Count the times you have before averaging
If you planned ten tasks and recorded actual time for only two, those two records do not describe all ten by themselves. A missing record does not establish a duration of zero. Before adjusting every estimate, identify which tasks you measured and which part of the plan remains unobserved.
Ora distinguishes estimates from recorded time. Its public offer reserves planned-versus-actual comparison and reports with estimation samples for Pro. This guide proposes a manual reading of an incomplete sample, not an app averaging algorithm or an automatic missing-data rule.
Two tasks, sixty recorded minutes
Invented example: you plan ten tasks of thirty minutes each. You retain only two actual durations: twenty and forty minutes. Those two records total sixty minutes, with a mean of thirty. Dividing sixty by the ten planned tasks gives six minutes, but that is not the mean of ten observed durations: eight are missing.
We also do not know whether the two measured tasks resemble the rest. You may have recorded those completed without interruptions, or the most difficult ones. These are possibilities in the example, not a diagnosis of your habits or user results.
Make the review reconstructable
Before changing durations, note the comparison scope: the same sphere, period and task type. Then check which actual records belong to that set. A manually entered time also needs a basis you can explain; do not fill gaps with invented numbers.
- Separate the time reserved from the time recorded as work.
- Count the actual durations used in your manual calculation.
- Review changes in task scope and relevant interruptions.
- Leave conclusions about unrecorded tasks open.
A smaller decision than rewriting ten estimates
With the two example records, review those two tasks and decide what to measure next. You need not turn their thirty-minute mean into a new rule for every future task. If you choose another comparable task, retain its original estimate and record what happened so you can review the difference afterwards.
Ora supports a timer or manual corrections for actual time. Recorded time remains distinct from estimates. This proposal does not test a timer session or promise that a report will detect every omission for you.
What Ora offers and what you can check
Ora’s public facts describe actual time, Pro comparison and reports by week, month or range, with filters and CSV export. Check your plan’s features and limits before expecting that view. This guide’s decision can begin with your own list of records, without changing plans or enabling integrations.
The next record should answer a question
Open Ora’s public demonstration to understand the workflow and choose a comparable task to record next time. Keep the question small: “How long did this task take with its planned scope?” Leave the other eight durations uninvented.