Proper time management makes a difference when you try to manage a business successfully. Aside from the benefits to the employer, time management plays a vital role in employee career development. Yet, companies are facing procrastination, and many struggle to sustain the level of employee productivity. This article will cover some interesting time management statistics that will reveal how much time we lose every day and the results of poor time tracking practices.
Time Management Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- 49% of workers have never conducted a time audit to see how they spend their time. (Time Doctor)
- 82% of people don’t possess a dedicated time management system. (Time Doctor)
- Multitasking reduces productivity by up to 45%. (Tempo)
- Many executives spend nearly 23 hours a week in meetings. (HBR)
- Two-thirds of employees experienced burnout at work. (Forbes)
- 88% of college students want to manage their time better. (Reliable Plant)
- Employees typically spend 80% of their workday on tasks with little value. (Trafft)
- Employees spend over 25% of their time looking for information necessary to perform their job. (The Economic Times)
General Time Management Stats
1. 49% of workers have never conducted a time audit to see how they spend their time.
‘Thanks to’ a lack of time management, employees lose many production hours. Currently, only one in five people follows a set work schedule. Analyzing how you spend your time can help you improve your productivity. Time management statistics reveal that calculating the wasted time and the time spent on tasks can help you get more things done.
(Time Doctor)
2. 82% of people don’t possess a dedicated time management system.
Most people simply rely on old and outdated methods of tracking their tasks like an email inbox or to-do lists. In turn, this leads to productivity and, by default, revenue loss. But many time tracking tools are built to simplify work and organize time adequately.
(Time Doctor)
3. If a person spends 10-12 minutes planning a day, they will save up to two hours.
One of the interesting facts about time management is that several minutes of planning a day could save you two hours that could have been wasted. But unfortunately, sometimes even more hours are wasted, especially during an eight-hour workday. So, it’s best to prepare a proper schedule in the morning and then start the day.
(Trafft)
4. Multitasking reduces productivity by up to 45%.
Multitasking can affect productivity as poor time management effects can. Time tracking systems help by precisely recording the progress of work without potential distractions such as talking on the phone or browsing online. Thus, managers can identify projects and tasks that take too much employee time and prioritize accordingly. It allows them to decide the risk vs. reward and properly allocate the time for each project, as statistics about time management demonstrate.
(Tempo)
5. 87% of professionals think that breaks affect productivity positively.
Despite the logic that one does less work by taking breaks, professionals have found quite the opposite. In fact, most workers believe that breaks foster productivity.
(Firewall Times)
6. Six out of ten people admitted they couldn’t go through a workday without checking social media.
Based on time management statistics, some 60% of people can’t complete a workday without looking at their social networks. Further, two-thirds claim Facebook, used by 28.5% of the world, takes most of their time. This phenomenon is popularly called cyberloafing and costs companies around $85 billion in lost productivity and time each year.
(BBC)
7. 35% of workers would join a meeting, despite thinking it wouldn’t be productive.
Many employees join meetings out of obligation rather than a desire to bring something to the table. In fact, more than a third join meetings they know in advance won’t be productive. To have a beneficial meeting, statistics about time management show, organizers could set predefined objectives and invite only employees who will be accountable for them.
(CNBC)
8. Employees spend 28% of their day at work on email.
In most companies, email remains the number one form of communication. So, no wonder an average worker spends around a third of their day on email. That translates into approximately 2.6 hours spent reading and replying or scanning documents to email. Typically, employees receive 120 messages each day and check their email every six minutes. However, some go even further. Thus, 16.3% check it every minute, and 19.2% check it every one to three minutes, according to time management stats.
(Firewall Times)
9. Approximately 49% of employees say their companies don’t use employee monitoring software.
About half of surveyed employees confirmed their organizations do not use employee monitoring software. This, however, is a complex endeavor, especially since many workers don’t want to accept this form of tracking or are unfamiliar with it. At the same time, companies need to evaluate the impact this could have on employees’ morale and act accordingly.
(Clutch)
10. 72% of workers said their productivity wouldn’t be affected by a monitoring tool.
Aside from the obvious benefits of time management, statistics show that tracking tools can foster employees’ performance. Namely, this is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their good work. On the other hand, only 10% of employees claim they would trust their employer more if they tracked their work.
(Clutch)
The Effects of Poor Time Management
11. An average manager spends three hours per day handling unexpected interactions and issues.
It’s impossible to avoid unanticipated challenges at work, particularly if you own the company. Even if you plan and schedule tasks, some other urgent things might require your undivided attention. Statistics on poor time management indicate that the biggest problem is not scheduling some buffer time. This can help you prevent any delay of important tasks.
(Time Doctor)
12. Recently surveyed employees claim they spend only 27% of their time on skill-based tasks.
Apparently, many employees are not doing what they were hired and trained to do. In turn, it leads to a decrease in engagement and productivity.
(The Drum)
13. Business owners spend only 32% of their time on strategic and developmental aspects of their business.
According to time management statistics, business owners’ poor time management affects and is detrimental to their operations. Instead of spending more time developing their company, they have to do menial tasks. For reference, 73% of them would rather spend their time on strategic than operational activities. On average, they work 49.9 hours per week, although they think it should be around 41.7. Further, some of them (63%) work even more than 50 hours per week.
(TAB)
14. Business owners spend 32% of their time on email and web browsing.
Time management facts demonstrate that business owners claim they spend a lot of time on administrative tasks and emails. Moreover, they spend 25% of their time interacting with employees, while 21% goes to customer interaction.
(TAB)
15. Many executives spend nearly 23 hours a week in meetings.
No wonder many execs feel overwhelmed by numerous meetings, both necessary and unnecessary. Today, they spend more than double the time per week on meetings compared to the 1960s. On top of that, most meetings are poorly timed and organized. This pains the entire organization because each hour eats into the creative time. Ultimately, these dysfunctional meetings affect business operations primarily, time management statistics confirm.
(HBR)
16. Before 2020, 37% of organizations in North America didn’t have a formal policy on alternative work.
Then, the pandemic came, and many organizations were forced to develop ones. However, only 25% created some policies regarding remote and flexible work. That said, 60% claim they are planning to adopt similar policies in the near future. As a matter of fact, 58% of organizations with new policies expect them to be permanent. It is so since many have realized the connection between proper time management and productivity, statistics show.
(WTW)
17. Two-thirds of employees experienced burnout at work.
A recent study by Gallup did a great job pointing out the effect of poor time management. Apparently, 23% of surveyed employees felt burned out at work. Moreover, 44% felt burned out sometimes. These employees are 2.6 times more likely to actively seek another job. But even if they stay at their jobs, they have 13% lower confidence in their ability and performance.
(Forbes)
Teenage Time Management Statistics
18. Teens need nine hours of sleep at night to obtain higher grades.
Time dedicated to sleep is of crucial importance to teens and their time management plans. Typically, teens who sleep on average 7.3 hours per night can be characterized as sleep-deprived.
(Method Learning)
19. 47.7% of students spend less than 60 minutes a day on schoolwork.
A large part of research is focused on how much time students spend on homework and time management, statistics suggest. Namely, about 73.7% of students believe they manage homework time well. Moreover, only 15.7% of kids have difficulties with their homework, while 16.6% have to look for external help to complete their homework on time.
(Psicothema)
20. Teens need an additional 25% buffer time to complete projects.
When planning time, teens need to add some 25% buffer zone to be able to handle unpredicted activities. Those who manage to plan time well experience less stress. Not just that, but they have a better balance to succeed in different areas like social life, sports, and work.
(Method Learning)
21. 80% of a grade results from 20% of materials learned.
In order to achieve this, time management statistics for high school students mostly talk about the Pareto 80/20 rule. It reflects the fact that 80% of consequences come out of 20% of causes. So, translated into time management, putting effort into 20% of studies leads to 80% of school results.
(Allison Academy)
Time Management in College Statistics
22. Over 48% of US college students claim they don’t have enough time to complete coursework.
Many American students face various time management issues. In fact, a staggering 87%, or nine out of every 10 surveyed students, think that better time management could help them get better grades. Although some studies confirmed that time management produces greater academic results and lower stress levels, many students still struggle to find a balance between their life and study.
(National University)
23. Students study 15-20 hours per week on average.
Reaching A levels seems more important than ever, especially to students who want to enroll at top universities. Also, higher grades are a must-have to choose preferred courses. Students spend many hours per week studying to accomplish this. However, with proper time allocation, an average college student, time management statistics show, could do this with up to 20 hours of studying per week.
(The Student Room)
24. 88% of college students want to manage their time better.
Some 48% of students still manage their assignments, deadlines, and contacts by handwriting them down in a personal calendar. But to manage their time properly and achieve better results, they need more efficient time management tools.
(Reliable Plant)
25. 74% of students spend less than 20% of their free time partying.
Sometimes it’s hard to coordinate social life, courses of college students and time management, statistics indicate. Despite the significant number that claim they spend very little time at parties, about 48% admit it impacts their grades. In fact, 10.4% cite that spending less time on parties and social life would help them obtain better grades. Further, 14.5% stated they spend between 20% and 30% of their time partying or socializing, while 13.6% said they need to go to classes more often.
(Reliable Plant)
Time Management Statistics at Work
26. Employees typically spend 80% of their workday doing tasks with little value.
Differentiating more from less important tasks is a critical part of a time management process. Unfortunately, many people struggle with time management in this sense. They spend most of their day performing insignificant tasks. On the other hand, they spend only 20% of their time on something meaningful.
(Trafft)
27. Employees spend between one and three hours surfing the internet for personal business at work.
As time management statistics show, most employers decide to introduce time-management activities for employees because they spend a lot of time visiting sports sites, chatting on social media, banking, and shopping while at work. HR statistics suggest that they spend up to three hours on personal activities. The loss of productivity resulting from it is the primary concern for employers and why they opt for various tracking tools.
(The Balance Careers)
28. The average UK office employee is productive for only two hours and 53 minutes a day.
Some statistics supporting time management suggest that the average worker is only productive for less than three hours per day in the UK. With that fact in mind, employers should definitely address the procrastination issue plaguing their workplaces. Some of the biggest distractions include visiting websites, reading news, and checking social media.
(vouchercloud)
29. Among top distractions at work, checking social media consumes 47% of employees’ time.
In a recent study, employees were asked what they were doing instead of working. They were given several choices, and most of them selected social media. Next in line was reading the news (45%) and discussing personal activities with colleagues (38%). Making hot drinks (31%) and cigarette breaks (28%) were next on the list. Following these, text messaging (27%), eating snacks (25%), and preparing food in the office (24%) were the biggest distractions for a large number of surveyed employees. Finally, time management statistics reveal that calling friends or partners (24%) and searching for new jobs (19%) were last on the list.
(vouchercloud)
30. Business owners spend 34% of their time on urgent and important activities.
These activities are crucial to all business owners. ‘Thanks’ to lack of time management, most of them don’t spend nearly as much time on them as they should. That makes the time tracking process even more vital, especially in differentiating unimportant from important tasks.
(Time Doctor)
31. Most business owners are frustrated when they waste time on unscheduled communication (33%).
Other issues that frustrate owners include waiting for information (22%) and personality issues (16%). Although the last one doesn’t depend on them, the other two have a direct link to time management and stress, statistics confirm. However, incorporating systematic scheduling in daily operations could mitigate these frustrations.
(TAB)
32. Only 15% of US companies introduced their employees to a four-day workweek.
Despite the effects of the coronavirus, not many companies have compressed the standard 40-hour week into four days. Instead, a small fraction of organizations opted for a 32-hour week for the whole year or just a part of it. Yet, according to time management statistics, this work arrangement could benefit both employees and companies. Employees’ mental health could be better than ever, allowing them time to relax. In turn, companies would have more productive workers.
(SHRM)
33. Employees spend over 25% of their time looking for information necessary to perform their job.
An average employee needs to use over four applications to perform a single business operation. This requires good time management skills, statistics show. Even then, it is time-consuming to switch between interfaces, type different passwords, and log into various tools. Aside from employees, managers too spend half of their time executing routine tasks. So, many companies have actually made work more difficult by implementing some IT solutions instead of simplifying it.
(The Economic Times)
34. An average worker spends 10 minutes and 30 seconds on a task before being interrupted.
In line with time management statistics, one study dealing with time management activities for employees demonstrated that a typical worker experiences many interruptions while doing their job. Some are external (56%), while others often come in the form of self-interruption. In fact, the latter occurs a staggering 44% of the time.
(Inc.)
35. Workers’ performance peaks when they work undisturbed for 90 minutes.
According to research conducted by Florida State University, performance has a lot to do with time management. In fact, proper performance and time management systems could help workers achieve their full potential while completing their tasks.
(Trafft)
36. 67% of employees spend too much time in meetings.
According to recent research, most surveyed employees cited spending too much time in meetings, resulting in distractions from their actual jobs. For reference, 51% of workers claim this impacts their work to some extent, while 16% said it affects them to a great extent.
(CNBC)
The Bottom Line
In line with the above statistics about time management, we can conclude that this strategy works well for those who practice it. Without it, a company will experience revenue and productive time loss. Therefore, investing in time management pays off. The organization will improve productivity, but it will also boost employees’ satisfaction. Happy employees perform better and don’t procrastinate while earning money for the company in the process.
FAQs
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What percentage of people use time management?
Only 17% of people actually track their time. That’s a small percentage if we consider that productivity decreases by 45% in multitasking without time-tracking. Many employees fear time tracking and struggle to accept it. However, employers should point out its benefits to the employees. For instance, statistics about time management reveal that it allows them to maintain a proper schedule and achieve work-life balance. u003cbru003e(Prialto)
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How many people have problems with time management?
Based on some studies, about 82% of people don’t use time management systems and rely on simple tools. For instance, the to-do list is not a proper system since it lacks complexity, yet many people still use it. In fact, 33% rely on it to complete their work. Moreover, 25% claim they simply deal with urgent, pressing matters first, while 24% use email inboxes to prioritize their work. u003cbru003e(Clockify)
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What are the four Ps of time management?
There are four actions leading to good time management. First, plan what you need to do short-term and long-term and set the goals; next, prioritize. When you have set goals, figure out how to prioritize them based on various factors. According to time management statistics, all you need to do is push through your tasks to complete them. Finally, it’s time to party, not literally though (sometimes even that). Party could mean saving some quiet time for yourself or spending time with friends. But, always leave some hours for unplanned fun.u003cbru003e(Canadian Small Business Women)
