Tracking your Time

How to log your hours, track your impact, and get paid for your work

• Tracking your Time
• Step 1: Open your mission’s page
• Step 2: Enter your work completed and impact
• Begin by selecting the date of the task
• Enter the amount of time
• Group tasks by type
• Enter the task
• Enter the initiative
• Learn how to set up your initiatives
• Step 3: Demo Day — Submit your timesheet and summary
• Remember to fill out your timesheets daily
• Get to know your timesheet statuses
• Best practices for time tracking
• Submit your hours honestly.
• Submit your timesheet on time.
• Track what you spend time working on.
• Update your timesheet immediately after you’ve finished working.
• Frequently Asked Questions

Part of our vision in creating the best place on earth for top builders is getting you paid well on ambitious work — and of course, on time. Logging your hours on your timesheet also allows you to track your long-term impact on the product you’re building. Here are steps for tracking your time and impact:

Step 1: Open your mission’s page

Your timesheet is the first thing you’ll see on your mission page.

There are two pay cycles in each month — they run from the 1st of the month to the 15th, and from the 16th to the end of the month. You can click into your past timesheets to review your and your team’s hours and work done during that pay cycle.

Step 2: Enter your work completed and impact

At the top of your personal timesheet, under ‘Time tracking’, there's a field where you can input the tasks you've completed. You can use your keyboard to navigate these fields, allowing you to quickly input multiple tasks. After entering the individual fields, click on the purple airplane to submit a new row. You can also use your keyboard to navigate through the sheet below to make updates.

Completing your timesheets thoroughly keeps both your teammates and clients updated on your work. Builders who consistently and clearly communicate their contributions and impact tend to stay on missions for longer.

Learn how to set up your initiatives

Initiatives are shared across team members, so every time you or a teammate creates a new initiative, it will be shown across the mission. You can individually hide initiatives that are no longer being worked on or not relevant to you, and bring them back by searching in the initiative entry field.

When filling out the Initiative column, you should describe the overarching purpose or the main objective that your work supports. This isn't just about listing the project you're on, but explaining the higher-level business or project goals that your tasks aim to achieve.

Here are some points to consider when writing an initiative:

1. Strategic Alignment: Consider how your task aligns with the broader goals of your team or company. What larger purpose does your work serve?
2. Outcome-Oriented: Focus on the intended outcome or impact of your work. What change or improvement are you aiming to bring about?
3. Clear and Concise: Keep the description straightforward and to the point. It should quickly convey the goal in a few words.

Examples

For an Engineer improving a website: "Decrease server response time by 20%."

For a UX Designer working on a mobile app: "Boost user retention by 30%."

For a Product Manager launching a new product: "Achieve 10% market share in first year."

By articulating the initiative clearly, you not only outline what you are working toward but why it matters, helping to showcase the value of your contributions in the context of larger business goals. This makes it easier for managers and other stakeholders to see the direct impact of your work on key company objectives, often leading to extended missions.

Step 3: Demo Day — Submit your timesheet and summary

To submit your timesheet, you’ll be asked to complete the Demo Day section. This is your opportunity to communicate the achievements and impact of your work over the last two weeks. Here's how to use it:

Get Started: At the end of the pay period, click on ‘Submit now’ to begin the submission process.

Upload: Consider uploading a short loom URL of a walkthrough of a feature you developed or a design you created. Ensure the video or file is accessible to viewers you intend to share it with.

Submit: Once you are satisfied with your summary, click the "Continue" button to submit your Timesheet and Demo Day entry.

You can learn more about Demo Day here.

Remember to fill out your timesheets daily

Submit at least one entry for each day you work, for each type of work you complete. When you submit your hours, they’ll be immediately added to the timesheet. At the end of the pay cycle (either on the 15th or end of the month), we’ll remind you to submit your timesheet.

When it comes to tracking time, the more communication, the better. The more insight a company has into how you’re spending your time, the better they can understand your performance and impact.

Get to know your timesheet statuses

• Active means this timesheet is in the middle of a pay cycle.
• To Submit means this pay cycle has ended, and you need to submit your timesheet.
• Submitted means your timesheet has been submitted, and the team is sending the company your invoice.
• Processing means we are processing the payment to you.
• Paid Out means the invoice associated with this timesheet has been paid.

Best practices for time tracking

Submit your hours honestly.

Companies expect timesheets that reflect only the hours you’ve spent working each day — not an approximation, average daily number, or even the estimated hours you agreed to work ahead of time.

Submit your timesheet on time.

You can submit your timesheet starting from the last day of the cycle (the 15th or the last day of the month). It will remain open for submission for an additional 4 days, after which it will auto-submit. Timely submission is crucial for invoicing the company and ensuring that you and your teammates are paid on time.

After the last day of the cycle, you will receive email reminders to submit your timesheet. Consistently missing the deadline may result in disqualification from guaranteed on-time payments.

Track what you spend time working on.

When you complete your timesheet, you’ll be asked to specify what your time was spent working on. The company will tell you the level of detail they want to see in your timesheets. As a default, provide at least one or two sentences summarizing what you worked on each day.

Update your timesheet immediately after you’ve finished working.

Keep track of your hours throughout the day and submit them as you go. That ensures you don’t overlook any time you spend building and get paid for all your work. Try to make a habit of it — it will only help you track your impact on the company in the long run.

Review the Mission Code of Conduct. It covers time tracking in further detail. Check it out here.

Frequently Asked Questions