I don't know where the month goes

The team is genuinely busy; that is not in doubt. What is invisible is the composition of the busy-ness: how much of the month is measurement and negotiation, and how much is chasing, formatting, reconciling and re-entering, the work that keeps the wheels turning without moving the job forward. You cannot manage a mix you cannot see, and asking people to log their own time just adds one more form to the pile.

The honest answer comes from watching, not asking. A review sits with the actual work for long enough to attach two numbers to each task, what it takes now and what it should take, and to name the tasks that eat the difference. From there, where the month goes stops being a mystery and becomes a list, with the expensive lines at the top.