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How to Use Monday.com’s Time Tracking Widget?

Evgeniya Ioffe - September 18th 2024 - 4 minutes read

In the fast-paced world of project management, mastering the right tools can be a game-changer. If you've ever wondered how to optimize your team's time tracking on Monday.com, you're in the right place. This article will guide you through setting up and customizing the platform's Time Tracking Widget, provide solutions to common hiccups, and share advanced techniques to elevate your workflow. Whether you're new to Monday.com or looking to refine your processes, you'll find insights that can transform your team’s efficiency and project management prowess. Dive in to unlock the full potential of Monday.com's time tracking capabilities and watch your productivity soar.

Understanding the Basics of Monday.com's Time Tracking Widget

The time tracking widget in Monday.com is a powerful feature designed to monitor and log how much time your team spends on various tasks. This widget provides an overview of the total time dedicated to individual or collective tasks across different boards within the platform. Through this tool, you can generate detailed time reports that offer insights on individual performances and team efficiency, making it invaluable for managing project timelines and workload distribution.

Time tracking is crucial for enhancing project management and team productivity within Monday.com. By utilizing this widget, managers can gain a clearer understanding of where resources are being allocated and identify any potential bottlenecks in project workflows. This data enables informed decision-making, helping to optimize processes and ensure that project deadlines are met.

Its core functionalities include starting and stopping a timer for tasks, adding time entries manually, and getting notified when specific time thresholds are reached. The comprehensiveness of this widget allows for real-time tracking and retrospective analysis, providing versatile options for managing labor and improving operational efficiency. The ability to personalize the time tracking settings means that it can be tailored to fit the unique needs of your team, making it a bespoke solution for effective time management within Monday.com.

Setting Up and Customizing the Time Tracking Widget

First, select the boards on Monday.com you’d like to track time for. From the dashboard screen, click the dropdown menu on the top left-hand side labeled ‘add widget.’ Then choose ‘Widgets Center,’ search for the ‘Time Tracking Widget,’ and add it to your dashboard.

Once you have the widget set up, personalize its settings. Determine whether to group the tracked time by columns or boards. You can set up time tracking for individuals or the entire team, select a timeframe, and enable alerts for specific time thresholds.

Configure how time is displayed, choose the boards to track, and adjust the layout in the right panel. Users have the flexibility to pause and resume tracking, view activity logs, and manually add time within the time tracking column, ensuring the tool fits seamlessly into different workflows and preferences.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with the Time Tracking Widget

Connectivity issues with the Time Tracking Widget can often stem from a misconfigured network or conflicting settings. To resolve this, ensure that your device's internet connection is stable. If the widget on your Monday.com doesn't load, try refreshing the page or clearing your browser's cache. If the problem persists, consider disabling any browser extensions that may interfere with Monday.com's functionality.

Data sync problems usually arise when the time tracking data across different boards or dashboards isn’t updating correctly. Check that all boards included in your Project Settings have the Time Tracking Column correctly configured. Ensure that the "Choose a specific column" setting is accurately set to the column containing your time data. Sometimes, simply re-selecting the boards in your widget settings can trigger a refresh that resolves sync issues.

Inaccurate time tracking might be due to manual entry errors or issues with the play/pause timer functionality. Regularly cross-check the Activity Logs for any discrepancies in logged time. To ensure accuracy, always double-check entries made manually. If issues are found with the timer not starting or pausing correctly, try using the desktop version of Monday.com, as mobile versions may not support full manual editing of time entries.

Effectively Using and Advanced Techniques for the Time Tracking Widget

To maximize productivity using Monday.com's Time Tracking Widget, consider integrating sub-item time tracking. For instance, if your project tasks are broken down into smaller subtasks (like research, drafting, or editing), track time for each sub-item individually. This provides a more granular view of the time distribution, ensuring every phase of a project is accounted for. Additionally, filtering by people can help managers focus on specific team members, identifying who might need assistance or is excelling.

Advanced strategies also include consolidating data from multiple boards. If your organization operates several projects simultaneously, combining data from various boards into a single view can streamline oversight. This could be particularly effective for upper management, presenting a cohesive snapshot of overall team performance. Linking time entries within Monday.com is another powerful technique. By associating time logs directly with related tasks or projects, you streamline the review process, making it easier to connect tracked time with deliverables and outcomes. Employing these techniques not only enhances visibility but also supports more strategic decision-making.

Summary

This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to effectively use Monday.com's Time Tracking Widget. It explains the basics of the widget and its importance in project management and team productivity. The article also offers step-by-step instructions on how to set up and customize the widget, troubleshoots common issues, and shares advanced techniques to maximize its potential. Key takeaways include the ability to personalize time tracking settings, the importance of accurate time tracking for informed decision-making, and the advanced strategies of sub-item tracking and consolidating data from multiple boards.