Time is a valuable commodity and it gets wasted easily online. Whether you’re a student, a web developer or even an Web 2.0 CEO, the internet is always ready to devour your time.

Fortunately, online stopwatches are easy to find & to use.

Gently enhance the value of your time by making intelligent use of one of these free stopwatches.

Punch In & Out

It’s easy to lose track of time when you’ve got 1) the internet as a playground, & 2) a nice, cozy couch to rest on while you work.

Instead of losing huge chunks of time during a stay-at-home workday, practice a procedure of punching in & out using a clock.  Whenever you begin working, simply start the clock. (My favorite version is this one, a simple full-screen online stopwatch which I can keep minimized at the bottom of my screen as I work).  When you take a break, even if it’s only a quick restroom break, stop the clock. When you resume your work, start the clock again.

Simple. Punch in & punch out. However, don’t waste time after you’ve punched in. Stay on task.  If you find yourself drifting, punch out and give yourself a little pep talk before punching in again.

Log Your Results

Recently, I wrote about the benefits of using the Firefox extension Zotero. This free application allows you to easily drag & drop online material into a notebook extension. Zotero is great to use when paired with an online stopwatch widget called Chronme.

Chronme not only counts time, but it also logs the date & time of day when you put it to use.  This is a powerful asset when you’re keeping track of your productivity, because a log is automatically retained for every break you take while working.

Periodically, you can drag & drop this data into a Zotero standalone note.

Furthermore, since Chronme is a widget, you can place it into a private blog where you can daily record your own performance.

Analyze the Data

At the end of the day, take a look at the total amount of time you worked, and try to find out when you may have wasted time. Consider practicing this experiment with a friend or two, and try to compare productivity with one another.

Perhaps your friend will be more effective in his work than you are, even if he worked less time. Perhaps not. If so however, try to discover the secret to his success.  Be willing to learn how to improve.

Make the Most of Your Time

Time can be money if you make a habit of putting your time to good use. Free up time in your day by getting the most out of the least amount of time.

Why slave for hours over a project that does not deserve more than 30 minutes of your time? By evaluating your own psychology about time, you will see that procrastination tends to waste away precious minutes, hours or even entire workdays.

Try out the methods suggested here to save yourself time & money, and feel free to suggest your own time-saving tips. We’re all ears.

Photo Credits: James Withers, Lady Amada