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Keeping detailed time records has always been part of my working habits, and is something that I expect from the writers who work for me. I'm not so much interested in what they're doing with every minute of the day, but rather I use the information to build a database that I can then use to estimate new projects.
I find that the hours it takes to complete a project varies greatly from one company to another depending on the skills of the writers, the amount of cooperation from the development teams, maturity of the company, etc. Also, how those hours are used (i.e. planning, writing, research, rewriting) vary depending on the environment as well.
By the way, I use an all-inclusive category such as "Other" for time spent going to the bathroom, taking coffee breaks, chatting, checking email, etc. :-)
Nicolette Srivastava
Manager, Technical Documentation
Hi Tech Consultants, Inc. mailto:nicolette -dot- srivastava -at- htcinc -dot- com http://www.htcinc.com
