letter, A4 etc.) for these templates. Thanks.

I’ve been using the print outs as a vital tracking tool to
enable me to jump projects mid stream and effectively track.

The flash timer isn’t very useful because it loses the data
after a couple of days.  Unless they were printed, the old
ovals are lost.  I’d like to be able to track back and scale
through many days.

David,

Would you consider adding some concrete goal bubbles to the last column of each row in the wide version? Sinc there are four bubbles you could add one for each goal score (10,5,2,1). Then you could easily add up the last column to se your score for the day. What do you think?

FYI - I am a Director at an IT consulting firm. I have asked my managers to start using the ETT to track how they are spending thier day. I am already receiving very positive feedback. I’ll keep you posted as we find ways to use your time managment tools.

Regards,

Robert

The 5-min version is so close to meeting our needs, I’ll write to ask whether you might consider doing a slight mod.  Legal folks often record time by the 10th of an hour—every six minutes. 

(Yes, it’s ridiculous, but we’ve inherited it, and it’s not going anywhere.  And, just for the record, not all legal nerds earn big enough bucks to afford an iPhone/PDA time tracker…)

So, if the 5-min version were changed to have a total of five bubbles per hour, and if each bubble were divided in half—> there it is: ten half-bubbles per hour.  Perfect! 

And if the online flash version would support this, oh my…

Thank you very much! I love this thing - it makes looking bad at the day and feeling good about it so much easier

Do you have a weekly version instead of daily. I’d like to cut down on paper and i don’t need one for the whole week.

I made a 2 paged version just so I can easily print duplexed pages to save on paper. Would you mind publishing a 2 sided version so others can be encouraged to save paper?

RE: 2-sided version
Eric, why not just print a bunch of sheets on one side, then return them to the paper tray (flipped if necessary) and print the other side?