diff --git a/lib/commands/ci.js b/lib/commands/ci.js
index 9977c776ddf57..ff559b6d801d7 100644
--- a/lib/commands/ci.js
+++ b/lib/commands/ci.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const reifyFinish = require('../utils/reify-finish.js')
 const runScript = require('@npmcli/run-script')
 const fs = require('fs/promises')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 const validateLockfile = require('../utils/validate-lockfile.js')
 
 const ArboristWorkspaceCmd = require('../arborist-cmd.js')
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ class CI extends ArboristWorkspaceCmd {
     if (!dryRun) {
       // Only remove node_modules after we've successfully loaded the virtual
       // tree and validated the lockfile
-      await this.npm.time('npm-ci:rm', async () => {
+      await time.start('npm-ci:rm', async () => {
         const path = `${where}/node_modules`
         // get the list of entries so we can skip the glob for performance
         const entries = await fs.readdir(path, null).catch(er => [])
diff --git a/lib/npm.js b/lib/npm.js
index 8449e2e2775a8..40be04e8b820b 100644
--- a/lib/npm.js
+++ b/lib/npm.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const usage = require('./utils/npm-usage.js')
 const LogFile = require('./utils/log-file.js')
 const Timers = require('./utils/timers.js')
 const Display = require('./utils/display.js')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 const { redactLog: replaceInfo } = require('@npmcli/redact')
 const updateNotifier = require('./utils/update-notifier.js')
 const pkg = require('../package.json')
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ class Npm {
   async exec (cmd, args = this.argv) {
     const command = this.setCmd(cmd)
 
-    const timeEnd = this.time(`command:${cmd}`)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(`command:${cmd}`)
 
     // this is async but we dont await it, since its ok if it doesnt
     // finish before the command finishes running. it uses command and argv
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class Npm {
 
   async load () {
     if (!this.#loadPromise) {
-      this.#loadPromise = this.time('npm:load', () => this.#load().catch((er) => {
+      this.#loadPromise = time.start('npm:load', () => this.#load().catch((er) => {
         this.loadErr = er
         throw er
       }))
@@ -158,10 +158,6 @@ class Npm {
     this.#logFile.off()
   }
 
-  time (name, fn) {
-    return this.#timers.time(name, fn)
-  }
-
   writeTimingFile () {
     this.#timers.writeFile({
       id: this.#runId,
@@ -181,7 +177,7 @@ class Npm {
   }
 
   async #load () {
-    await this.time('npm:load:whichnode', async () => {
+    await time.start('npm:load:whichnode', async () => {
       // TODO should we throw here?
       const node = await which(process.argv[0]).catch(() => {})
       if (node && node.toUpperCase() !== process.execPath.toUpperCase()) {
@@ -191,7 +187,7 @@ class Npm {
       }
     })
 
-    await this.time('npm:load:configload', () => this.config.load())
+    await time.start('npm:load:configload', () => this.config.load())
 
     // get createSupportsColor from chalk directly if this lands
     // https://github.com/chalk/chalk/pull/600
@@ -211,21 +207,21 @@ class Npm {
     // a different location. if this fails, then we don't have
     // a cache dir, but we don't want to fail immediately since
     // the command might not need a cache dir (like `npm --version`)
-    await this.time('npm:load:mkdirpcache', () =>
+    await time.start('npm:load:mkdirpcache', () =>
       fs.mkdir(this.cache, { recursive: true })
         .catch((e) => log.verbose('cache', `could not create cache: ${e}`)))
 
     // it's ok if this fails. user might have specified an invalid dir
     // which we will tell them about at the end
     if (this.config.get('logs-max') > 0) {
-      await this.time('npm:load:mkdirplogs', () =>
+      await time.start('npm:load:mkdirplogs', () =>
         fs.mkdir(this.logsDir, { recursive: true })
           .catch((e) => log.verbose('logfile', `could not create logs-dir: ${e}`)))
     }
 
     // note: this MUST be shorter than the actual argv length, because it
     // uses the same memory, so node will truncate it if it's too long.
-    this.time('npm:load:setTitle', () => {
+    time.start('npm:load:setTitle', () => {
       const { parsedArgv: { cooked, remain } } = this.config
       this.argv = remain
       // Secrets are mostly in configs, so title is set using only the positional args
@@ -241,7 +237,7 @@ class Npm {
       log.verbose('argv', this.#argvClean.map(JSON.stringify).join(' '))
     })
 
-    this.time('npm:load:display', () => {
+    time.start('npm:load:display', () => {
       this.#display.load({
         loglevel: this.config.get('loglevel'),
         // TODO: only pass in logColor and color and create chalk instances
@@ -260,7 +256,7 @@ class Npm {
       process.env.COLOR = this.color ? '1' : '0'
     })
 
-    this.time('npm:load:logFile', () => {
+    time.start('npm:load:logFile', () => {
       this.#logFile.load({
         path: this.logPath,
         logsMax: this.config.get('logs-max'),
@@ -268,13 +264,13 @@ class Npm {
       log.verbose('logfile', this.#logFile.files[0] || 'no logfile created')
     })
 
-    this.time('npm:load:timers', () =>
+    time.start('npm:load:timers', () =>
       this.#timers.load({
         path: this.config.get('timing') ? this.logPath : null,
       })
     )
 
-    this.time('npm:load:configScope', () => {
+    time.start('npm:load:configScope', () => {
       const configScope = this.config.get('scope')
       if (configScope && !/^@/.test(configScope)) {
         this.config.set('scope', `@${configScope}`, this.config.find('scope'))
diff --git a/lib/utils/exit-handler.js b/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
index ce1bfaa54a56a..d63f7becc1cb9 100644
--- a/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
+++ b/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 const os = require('os')
 const fs = require('fs')
-const { log, output } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, output, time } = require('proc-log')
 const errorMessage = require('./error-message.js')
 const { redactLog: replaceInfo } = require('@npmcli/redact')
 
@@ -11,14 +11,14 @@ let showLogFileError = false
 process.on('exit', code => {
   // process.emit is synchronous, so the timeEnd handler will run before the
   // unfinished timer check below
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'npm')
+  time.end('npm')
 
   const hasLoadedNpm = npm?.config.loaded
 
   // Unfinished timers can be read before config load
   if (npm) {
     for (const [name, timer] of npm.unfinishedTimers) {
-      log.verbose('unfinished npm timer', name, timer)
+      log.silly('unfinished npm timer', name, timer)
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/utils/timers.js b/lib/utils/timers.js
index 58ff39b6a1d66..2b8da90afbae9 100644
--- a/lib/utils/timers.js
+++ b/lib/utils/timers.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 const EE = require('events')
 const fs = require('fs')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const INITIAL_TIMER = 'npm'
 
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ class Timers extends EE {
   constructor () {
     super()
     this.on()
-    process.emit('time', INITIAL_TIMER)
+    time.start(INITIAL_TIMER)
     this.started = this.#unfinished.get(INITIAL_TIMER)
   }
 
@@ -26,23 +26,11 @@ class Timers extends EE {
   }
 
   on () {
-    process.on('time', this.#timeListener)
-    process.on('timeEnd', this.#timeEndListener)
+    process.on('time', this.#timeHandler)
   }
 
   off () {
-    process.off('time', this.#timeListener)
-    process.off('timeEnd', this.#timeEndListener)
-  }
-
-  time (name, fn) {
-    process.emit('time', name)
-    const end = () => process.emit('timeEnd', name)
-    if (typeof fn === 'function') {
-      const res = fn()
-      return res && res.finally ? res.finally(end) : (end(), res)
-    }
-    return end
+    process.off('time', this.#timeHandler)
   }
 
   load ({ path } = {}) {
@@ -75,18 +63,22 @@ class Timers extends EE {
     }
   }
 
-  #timeListener = (name) => {
-    this.#unfinished.set(name, Date.now())
-  }
-
-  #timeEndListener = (name) => {
-    if (this.#unfinished.has(name)) {
-      const ms = Date.now() - this.#unfinished.get(name)
-      this.#finished[name] = ms
-      this.#unfinished.delete(name)
-      log.timing(name, `Completed in ${ms}ms`)
-    } else {
-      log.silly('timing', "Tried to end timer that doesn't exist:", name)
+  #timeHandler = (level, name) => {
+    const now = Date.now()
+    switch (level) {
+      case time.KEYS.start:
+        this.#unfinished.set(name, now)
+        break
+      case time.KEYS.end: {
+        if (this.#unfinished.has(name)) {
+          const ms = now - this.#unfinished.get(name)
+          this.#finished[name] = ms
+          this.#unfinished.delete(name)
+          log.timing(name, `Completed in ${ms}ms`)
+        } else {
+          log.silly('timing', "Tried to end timer that doesn't exist:", name)
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/test/lib/npm.js b/test/lib/npm.js
index 59400ce8da9f1..a0dec04caa137 100644
--- a/test/lib/npm.js
+++ b/test/lib/npm.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 const t = require('tap')
 const { resolve, dirname, join } = require('path')
 const fs = require('fs')
+const { time } = require('proc-log')
 const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../fixtures/mock-npm.js')
 const mockGlobals = require('@npmcli/mock-globals')
 const { commands } = require('../../lib/utils/cmd-list.js')
@@ -398,15 +399,15 @@ t.test('timings', async t => {
         timing: true,
       },
     })
-    process.emit('time', 'foo')
-    process.emit('time', 'bar')
+    time.start('foo')
+    time.start('bar')
     t.match(npm.unfinishedTimers.get('foo'), Number, 'foo timer is a number')
     t.match(npm.unfinishedTimers.get('bar'), Number, 'foo timer is a number')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'foo')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'bar')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'baz')
+    time.end('foo')
+    time.end('bar')
+    time.end('baz')
     // npm timer is started by default
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'npm')
+    time.end('npm')
     t.match(logs.timing.byTitle('foo'), [
       /Completed in [0-9]+ms/,
     ])
@@ -428,9 +429,9 @@ t.test('timings', async t => {
     const { npm, cache, timingFile } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
       config: { timing: true },
     })
-    process.emit('time', 'foo')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'foo')
-    process.emit('time', 'bar')
+    time.start('foo')
+    time.end('foo')
+    time.start('bar')
     npm.writeTimingFile()
     t.match(npm.timingFile, cache)
     t.match(npm.timingFile, /-timing.json$/)
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/exit-handler.js b/test/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
index 8af47d9abc26c..b82a8c6ab266a 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/exit-handler.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ const fs = require('fs')
 const fsMiniPass = require('fs-minipass')
 const { join, resolve } = require('path')
 const EventEmitter = require('events')
-const { output } = require('proc-log')
+const { output, time } = require('proc-log')
 const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 const mockGlobals = require('@npmcli/mock-globals')
 const { cleanCwd, cleanDate } = require('../../fixtures/clean-snapshot')
@@ -517,8 +517,8 @@ t.test('unfinished timers', async (t) => {
     config: { timing: true },
   })
 
-  process.emit('time', 'foo')
-  process.emit('time', 'bar')
+  time.start('foo')
+  time.start('bar')
 
   await exitHandler()
   const timingFileData = await timingFile()
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/timers.js b/test/lib/utils/timers.js
index c395a92a0a3e7..1901738feb975 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/timers.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/timers.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const t = require('tap')
 const { resolve, join } = require('path')
 const fs = require('graceful-fs')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 const tmock = require('../../fixtures/tmock')
 
 const mockTimers = (t, options) => {
@@ -24,30 +24,19 @@ const mockTimers = (t, options) => {
 
 t.test('listens/stops on process', async (t) => {
   const { timers } = mockTimers(t)
-  process.emit('time', 'foo')
-  process.emit('time', 'bar')
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'bar')
+  time.start('foo')
+  time.start('bar')
+  time.end('bar')
   t.match(timers.unfinished, new Map([['foo', Number]]))
   t.match(timers.finished, { bar: Number })
   timers.off()
-  process.emit('time', 'baz')
+  time.start('baz')
   t.notOk(timers.unfinished.get('baz'))
 })
 
-t.test('convenience time method', async (t) => {
-  const { timers } = mockTimers(t)
-
-  const end = timers.time('later')
-  timers.time('sync', () => {})
-  await timers.time('async', () => new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 10)))
-  end()
-
-  t.match(timers.finished, { later: Number, sync: Number, async: Number })
-})
-
 t.test('initial timer is named npm', async (t) => {
   const { timers } = mockTimers(t)
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'npm')
+  time.end('npm')
   t.match(timers.finished, { npm: Number })
 })
 
@@ -55,26 +44,26 @@ t.test('logs timing events', async (t) => {
   const events = []
   const listener = (...args) => events.push(args)
   const { timers, logs } = mockTimers(t, { listener })
-  process.emit('time', 'foo')
-  process.emit('time', 'bar')
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'bar')
+  time.start('foo')
+  time.start('bar')
+  time.end('bar')
   timers.off(listener)
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'foo')
+  time.end('foo')
   t.equal(logs.timing.length, 1)
   t.match(logs.timing[0], /^bar Completed in [0-9]ms/)
 })
 
 t.test('finish unstarted timer', async (t) => {
   const { logs } = mockTimers(t)
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'foo')
+  time.end('foo')
   t.match(logs.silly, ["timing Tried to end timer that doesn't exist: foo"])
 })
 
 t.test('writes file', async (t) => {
   const { timers } = mockTimers(t)
   const dir = t.testdir()
-  process.emit('time', 'foo')
-  process.emit('timeEnd', 'foo')
+  time.start('foo')
+  time.end('foo')
   timers.load({ path: resolve(dir, `TIMING_FILE-`) })
   timers.writeFile({ some: 'data' })
   const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(resolve(dir, 'TIMING_FILE-timing.json')))
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/bin/index.js b/workspaces/arborist/bin/index.js
index ff356fafab7c3..414c7eb468cd8 100755
--- a/workspaces/arborist/bin/index.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/bin/index.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 const fs = require('fs')
 const path = require('path')
+const { time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const { bin, arb: options } = require('./lib/options')
 const version = require('../package.json').version
@@ -72,11 +73,11 @@ for (const file of commandFiles) {
 
     log.info(name, options)
 
-    process.emit('time', totalTime)
-    process.emit('time', scriptTime)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(totalTime)
+    const scriptEnd = time.start(scriptTime)
 
     return command(options, (result) => {
-      process.emit('timeEnd', scriptTime)
+      scriptEnd()
       return {
         result,
         timing: {
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ for (const file of commandFiles) {
         return err
       })
       .then((r) => {
-        process.emit('timeEnd', totalTime)
+        timeEnd()
         if (bin.loglevel !== 'silent') {
           console[process.exitCode ? 'error' : 'log'](r)
         }
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/bin/lib/timers.js b/workspaces/arborist/bin/lib/timers.js
index 586dee7806dd0..a7ec534f5c5a7 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/bin/lib/timers.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/bin/lib/timers.js
@@ -4,22 +4,22 @@ const log = require('./logging.js')
 const timers = new Map()
 const finished = new Map()
 
-process.on('time', name => {
-  if (timers.has(name)) {
-    throw new Error('conflicting timer! ' + name)
-  }
-  timers.set(name, process.hrtime.bigint())
-})
-
-process.on('timeEnd', name => {
-  if (!timers.has(name)) {
-    throw new Error('timer not started! ' + name)
-  }
-  const elapsed = Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - timers.get(name))
-  timers.delete(name)
-  finished.set(name, elapsed)
-  if (options.timing) {
-    log.info('timeEnd', `${name} ${elapsed / 1e9}s`, log.meta({ force: options.timing === 'always' }))
+process.on('time', (level, name) => {
+  if (level === 'start') {
+    if (timers.has(name)) {
+      throw new Error('conflicting timer! ' + name)
+    }
+    timers.set(name, process.hrtime.bigint())
+  } else if (level === 'end') {
+    if (!timers.has(name)) {
+      throw new Error('timer not started! ' + name)
+    }
+    const elapsed = Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - timers.get(name))
+    timers.delete(name)
+    finished.set(name, elapsed)
+    if (options.timing) {
+      log.info('timeEnd', `${name} ${elapsed / 1e9}s`, log.meta({ force: options.timing === 'always' }))
+    }
   }
 })
 
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js
index 1daf03b0b466c..ac3062928ebd8 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/build-ideal-tree.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const treeCheck = require('../tree-check.js')
 const { readdirScoped } = require('@npmcli/fs')
 const { lstat, readlink } = require('fs/promises')
 const { depth } = require('treeverse')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 const { redact } = require('@npmcli/redact')
 
 const {
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
       options.rm = null
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree')
 
     if (!options.add && !options.rm && !options.update && this.options.global) {
       throw new Error('global requires add, rm, or update option')
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
       await this.#pruneFailedOptional()
       await this.#checkEngineAndPlatform()
     } finally {
-      process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree')
+      timeEnd()
       this.finishTracker('idealTree')
     }
 
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
   // load the initial tree, either the virtualTree from a shrinkwrap,
   // or just the root node from a package.json
   async #initTree () {
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree:init')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree:init')
     let root
     if (this.options.global) {
       root = await this.#globalRootNode()
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
         // if you want another one, load another copy.
         this.idealTree = tree
         this.virtualTree = null
-        process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree:init')
+        timeEnd()
         return tree
       })
   }
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
   // process the add/rm requests by modifying the root node, and the
   // update.names request by queueing nodes dependent on those named.
   async #applyUserRequests (options) {
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree:userRequests')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree:userRequests')
     const tree = this.idealTree.target
 
     if (!this.options.workspaces.length) {
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
       await Promise.all(appliedRequests)
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree:userRequests')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   async #applyUserRequestsToNode (tree, options) {
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class IdealTreeBuilder extends cls {
     // if the lockfile is from node v5 or earlier, then we'll have to reload
     // all the manifests of everything we encounter.  this is costly, but at
     // least it's just a one-time hit.
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree:inflate')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree:inflate')
 
     // don't warn if we're not gonna actually write it back anyway.
     const heading = ancient ? 'ancient lockfile' : 'old lockfile'
@@ -758,14 +758,14 @@ This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient...
       meta.originalLockfileVersion = defaultLockfileVersion
     }
     this.finishTracker('idealTree:inflate')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree:inflate')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   // at this point we have a virtual tree with the actual root node's
   // package deps, which may be partly or entirely incomplete, invalid
   // or extraneous.
   #buildDeps () {
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree:buildDeps')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree:buildDeps')
     const tree = this.idealTree.target
     tree.assertRootOverrides()
     this.#depsQueue.push(tree)
@@ -773,15 +773,14 @@ This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient...
     // in the override list
     log.silly('idealTree', 'buildDeps')
     this.addTracker('idealTree', tree.name, '')
-    return this.#buildDepStep()
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree:buildDeps'))
+    return this.#buildDepStep().then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   async #buildDepStep () {
     // removes tracker of previous dependency in the queue
     if (this.#currentDep) {
       const { location, name } = this.#currentDep
-      process.emit('timeEnd', `idealTree:${location || '#root'}`)
+      time.end(`idealTree:${location || '#root'}`)
       this.finishTracker('idealTree', name, location)
       this.#currentDep = null
     }
@@ -807,7 +806,7 @@ This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient...
 
     this.#depsSeen.add(node)
     this.#currentDep = node
-    process.emit('time', `idealTree:${node.location || '#root'}`)
+    time.start(`idealTree:${node.location || '#root'}`)
 
     // if we're loading a _complete_ ideal tree, for a --package-lock-only
     // installation for example, we have to crack open the tarball and
@@ -1449,7 +1448,7 @@ This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient...
   }
 
   #fixDepFlags () {
-    process.emit('time', 'idealTree:fixDepFlags')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('idealTree:fixDepFlags')
     const metaFromDisk = this.idealTree.meta.loadedFromDisk
     const flagsSuspect = this[_flagsSuspect]
     const mutateTree = this.#mutateTree
@@ -1496,7 +1495,7 @@ This is a one-time fix-up, please be patient...
       }
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'idealTree:fixDepFlags')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   #idealTreePrune () {
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/index.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/index.js
index 0f02e1df1582f..3726b1ecaf633 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/index.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/index.js
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const { resolve } = require('path')
 const { homedir } = require('os')
 const { depth } = require('treeverse')
 const mapWorkspaces = require('@npmcli/map-workspaces')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const { saveTypeMap } = require('../add-rm-pkg-deps.js')
 const AuditReport = require('../audit-report.js')
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ const lockfileVersion = lfv => {
 
 class Arborist extends Base {
   constructor (options = {}) {
-    process.emit('time', 'arborist:ctor')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('arborist:ctor')
     super(options)
     this.options = {
       nodeVersion: process.version,
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ class Arborist extends Base {
     }
     this.cache = resolve(this.options.cache)
     this.path = resolve(this.options.path)
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'arborist:ctor')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   // TODO: We should change these to static functions instead
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ class Arborist extends Base {
     // XXX: deprecate separate method options objects.
     options = { ...this.options, ...options }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'audit')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('audit')
     let tree
     if (options.packageLock === false) {
       // build ideal tree
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ class Arborist extends Base {
     }
     this.auditReport = await AuditReport.load(tree, options)
     const ret = options.fix ? this.reify(options) : this.auditReport
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'audit')
+    timeEnd()
     this.finishTracker('audit')
     return ret
   }
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/rebuild.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/rebuild.js
index 36dc6ae790fe6..4f8730cde7f38 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/rebuild.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/rebuild.js
@@ -9,11 +9,8 @@ const binLinks = require('bin-links')
 const runScript = require('@npmcli/run-script')
 const { callLimit: promiseCallLimit } = require('promise-call-limit')
 const { resolve } = require('path')
-const {
-  isNodeGypPackage,
-  defaultGypInstallScript,
-} = require('@npmcli/node-gyp')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { isNodeGypPackage, defaultGypInstallScript } = require('@npmcli/node-gyp')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const boolEnv = b => b ? '1' : ''
 const sortNodes = (a, b) =>
@@ -54,7 +51,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
 
     // separates links nodes so that it can run
     // prepare scripts and link bins in the expected order
-    process.emit('time', 'build')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('build')
 
     const {
       depNodes,
@@ -70,7 +67,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       await this.#build(linkNodes, { type: 'links' })
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'build')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   // if we don't have a set of nodes, then just rebuild
@@ -147,7 +144,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
   }
 
   async #build (nodes, { type = 'deps' }) {
-    process.emit('time', `build:${type}`)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(`build:${type}`)
 
     await this.#buildQueues(nodes)
 
@@ -168,11 +165,11 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       await this.#runScripts('postinstall')
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', `build:${type}`)
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   async #buildQueues (nodes) {
-    process.emit('time', 'build:queue')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('build:queue')
     const set = new Set()
 
     const promises = []
@@ -210,7 +207,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
         }
       }
     }
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'build:queue')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   async [_checkBins] (node) {
@@ -286,7 +283,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', `build:run:${event}`)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(`build:run:${event}`)
     const stdio = this.options.foregroundScripts ? 'inherit' : 'pipe'
     const limit = this.options.foregroundScripts ? 1 : undefined
     await promiseCallLimit(queue.map(node => async () => {
@@ -309,8 +306,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
         return
       }
 
-      const timer = `build:run:${event}:${location}`
-      process.emit('time', timer)
+      const timeEndLocation = time.start(`build:run:${event}:${location}`)
       log.info('run', pkg._id, event, location, pkg.scripts[event])
       const env = {
         npm_package_resolved: resolved,
@@ -356,9 +352,9 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
         ? this[_handleOptionalFailure](node, p)
         : p)
 
-      process.emit('timeEnd', timer)
+      timeEndLocation()
     }), { limit })
-    process.emit('timeEnd', `build:run:${event}`)
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   async #linkAllBins () {
@@ -367,7 +363,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'build:link')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('build:link')
     const promises = []
     // sort the queue by node path, so that the module-local collision
     // detector in bin-links will always resolve the same way.
@@ -377,7 +373,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
     }
 
     await promiseAllRejectLate(promises)
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'build:link')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   async #createBinLinks (node) {
@@ -385,7 +381,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', `build:link:${node.location}`)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(`build:link:${node.location}`)
 
     const p = binLinks({
       pkg: node.package,
@@ -399,6 +395,6 @@ module.exports = cls => class Builder extends cls {
       ? this[_handleOptionalFailure](node, p)
       : p)
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', `build:link:${node.location}`)
+    timeEnd()
   }
 }
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
index 81b81cfd2d665..42bbdfef8eb42 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
 const semver = require('semver')
 const debug = require('../debug.js')
 const { walkUp } = require('walk-up-path')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 const hgi = require('hosted-git-info')
 const rpj = require('read-package-json-fast')
 
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
 
     // start tracker block
     this.addTracker('reify')
-    process.emit('time', 'reify')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify')
     await this[_validatePath]()
     await this[_loadTrees](options)
 
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     this.auditReport = await this.auditReport
 
     this.finishTracker('reify')
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify')
+    timeEnd()
     return treeCheck(this.actualTree)
   }
 
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   // when doing a local install, we load everything and figure it all out.
   // when doing a global install, we *only* care about the explicit requests.
   [_loadTrees] (options) {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:loadTrees')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:loadTrees')
     const bitOpt = {
       ...options,
       complete: this[_packageLockOnly] || this[_dryRun],
@@ -277,8 +277,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
 
     // if we're only writing a package lock, then it doesn't matter what's here
     if (this[_packageLockOnly]) {
-      return this.buildIdealTree(bitOpt)
-        .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:loadTrees'))
+      return this.buildIdealTree(bitOpt).then(timeEnd)
     }
 
     const actualOpt = this.options.global ? {
@@ -312,7 +311,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return Promise.all([
         this.loadActual(actualOpt),
         this.buildIdealTree(bitOpt),
-      ]).then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:loadTrees'))
+      ]).then(timeEnd)
     }
 
     // the global install space tends to have a lot of stuff in it.  don't
@@ -322,7 +321,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     // explicitRequests which is set during buildIdealTree
     return this.buildIdealTree(bitOpt)
       .then(() => this.loadActual(actualOpt))
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:loadTrees'))
+      .then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   [_diffTrees] () {
@@ -330,7 +329,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:diffTrees')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:diffTrees')
     // XXX if we have an existing diff already, there should be a way
     // to just invalidate the parts that changed, but avoid walking the
     // whole tree again.
@@ -397,7 +396,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     // because if we remove node_modules/FOO on case-insensitive systems,
     // it will remove the dep that we *want* at node_modules/foo.
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:diffTrees')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   // add the node and all its bins to the list of things to be
@@ -422,7 +421,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   // move aside the shallowest nodes in the tree that have to be
   // changed or removed, so that we can rollback if necessary.
   [_retireShallowNodes] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:retireShallow')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:retireShallow')
     const moves = this[_retiredPaths] = {}
     for (const diff of this.diff.children) {
       if (diff.action === 'CHANGE' || diff.action === 'REMOVE') {
@@ -433,8 +432,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     log.silly('reify', 'moves', moves)
     const movePromises = Object.entries(moves)
       .map(([from, to]) => this[_renamePath](from, to))
-    return promiseAllRejectLate(movePromises)
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:retireShallow'))
+    return promiseAllRejectLate(movePromises).then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   [_renamePath] (from, to, didMkdirp = false) {
@@ -456,14 +454,14 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   }
 
   [_rollbackRetireShallowNodes] (er) {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:rollback:retireShallow')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:rollback:retireShallow')
     const moves = this[_retiredPaths]
     const movePromises = Object.entries(moves)
       .map(([from, to]) => this[_renamePath](to, from))
     return promiseAllRejectLate(movePromises)
       // ignore subsequent rollback errors
       .catch(er => {})
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:rollback:retireShallow'))
+      .then(timeEnd)
       .then(() => {
         throw er
       })
@@ -476,7 +474,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:trashOmits')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:trashOmits')
 
     for (const node of this.idealTree.inventory.values()) {
       const { top } = node
@@ -503,11 +501,11 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       }
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:trashOmits')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   [_createSparseTree] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:createSparse')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:createSparse')
     // if we call this fn again, we look for the previous list
     // so that we can avoid making the same directory multiple times
     const leaves = this.diff.leaves
@@ -550,12 +548,11 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       if (made) {
         this[_sparseTreeRoots].add(made)
       }
-    }))
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:createSparse'))
+    })).then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   [_rollbackCreateSparseTree] (er) {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:rollback:createSparse')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:rollback:createSparse')
     // cut the roots of the sparse tree that were created, not the leaves
     const roots = this[_sparseTreeRoots]
     // also delete the moves that we retired, so that we can move them back
@@ -569,7 +566,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
         log.warn('cleanup', 'Failed to remove some directories', failures)
       }
     })
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:rollback:createSparse'))
+      .then(timeEnd)
       .then(() => this[_rollbackRetireShallowNodes](er))
   }
 
@@ -587,7 +584,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:loadShrinkwraps')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:loadShrinkwraps')
 
     const Arborist = this.constructor
     return promiseAllRejectLate(shrinkwraps.map(diff => {
@@ -604,7 +601,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       .then(() => this[_createSparseTree]())
       .then(() => this[_addOmitsToTrashList]())
       .then(() => this[_loadShrinkwrapsAndUpdateTrees]())
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:loadShrinkwraps'))
+      .then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   // create a symlink for Links, extract for Nodes
@@ -619,8 +616,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return node
     }
 
-    const timer = `reifyNode:${node.location}`
-    process.emit('time', timer)
+    const timeEnd = time.start(`reifyNode:${node.location}`)
     this.addTracker('reify', node.name, node.location)
 
     const { npmVersion, nodeVersion, cpu, os, libc } = this.options
@@ -643,7 +639,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     return this[_handleOptionalFailure](node, p)
       .then(() => {
         this.finishTracker('reify', node.name, node.location)
-        process.emit('timeEnd', timer)
+        timeEnd()
         return node
       })
   }
@@ -786,7 +782,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     depth = 0, bundlesByDepth = this[_getBundlesByDepth]()
   ) {
     if (depth === 0) {
-      process.emit('time', 'reify:loadBundles')
+      time.start('reify:loadBundles')
     }
 
     const maxBundleDepth = bundlesByDepth.get('maxBundleDepth')
@@ -796,7 +792,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
         this[_pruneBundledMetadeps](bundlesByDepth)
         this[_diffTrees]()
       }
-      process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:loadBundles')
+      time.end('reify:loadBundles')
       return
     }
 
@@ -981,7 +977,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     // before finishing the reify() and returning the tree.  Thus, we do
     // NOT return the promise, as the intent is for this to run in parallel
     // with the reification, and be resolved at a later time.
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:audit')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:audit')
     const options = { ...this.options }
     const tree = this.idealTree
 
@@ -995,7 +991,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     }
 
     this.auditReport = AuditReport.load(tree, options).then(res => {
-      process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:audit')
+      timeEnd()
       return res
     })
   }
@@ -1005,7 +1001,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   // kicking off each unpack job.  If any fail, we rm the sparse
   // tree entirely and try to put everything back where it was.
   [_unpackNewModules] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:unpack')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:unpack')
     const unpacks = []
     dfwalk({
       tree: this.diff,
@@ -1038,8 +1034,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       },
       getChildren: diff => diff.children,
     })
-    return promiseAllRejectLate(unpacks)
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:unpack'))
+    return promiseAllRejectLate(unpacks).then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   // This is the part where we move back the unchanging nodes that were
@@ -1054,7 +1049,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     // This is sort of an inverse diff tree, of all the nodes where
     // the actualTree and idealTree _don't_ differ, starting from the
     // shallowest nodes that we moved aside in the first place.
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:unretire')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:unretire')
     const moves = this[_retiredPaths]
     this[_retiredUnchanged] = {}
     return promiseAllRejectLate(this.diff.children.map(diff => {
@@ -1102,8 +1097,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
         const dir = bd && bd.length ? node.path + '/node_modules' : node.path
         return mkdir(dir, { recursive: true }).then(() => this[_moveContents](node, fromPath))
       }))
-    }))
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:unretire'))
+    })).then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   // move the contents from the fromPath to the node.path
@@ -1135,7 +1129,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   }
 
   [_build] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:build')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:build')
 
     // for all the things being installed, run their appropriate scripts
     // run in tip->root order, so as to be more likely to build a node's
@@ -1167,8 +1161,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       }
     }
 
-    return this.rebuild({ nodes, handleOptionalFailure: true })
-      .then(() => process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:build'))
+    return this.rebuild({ nodes, handleOptionalFailure: true }).then(timeEnd)
   }
 
   // the tree is pretty much built now, so it's cleanup time.
@@ -1176,7 +1169,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
   // If this fails, there isn't much we can do but tell the user about it.
   // Thankfully, it's pretty unlikely that it'll fail, since rm is a node builtin.
   async [_removeTrash] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:trash')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:trash')
     const promises = []
     const failures = []
     const _rm = path => rm(path, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(er => failures.push([path, er]))
@@ -1189,7 +1182,8 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
     if (failures.length) {
       log.warn('cleanup', 'Failed to remove some directories', failures)
     }
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:trash')
+
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   // last but not least, we save the ideal tree metadata to the package-lock
@@ -1222,7 +1216,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       return false
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'reify:save')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('reify:save')
 
     const updatedTrees = new Set()
     const updateNodes = nodes => {
@@ -1460,7 +1454,7 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       })
     }
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'reify:save')
+    timeEnd()
     return true
   }
 
@@ -1571,17 +1565,14 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
         const { scripts = {} } = pkg
         for (const event of ['predependencies', 'dependencies', 'postdependencies']) {
           if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(scripts, event)) {
-            const timer = `reify:run:${event}`
-            process.emit('time', timer)
             log.info('run', pkg._id, event, scripts[event])
-            await runScript({
+            await time.start(`reify:run:${event}`, () => runScript({
               event,
               path,
               pkg,
               stdio,
               scriptShell: this.options.scriptShell,
-            })
-            process.emit('timeEnd', timer)
+            }))
           }
         }
       }
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/audit-report.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/audit-report.js
index 7e5ac2071dcbe..f7700ce9119de 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/audit-report.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/audit-report.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const _fixAvailable = Symbol('fixAvailable')
 const _checkTopNode = Symbol('checkTopNode')
 const _init = Symbol('init')
 const _omit = Symbol('omit')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const fetch = require('npm-registry-fetch')
 
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ class AuditReport extends Map {
   }
 
   async [_init] () {
-    process.emit('time', 'auditReport:init')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('auditReport:init')
 
     const promises = []
     for (const [name, advisories] of Object.entries(this.report)) {
@@ -210,7 +210,8 @@ class AuditReport extends Map {
         }
       }
     }
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'auditReport:init')
+
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   [_checkTopNode] (topNode, vuln, spec) {
@@ -306,7 +307,7 @@ class AuditReport extends Map {
       return null
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'auditReport:getReport')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('auditReport:getReport')
     try {
       try {
         // first try the super fast bulk advisory listing
@@ -347,7 +348,7 @@ class AuditReport extends Map {
       this.error = er
       return null
     } finally {
-      process.emit('timeEnd', 'auditReport:getReport')
+      timeEnd()
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js b/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
index db7df07e46bcd..d0615add3540a 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
@@ -246,17 +246,17 @@ t.test('omit peer deps', t => {
   // in this one we also snapshot the timers, mostly just as a smoke test
   const timers = {}
   const finishedTimers = []
-  const onTime = name => {
-    t.notOk(timers[name], 'should not have duplicated timers started')
-    timers[name] = true
-  }
-  const onTimeEnd = name => {
-    t.ok(timers[name], 'should not end unstarted timer')
-    delete timers[name]
-    finishedTimers.push(name)
+  const onTime = (level, name) => {
+    if (level === 'start') {
+      t.notOk(timers[name], 'should not have duplicated timers started')
+      timers[name] = true
+    } else if (level === 'end') {
+      t.ok(timers[name], 'should not end unstarted timer')
+      delete timers[name]
+      finishedTimers.push(name)
+    }
   }
   process.on('time', onTime)
-  process.on('timeEnd', onTimeEnd)
 
   return reify(path, { omit: ['peer'] })
     .then(tree => {
@@ -277,7 +277,6 @@ t.test('omit peer deps', t => {
   // eslint-disable-next-line promise/always-return
     .then(() => {
       process.removeListener('time', onTime)
-      process.removeListener('timeEnd', onTimeEnd)
       finishedTimers.sort(localeCompare)
       t.matchSnapshot(finishedTimers, 'finished timers')
       t.strictSame(timers, {}, 'should have no timers in progress now')
diff --git a/workspaces/config/lib/index.js b/workspaces/config/lib/index.js
index 0d7ba3eb21f4e..c3e73dc761c57 100644
--- a/workspaces/config/lib/index.js
+++ b/workspaces/config/lib/index.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 const { walkUp } = require('walk-up-path')
 const ini = require('ini')
 const nopt = require('nopt')
-const { log } = require('proc-log')
+const { log, time } = require('proc-log')
 
 const { resolve, dirname, join } = require('node:path')
 const { homedir } = require('node:os')
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ class Config {
     }
 
     // create the object for flat options passed to deps
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:flatten')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('config:load:flatten')
     this.#flatOptions = {}
     // walk from least priority to highest
     for (const { data } of this.data.values()) {
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ class Config {
     }
     this.#flatOptions.nodeBin = this.execPath
     this.#flatOptions.npmBin = this.npmBin
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:flatten')
+    timeEnd()
 
     return this.#flatOptions
   }
@@ -233,37 +233,27 @@ class Config {
       throw new Error('attempting to load npm config multiple times')
     }
 
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load')
+    const timeEnd = time.start('config:load')
+
     // first load the defaults, which sets the global prefix
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:defaults')
-    this.loadDefaults()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:defaults')
+    time.start('config:load:defaults', () => this.loadDefaults())
 
     // next load the builtin config, as this sets new effective defaults
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:builtin')
-    await this.loadBuiltinConfig()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:builtin')
+    await time.start('config:load:builtin', () => this.loadBuiltinConfig())
 
     // cli and env are not async, and can set the prefix, relevant to project
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:cli')
-    this.loadCLI()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:cli')
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:env')
-    this.loadEnv()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:env')
+    time.start('config:load:cli', () => this.loadCLI())
+
+    time.start('config:load:env', () => this.loadEnv())
 
     // next project config, which can affect userconfig location
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:project')
-    await this.loadProjectConfig()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:project')
+    await time.start('config:load:project', () => this.loadProjectConfig())
+
     // then user config, which can affect globalconfig location
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:user')
-    await this.loadUserConfig()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:user')
+    await time.start('config:load:user', () => this.loadUserConfig())
+
     // last but not least, global config file
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:global')
-    await this.loadGlobalConfig()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:global')
+    await time.start('config:load:global', () => this.loadGlobalConfig())
 
     // set this before calling setEnvs, so that we don't have to share
     // private attributes, as that module also does a bunch of get operations
@@ -272,11 +262,9 @@ class Config {
     // set proper globalPrefix now that everything is loaded
     this.globalPrefix = this.get('prefix')
 
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:setEnvs')
-    this.setEnvs()
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:setEnvs')
+    time.start('config:load:setEnvs', () => this.setEnvs())
 
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load')
+    timeEnd()
   }
 
   loadDefaults () {
@@ -601,9 +589,8 @@ class Config {
   }
 
   async #loadFile (file, type) {
-    process.emit('time', 'config:load:file:' + file)
     // only catch the error from readFile, not from the loadObject call
-    await readFile(file, 'utf8').then(
+    await time.start(`config:load:file:${file}`, () => readFile(file, 'utf8').then(
       data => {
         const parsedConfig = ini.parse(data)
         if (type === 'project' && parsedConfig.prefix) {
@@ -614,8 +601,7 @@ class Config {
         return this.#loadObject(parsedConfig, type, file)
       },
       er => this.#loadObject(null, type, file, er)
-    )
-    process.emit('timeEnd', 'config:load:file:' + file)
+    ))
   }
 
   loadBuiltinConfig () {