Activity

An activity is a single time entry representing work performed during a specific time period. Activities are the building blocks of timesheets and reports, capturing what work was done, when, and for how long.

Key Characteristics

• Time-bounded: Each activity has a start, and an end once the work is finished.
• Owned by one person: An activity belongs to the person whose time it records.
• Project-linked: Activities are usually assigned to a project, though the assignment is optional.
• Categorizable: Can be marked as billable or non-billable.

Activity Components

Required Elements

• The person the time belongs to
• A start time

Optional Elements

• An end time, which stays empty while the work is still being timed
• A name describing the work
• An associated project
• Billable status

How Activities Are Created

Timer-Based

Start and stop a timer to capture the duration as the work happens.

Manual Entry

Enter time after the fact by giving the start and the end, or the start and a duration.

Activity vs. Project

The two are easy to confuse. An activity is the record of time: one person, a start, an end, and what they were doing. A project is the bucket activities are grouped into, and it carries the rules that come with that grouping, such as a billable default, a member list, and the rates used in reporting. A project holds no hours of its own, and in Sandtime.io an activity does not need one. See projects vs activities for the full comparison.

Impact on Workforce Planning

For businesses using time tracking software like Sandtime.io:

• Granular visibility: See exactly how time is spent across projects.
• Accurate billing: Invoice from recorded activities instead of estimates.
• Capacity analysis: Understand workload distribution.
• Audit trail: Maintain records for compliance.

Best Practices

• Name the activity while the work is fresh in memory.
• Categorize activities consistently for better reporting.
• Review activities daily before submitting timesheets.
• Keep project names broad and let the activity name carry the detail.

Activity vs. Task

An activity and a task face in opposite directions. An activity is a time entry, a historical record of what was done, measured by duration. A task is a work item, a future commitment, measured by whether it is finished. Time tracking records the first; project management tools track the second.

Related Terms

Activities populate timesheets, belong to projects, and are the foundation of time tracking. They may be subject to time rounding and approval workflows.