How to Analyze Your Productivity with Statistics and Charts

By Florian6 min read min read
statisticsanalyticschartsproductivityinsights

Time tracking data is only valuable if you use it. Raw hours logged become powerful when transformed into insights: Which projects consume most of your time? When are you most productive? Are you working more or less than you think?

Timesheet's statistics features answer these questions with visual charts and actionable analytics.

Statistics & ChartsFree
Visualize your work patterns with daily hours, project distribution, tag analysis, and earnings trends. Full statistics included free on all plans.

#Accessing Your Statistics

#Mobile App

  1. Open Timesheet
  2. Navigate to the Statistics tab
  3. Select your date range
  4. Explore different chart types

#Web App

  1. Log into my.timesheet.io
  2. Click Statistics or Analytics in the navigation
  3. Use filters to refine your view
  4. Interact with charts for detailed data

#Understanding Your Charts

#Daily Working Hours Chart

This chart shows your work hours for each day, typically displayed as a bar chart.

What to look for:

  • Consistent daily hours suggest good routine
  • Spikes might indicate deadline pressure
  • Dips could signal interruptions or off days
  • Patterns across the week (Monday slump, Friday fade)

Action insight: If you consistently work more than planned on certain days, consider redistributing tasks or setting boundaries.

#Day-of-Week Averages

This analysis shows your average hours worked on each weekday.

Typical patterns:

  • Monday and Friday often show lower productivity
  • Midweek (Tuesday-Thursday) often peaks
  • Weekend work indicates either dedication or work-life imbalance

Action insight: Schedule important tasks during your statistically most productive days.

#Project Distribution

A pie or donut chart showing how your time splits across projects.

What to look for:

  • Expected vs. actual time allocation
  • Projects consuming more time than planned
  • Neglected projects that need attention
  • Balance between billable and non-billable work

Action insight: If a low-priority project dominates your chart, investigate why and consider delegating or deprioritizing.

#Tag-Based Analysis

See time distributed across tags, revealing patterns in work types.

Example insights:

  • 40% meetings, 30% deep work, 20% admin, 10% communication
  • Meeting-heavy weeks correlate with less creative output
  • Admin time creeping up over months

Action insight: If meetings consume too much time, implement meeting-free days or stricter meeting criteria.

#Cumulative Hours Trend

A line chart showing your total hours accumulating over time.

What to look for:

  • Steady slope indicates consistent work
  • Flat periods show breaks or downtime
  • Steep sections reveal intensive work periods
  • Comparison to previous periods (week-over-week, month-over-month)

Action insight: Compare slopes across projects to see which are progressing as expected.

#Earnings Over Time

Track your earnings progression based on tracked hours and rates.

What to look for:

  • Revenue trends (growing, stable, declining)
  • Correlation between hours and earnings (are high-value projects getting time?)
  • Monthly or quarterly patterns

Action insight: If hours increase but earnings don't proportionally, you may be spending too much time on low-rate work.

#Date Range Selection

The insights you get depend on the timeframe you analyze:

#Daily View

  • See detailed hour-by-hour or task-by-task data
  • Useful for debugging "where did today go?"
  • Limited trend visibility

#Weekly View

  • Good balance of detail and pattern visibility
  • Compare week-over-week performance
  • Identify weekday patterns

#Monthly View

  • See bigger picture trends
  • Smooth out daily variations
  • Good for capacity planning

#Quarterly/Yearly View

  • Strategic overview
  • Seasonal patterns emerge
  • Long-term trend analysis

#Custom Ranges

  • Specific project duration
  • Client billing periods
  • Comparison periods (this quarter vs. last quarter)

#Filtering Your Statistics

#By Project

Focus on one project to understand its time investment:

  • Total hours invested
  • When work happened
  • Hours vs. estimates

#By Tag

See all time across projects with a specific tag:

  • Total meeting time across all clients
  • Development time company-wide
  • Admin overhead calculation

#By Billable Status

Compare billable vs. non-billable work:

  • Billable percentage (target: varies by role)
  • Non-billable time breakdown
  • Trends in billable ratio

#By Team Member (Pro)

For teams, analyze individual or group statistics:

  • Team utilization
  • Individual contribution
  • Workload distribution

#Exporting Charts

Charts aren't just for viewing—export them for reports and presentations.

#Export as Image

  1. Navigate to the chart you want
  2. Find the export or share option
  3. Choose PNG or image format
  4. Save or share

#Use Cases for Exported Charts

  • Client reports showing project time investment
  • Team presentations on productivity trends
  • Personal reviews and goal-setting
  • Management dashboards

#Building a Weekly Review Ritual

Statistics become most powerful with regular review. Here's a suggested weekly ritual:

#Friday Afternoon Review (15 minutes)

  1. Open Statistics - Set range to current week

  2. Check Total Hours

    • How does this week compare to your target?
    • More or less than expected?
  3. Review Project Distribution

    • Did priority projects get priority time?
    • Any surprises in the allocation?
  4. Examine Daily Pattern

    • Which day was most productive?
    • What made that day effective?
  5. Look at Tag Breakdown

    • Meeting overload?
    • Enough deep work time?
  6. Plan Next Week

    • Adjust based on insights
    • Block time for underrepresented priorities

#Common Productivity Insights

#"I Work More Than I Thought"

Many people discover they work more hours than they estimated. This insight can:

  • Justify rate increases
  • Support work-life balance conversations
  • Highlight the need for boundaries

#"Meetings Dominate My Time"

If meetings consume more than 30-40% of your time (unless that's your role), consider:

  • Declining non-essential meetings
  • Shortening default meeting lengths
  • Implementing meeting-free blocks

#"One Client Gets All My Time"

Project distribution showing imbalance can indicate:

  • Over-reliance on one client
  • Scope creep on certain projects
  • Need to diversify client base

#"My Productive Days Are..."

Weekly patterns often reveal your natural rhythm:

  • Schedule important work during peak days
  • Keep low-energy days for admin tasks
  • Protect your productive time fiercely

#"Admin Is Eating My Week"

If non-billable admin time grows:

  • Automate repetitive tasks
  • Batch similar activities
  • Consider hiring help for admin

#Setting Goals Based on Data

Use statistics to set realistic, data-driven goals:

#Utilization Goals

"Increase billable hours from 25 to 30 per week"

  • Track weekly using statistics
  • Identify what's consuming non-billable time
  • Adjust gradually

#Balance Goals

"Keep meetings under 8 hours per week"

  • Use tag-based analysis
  • Set calendar limits based on data
  • Review weekly

#Efficiency Goals

"Complete similar projects in 10% less time"

  • Analyze completed project durations
  • Identify time-consuming phases
  • Optimize specific steps

#Summary

Timesheet statistics transform raw time data into actionable insights:

  • Daily hours: See your work patterns
  • Project distribution: Understand time allocation
  • Tag analysis: Identify work type balance
  • Trend lines: Track progress over time
  • Export: Share insights with others

Regular review of statistics drives continuous productivity improvement.

#What's Next?

With insights from your statistics:

  • Export detailed reports for deeper analysis in Excel
  • Adjust your automation based on when you're most productive
  • Refine your projects and tags for better categorization

Start your weekly statistics review today and discover what your time data reveals about your productivity.

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How to Analyze Your Productivity with Statistics and Charts | Timesheet Blog | timesheet.io