Deck the Clocks: Efficient Time Tracking with Stream Deck
Geek-o-meter: 1️⃣ 2 3
With a Stream Deck in hand, you're ready to tackle one of mankind’s greatest questions: What did I actually spend my time on?
Many people working in the music business are freelance knowledge workers, so there is a pressing need to bill for time. This is where my practice of time tracking began. Later, when my work shifted to include projects based on flat fees or calculated per minute of music or per ‘page,’ there was no longer a need for time tracking to invoice. Instead, I continued the practice to monitor my performance on such projects.
I have by no means exhausted the possibilities of time tracking apps and gadgets, but with the Stream Deck, the practice became much easier to maintain.
Backend
You'll need a backend service to keep tabs on your time tracking. When I started this, I signed up for a free Toggl account because it was the talk of the town. Toggl allows me to create a 'project' and start and stop timers as I go.
There are services that offer automatic tracking based on the applications and files you have open, but I've never dabbled in those since each project I work on tends to be slightly different in this regard. Your mileage may vary depending on your needs.
With a Toggl account, the most basic thing you can do is have the app on your device. Believe it or not, I spent years using a smartphone app for this, never realizing how many notifications were sending me off track. With Stream Deck, I can have it right in front of me on an 'admin' page that includes Finder tags (because I'm too lazy to right-click) and simple window management.
Stream Deck
In the Stream Deck store (where everything is free, I believe[^1]), you'll want to find the plug-in simply called 'Toggl' and install it. Once installed, you can insert a Toggl button from the 'Custom' category.
Then, edit the button by giving it a name that fits the project and entering your Toggl API token. (I use a text expansion tool for this, but you can also follow the link to your Toggl profile to retrieve the token.)
With Toggl, you can subdivide projects into tasks. However, I never slice the cake this way since my primary concern is how much time I spend on the overall project. I’ve tried tracking time spent on specific tasks like arranging, orchestrating, proofreading, and so on, but I found it too fidgety. Feel free to experiment with this if it suits your needs. That's why I populate the Button Label and Entry Name with the exact same phrase I used to name the project in Toggl. I've found that differences in formatting can cause Toggl to track the project differently, so automated project creation is a big help during this phase.
Choose the workspace and project, and you're good to go.
Whenever you start working on a project, press the button to activate the red 'On Air'-style indicator. When you're not working, press it again to stop tracking. By the end of the project, you'll know precisely how long it took you to write your first symphony. After completing nine symphonies, you'll have a pretty good indicator of how long it generally takes you to write one.[^2]
Going Further
Even though I hate the term, the practice of tracking my time in the studio has become a trusted "productivity hack." When I want to be writing music, I press the corresponding button. Did I stop composing to go on Facebook or check email? If so, I stop the project tracking and press the break tracking button. It keeps the data right in front of me and keeps me honest with myself.
I know time tracking isn’t at the top of most musicians' minds, but it’s the most reliable way to see what you actually spent your day doing. If I've planned to spend three hours composing today, I really don’t want to find that I've tracked two hours of administrative tasks instead. Those tasks can be easier to start and more fulfilling to complete, but tracking a longer stretch of uninterrupted creative work gently nudges me away from distractions and helps me focus on creating.
Having a few categories can help you divide your time:
Creative work, where you want to feel as secluded as possible to connect with your inner muse and create your magnum opus that will leave a legacy for your name to be eternally remembered.
Break time, where you gaze at the stars, sip a cup of tea, and recite Kerouac for inspiration, surrounding yourself with the masters of the arts, filling your circle of friends––visible or not––with the best humanity has produced.
Study, where you take a deep dive into analyzing the greatest music of all time, distilling it to its essence to learn the divine structures of frequency and ratio organization that have captivated mankind for millennia and which we now call music.
Administration, where you update your software and answer emails.
Which of these do you want to spend the most time on? How about the least? Plan some time to focus solely on what you want to accomplish, and make sure not to stray into other areas during the time you're tracking.
Footnotes
[^1]: Although they may have misunderstood the concept of a store, I find this is the best kind of store.
[^2]: After 9 symphonies, tradition dictates that the composer dies.