{"id":27390,"date":"2024-08-01T14:10:51","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T12:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/?p=27390"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:55:31","slug":"breaking-bad-habits-workplace-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/breaking-bad-habits-workplace-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How Time Tracking Helps Employees Eliminate Bad Work Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Wondering why your team has been underperforming lately?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main culprits may be <strong>bad work habits<\/strong> within your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we say <em>bad work habits<\/em>, we mean a lot of things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Multitasking,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Procrastinating,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tardiness (whether showing up late or breaking deadlines),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poor communication, and others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, no workplace is perfect, and some of the said things will happen occasionally. However, if they occur on a daily basis \u2014 you have a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, what if we told you that you can eliminate bad workplace habits by implementing just one single thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The answer lies in time tracking<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, by vigilantly tracking your employee time, you can remove distractions and help employees stay focused at work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Explore the following tips to limit distractions in the workplace that have slipped under your radar.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover.jpg\" alt=\"How to Help Employees Break Bad Work Habits With Time Tracking - cover\" class=\"wp-image-27386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover-600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover-1110x555.jpg 1110w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/How-to-Help-Employees-Break-Bad-Work-Habits-With-Time-Tracking-cover-18x9.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"1-track-time-on-your-goals\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">#1: Track time on your goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To start with, ask yourself a question \u2014 do your employees behave as if they know how much time they spend <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/types-of-goals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">achieving certain goals<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your answer is anything but a sound <em>yes<\/em>, read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracking time on your employees\u2019 goals helps them stay accountable and gives you a better understanding of their goal progress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By keeping track of your employees\u2019 goals, you can <strong>estimate exactly how much time goes into finishing each goal separately<\/strong> \u2014 lowering the risk of resource wastage to a minimum.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for how to <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/goal-tracker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">track your goals<\/a>, you can make use of an app that does all the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify.png\" alt=\"Tracking goals Clockify\" class=\"wp-image-27389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify.png 900w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify-380x300.png 380w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify-797x630.png 797w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify-768x607.png 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Tracking-goals-Clockify-15x12.png 15w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tracking goals made easy in Clockify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>With a tried-and-tested app, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>See each goal as a project,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Break goals down into smaller parts, like tasks,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assign people to each task,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See task progress,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set rates, and more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only do your employees have their eyes on the goal \u2014 but you also get real insights into their progress and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group pro-tip\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn how to set SMART goals in more detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/smart-goals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Set SMART Goals (+ Examples and Templates)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-teach-prioritization-techniques\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">#2: Teach prioritization techniques<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just because your employees don\u2019t boast high <a href=\"https:\/\/plaky.com\/blog\/how-to-stay-organized-at-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">organizational skills in the workplace<\/a> \u2014 that doesn\u2019t mean they are unable to be highly organized.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe you are using a bad system (or no system at all) for workload organization in your team. No matter what it is, we\u2019ll help you manage it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a highly successful productivity technique, <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/time-blocking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">time blocking<\/a> helps your employees sharpen their prioritization skills by focusing on what\u2019s important and managing their time more effectively.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, time blocking is highly useful when there are many things to do, especially critical items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>So, how does time blocking work?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basically, time blocking allows you to <strong>divide your workday into time blocks<\/strong>. For each activity (task or project), you get to schedule a time block to work on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A time tracking and management app, <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clockify<\/a> offers time blocking that lets you devote a period of time to company training from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday (just like in the image below).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1063\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Time-blocking-in-Clockify.jpg\" alt=\"Time blocking in Clockify\" class=\"wp-image-27388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Time-blocking-in-Clockify.jpg 1063w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Time-blocking-in-Clockify-577x300.jpg 577w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Time-blocking-in-Clockify-768x400.jpg 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Time-blocking-in-Clockify-18x9.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1063px) 100vw, 1063px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Time blocking in Clockify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Just like that, your employees get a graphic insight into their daily tasks and responsibilities. As soon as they finish one time block, they move on to the next, and the cycle repeats until they finish each task for a specific workday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably the best thing about this <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/time-management-techniques\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">time management technique<\/a> is that it prevents multitasking <em>and<\/em> juggling between tasks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later, you as a manager get to see detailed reports on their work, completely reducing time wastage and staying on top of your to-dos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom-btn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.clockify.me\/en\/signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try Clockify today<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"3-take-regular-breaks\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">#3: Take regular breaks&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your employees may be displaying unproductive behavior because they can\u2019t seem to devote time for rest during the workday (or take too much time resting).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, either you take a <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/tracking-time\/dont-track-time-with-pen-paper\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pen and paper<\/a> to record each time someone goes on a break or you simply use an <strong>app that helps you track employee breaks<\/strong> automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A simple time tracker such as Clockify can make the job easier \u2014 all you need to do is enable the Breaks feature in the workspace settings, and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Enable-breaks-Clockify.png\" alt=\"Enable breaks Clockify\" class=\"wp-image-27385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Enable-breaks-Clockify.png 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Enable-breaks-Clockify-361x300.png 361w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Enable-breaks-Clockify-757x630.png 757w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Enable-breaks-Clockify-14x12.png 14w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Setting employee break time in Clockify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can either enable the Breaks feature for the entire workspace or select a default break project. Later, employees can select Break mode in the dropdown menu whenever they want to take a break from work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"124\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Break-mode-Clockify.png\" alt=\"Break mode Clockify\" class=\"wp-image-27383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Break-mode-Clockify.png 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Break-mode-Clockify-730x118.png 730w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Break-mode-Clockify-18x3.png 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tracking employee break time in Clockify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>With Clockify, you can easily have your employees track their break time, helping them manage their workday better. Most importantly, this option ensures everybody takes time to recharge and that productivity is not hindered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"4-reduce-distractions\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">#4: Reduce distractions&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Distractions in the workplace are everywhere \u2014 checking emails, chatty colleagues, background noises, social media, and many more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, a <a href=\"https:\/\/mopria.org\/Documents\/Mopria-Distracted-Working-Survey-2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey on workplace distractions<\/a> showed that office workers spend as much as 7 hours a week casually surfing the web and 8.4 hours weekly on non-work related calls and text messages. That\u2019s a lot of corporate time wasted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While you can\u2019t really forbid using phones in the workplace, you can do some things to help employees fight off distractions and stay focused at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example,<strong> creating a routine<\/strong> can help remove distractions and stick to the schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By tracking your employees\u2019 time, you can <strong>see who\u2019s doing what and when at all times<\/strong>. Then, you can easily identify if any of your employees are wasting their time \u2014 if some of them are overworked or underperforming.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you take a look at Clockify\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/help\/reports\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Team Dashboard<\/a> section, you can see a visual breakdown of your employees\u2019 activity, tracked time, what they\u2019re working on, and more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"304\" src=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dashboard-Clockify.png\" alt=\"Dashboard Clockify\" class=\"wp-image-27384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dashboard-Clockify.png 768w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dashboard-Clockify-730x289.png 730w, https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dashboard-Clockify-18x7.png 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Staying on top of employees\u2019 activity with Clockify<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Such insights allow you to see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Where your employees spend their time,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What they\u2019re working on at the moment,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The amount of time spent on tasks and projects,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potential bottlenecks, and more.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, introducing time tracking into your company <strong>doesn\u2019t mean micromanagement<\/strong> if it\u2019s implemented properly, using the right tool.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the contrary, employees can develop a <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/business\/create-transparent-accountable-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sense of team accountability<\/a> when they\u2019re aware their time is being tracked and can focus better, too. They\u2019ll rarely have time to scroll through social media or feel bored at work, so workplace distractions can be minimized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group pro-tip\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udca1 CLOCKIFY PRO TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of workplace distractions, check out the following text that lists some astounding statistics on the effects of workplace distractions in 2024:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/workplace-distractions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Effects of Workplace Distractions in 2024: Crucial Statistics<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"fight-off-bad-working-habits-once-and-for-all-with-clockify\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fight off bad working habits once and for all \u2014 with Clockify<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, choosing the right app can give you useful ideas on how to avoid distractions at work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Clockify motivates and supports your employees to track time, instead of alienating or micromanaging them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clockify is a user-friendly, intuitive tool that your employees will love using. Its features are easy to pick up and require minimal effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a matter of fact, if you have any doubts about using Clockify, feel free to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/customers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clockify testimonials<\/a>,&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/help\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">support team<\/a> via phone, email, or live chat for additional questions and concerns, or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/tutorials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video tutorials<\/a> and make use of the illustrated <a href=\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/help\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Help pages<\/a> for further reference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, Clockify can help you and your employees set up a smooth working atmosphere free from distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"custom-btn\"><a href=\"https:\/\/app.clockify.me\/en\/signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up for Clockify today<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out how to avoid distractions at work by introducing time tracking and time management techniques.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":27387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-productivity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27390"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36290,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27390\/revisions\/36290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}