Use Gmail As A Timesheet To Track Billable Hours

Timesheets aren’t the most enjoyable way to keep track of how many hours you’ve worked, but Lifehacker reader Seeräuber Jenny has a Gmail tracking system that saves all the important details without the added edge and stress.

I work on a freelance/consultant basis a lot. At the end of a project, I have to submit a detailed timesheet with a description of the work performed and the time. This part is always a drag. I often dutifully create a timesheet (that’s the rational and efficient thing to do, obviously), but I often forget to update it. Or sometimes, I know I’m going to have to write off some time because I wasn’t working flat out and I just don’t feel like doing that quite yet.

To ease the burden, I started sending myself emails (to my Gmail account) with a brief description and time amount. I title the email “X Hours”. Usually, I have created a label for the “X” job as well and all correspondence and notes are so labelled and easy to locate.

At the end of the project, if not before, I search for and print all the “X Hours” emails, and it gives me a good narrative to work from. If it’s a particularly long description, I copy and paste it into the timesheet itself.