Tracking time may seem confusing at first. What to track? How? To what extent? What tools to use? And – the most important – what do I get from it and when: in a week, month? A year?

It turns out you can get something out of the very first second you track, for any activity. It’s a true ninja skill you can start developing now – Focus.

When you press start on a timer, you may start hearing gentle ticking accompanying everything you’re doing. Even if it’s only in your head because the timer is fully electronic and silent, it’s there…

The clock is ticking.

If you were sitting in a taxi, with the meter running, but the still scenery behind the window, you would feel cheated, wouldn’t you? Except now, you’re both the driver and the passenger. So? You’re getting impatient. You know the destination, you know the road, you’ve been there thousand times before, and even if you didn’t, there are maps, there are GPSes, please mister, just drive already.

It doesn’t have to be “trip to the end of the world” outright – 15 minutes is fine for starters. It might even be better to start small. When you realize how little time you have, you try harder not to waste it – start acting as quickly as possible and find ways to make things easier.

This first 15 minutes can pass exceptionally swiftly, and, to your surprise, leave you hungry for more. Next 15 or 30 minutes and, guess what, something you’ve been procrastinating on for days or even weeks, or tried to do, with poor results, with one eye on the TV – you can do it! – when focused – quickly and even with a solid dose of pleasure and satisfaction. How about that?

You may need some simple preparations first, like brighter light, pleasant music, cup of coffee at hand, but you can start now. Pick your time tracking tool: go simple with kitchen timer, go retro with an hourglass or go smart with an app on your phone, but just go with it…

Note: my name is Marcin Komorek and I’m the developer behind Eternity Time Log and Bite15 apps.