Time Management Statistics – 2024

Written by: Branka

Updated: February, 17, 2024

Posted in:
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Planning ahead is everything when it comes to productivity and the biggest enemy of productivity is wasted time. Time management statistics are about showing just how often developing better skills, the implementation of time management techniques of the use of software can help us manage our work and life better. The ultimate goal is not just increased productivity and profit but the overall well-being and work-life balance that we owe ourselves to stay healthy. So let’s look at the stats about where our time goes.

Time Management Statistics (Editor’s Choice) 

  • Only 20% of people use time audits. (Development Academy)
  • If you have only one thing to do, you will procrastinate all day. (Trafft)
  • The Netherlands has an average 29-hour workweek. (LinkedIn)
  • We are responsible for 44% of all interruptions. (Firewall Times)
  • Ten minutes of planning can save you two hours a day. (LinkedIn)
  • If you add 12 things to the to-do list you will finish at least seven. (Trafft)
  • The Eisenhower Matrix is the most effective time management strategy. (Development Academy)
  • The Pomodoro technique is the second most effective time management system. (Development Academy)
  • Children can’t always tell the difference between five and 15 minutes. (Very Well Family)
  • Around 47% of students say their high school did not teach organization and time management. (Reliable Plant)

General Time Management Stats 

1. Full-time employees work 8.5 hours per weekday on average.

But that’s not all, many work an additional 5.4 hours per day during the weekend as well. And hardly anyone thinks they are wasting time, yet there is the feeling of not being on top of things, being overwhelmed, and needing those extra hours in a day or an extra day on a weekend. The best work-life balance is achieved so far in the Netherlands where the average working week is 29 hours, time management statistics reveal.

(LinkedIn)

2. The average person uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time.

And that same average person spends two hours of the day recovering from distractions. They also check their email and/or IM app every six minutes and spend a total of three minutes on a task before taking up something else or something that requires their attention.

(LinkedIn)

3. Only 10 to 12 minutes of planning can save you two hours a day.

Facts about time management show that thinking about what to do next and how, minute by minute added, can take a huge chunk of your day, which makes morning planning crucial.

The main thing to keep in mind when planning the day is to focus on all the most important work between 9 AM and 12 PM. This is peak productivity time when the human brain works the hardest and decision-making is not impaired by the amount of information received throughout the day.

Time management statistics at work have also shown that multitasking is a myth and that productivity drops by a full 40% when we take on more than one task at a time.

(LinkedIn)

4. A cluttered desk can cost you an hour and a half every day.  

For those with a messy workspace, this is bad productivity news, as people spend seven and a half hours a week looking for things or being distracted by something in their close proximity. 

And it’s not just one man’s problem either; statistics about time management have found that entire companies spend around 16 days a year trying to locate paper documents. In this day and age of digital advancements searching for paper seems like a huge waste of time.

(Firewall Times, LinkedIn)

5. You can interrupt yourself as little as 20 seconds into a task. 

And it doesn’t matter if you are a professional and if it’s a task that requires high focus as self-interruptions are a very frequent occurrence. Up to 44% of all interruptions come from ourselves.

Time management facts reveal that these interruptions happen because of intruding thoughts, needing to do another task first, having a new idea, multitasking attempts, or just quitting and choosing something else.

(LinkedIn, Firewall Times)

6. 70% of people use a to-do list to get their most important tasks done. 

Plan to do one thing, you will drag it out, plan to do more and you will get better results. If we give ourselves a single thing to do that one task will be dragged out throughout the entire allotted time for it. Benefits of time management statistics further show that when people add 12 things to a list — at least seven of them will be completed.

(Trafft)

7. 20% of people feel 50% of their day includes productive work tasks. 

Over 50% of professionals report that most of their time at work is unproductive, for only 3% of them less than half of the day is spent on productive tasks. Around 54% say that they can manage a 70% productivity rate during one day, according to time management and productivity statistics.

(Firewall Times)

Time Management Activities for Employees 

8. Around 19% of employers track their salaried employees’ time.

Under a fifth of employers use time tracking software to track the time worked by their staff on a salary. This type of software is usually common for tracking the activities of hourly workers.

(Firewall Times)

9.  The Eisenhower Matrix shows an almost 100% success rate among the respondents.

Around 50% of people who believe this is the best technique feel their work is always under control, according to time management skills statistics. Another 50% of people say that their work is under control four days out of a five-day workweek.

Also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix, this technique tells you which tasks to do (urgent and important), schedule (important but not urgent), delegate (urgent but not important), or delete (not urgent and not important). 

(Development Academy, Product Plan, Slab

The Eisenhower Matrix

10. The Pomodoro Technique is considered the second most successful way of managing time.

Around 60% of people using the Pomodoro technique report feeling their work is under control for four or five days during the workweek and have no time management issues, statistics supporting time management show.

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method suitable for everyone. It suggests working in shorter, focused, 25-minute intervals and then taking a five-minute break. After four 25-minute intervals, take a longer break. 

It is important that the breaks are not work-related and give your mind time to abandon the task and rest for a short while. Take a walk around the office, have a cup of tea or a glass of water, stretch or do a couple of simple exercises. It is best if you don’t spend these five minutes staring at the computer or turning to your phone.

This technique is so popular that some performance management software feature a Pomodoro timer.

(Francesco Cirillo, Development Academy) 

11. The average employee spends less than 30 seconds having a meaningful conversation with their child. 

Time management and stress statistics show it’s not all about revenue and productivity. Overwhelmed by poor time management, communication with loved ones suffers too. Working people spend on average less than two minutes a day talking about something meaningful with their partner and even less with their children. Combined with the fact that the cause of 95% of divorces is cited as “lack of communication” we see how far-reaching the consequences of poor time management can be.

(Balance Time)

Statistics Time Management Habits by Age

12. Younger children often can’t tell the difference between 5 and 15 minutes even if they can tell the time.

These abilities can develop early on with the practice, and it is not too much to start as soon as elementary school. These are some steps and activities you can implement to ease children into the time management process:

  • Turn time management into a fun activity
  • Start before the puberty hits 
  • Teach the children how to measure time
  • Together, make a family calendar 
  • Make a calendar for each person in the family
  • Learn the children to stay on task
  • Don’t overschedule 
  • Schedule free time and fun activities
  • Consider including rewards
  • Learn about setting priorities

(Very Well Family)

13. Up to 80% of the grade you get is the result of 20% of what’s learned.

Time management statistics for high school students explain the 80/20 Pareto rule and how teenagers can use it to prioritize their tasks.

The principle says that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. Adapted for school, it means that 80% of the results and grades happen because of 20% of the things we do and put our effort into.

Up to 80% of the grade you get on the essay or an assignment is the result of 20% of the quality of the content. Of course, it is near impossible to pinpoint which 20% at first glance, but there are some hints and tips.

Teenage time management statistics show that prioritizing plays a key role here as teenagers tend to put less urgent and easy tasks first. This is the wrong approach as one should first tackle the most important, hardest, and most urgent task.

(Allison Academy)

14. Teenagers spend an average of nine hours online every day. 

This includes social media as well as entertainment platforms.  While some school work does happen online, academic achievements (and homework) still require a lot of offline work, and poor grades are just one of the poor time management effects, homework and time management statistics show. Limiting app time is one great way to manage how you spend your day as a teenager. Also, with multitasking reducing productivity by 40%, listening to that podcast while doing math homework might not be the best idea.

(Allison Academy)

15. 47% of college students say their high school did not prepare them for the organizational level needed in college.  

Up to 54% of students say they would perform better if they had the know-how to be organized and stay organized, time management in college statistics indicate.

Too many options have created an enormous fear of missing out amongst teenagers and college students and have them chasing social commitments without knowing how to refuse even things they are not 100% interested in. This is the age when boundaries are set, to your friends, and to yourself.

(Reliable Plant, Allison Academy)

16. 48% of students still manage their assignments and deadlines by handwriting in a notebook.

That is quite the number of students struggling with time management. Coincidentally 48% of students say partying is what “affects their grades.” College students and time management statistics record that 48.4% of students report not having enough time for doing course work.

Up to 87% percent of students think better time management and organization would help and 88% say they want to improve. 

(Reliable Plant, Allison Academy)

17. 50% of students don’t use anything to help them manage their time.

Some 23% report they keep everything in their head and solely rely on memory. Only 21.7% use some kind of software to organize their notes and research even if 68% work on projects in pairs or groups. 

College student time management statistics show the most common way of sharing info is email as 66% of students use it. Paper exchange is used in 24% of cases.

(Reliable Plant)

In Conclusion

People tend to waste a lot of time and then pay the price in stress. With the help of two or three easy techniques, there is a good chance of better personal time management. At work, other factors are in play but similar principles apply and a lot of it is in our own hands. 

Both companies and individuals could benefit from time management training and software which could help prevent revenue losses and health consequences to employees, statistics on poor time management show. In any case, time management skills should not be left to chance, and adopting good practices at a young age has shown great results. However, it is never too late to take back control of your time.

FAQ

What percentage of people use time management?

Only 18% of people use a time management system. A full 82% do not use anything while 33% make to-do lists in order to organize their tasks. Some 24% of respondents use email inbox as a time management tool. Around 12% use a diary to make plans in advance.

(Development Academy)

How many people have problems with time management?

Statistics about time management show that one of the effects of poor time management is that around 12.5% of people feel they don’t have things under control at work when it comes to time management. Over 20% of people feel that they are never in control of their work and time or that they have things under control one day a week.

Only 20% of people use a monthly time audit as a way to review their time spending and 49% of people say they have never tried out a time audit in their life.

(Development Academy)

What are the 4 P’s of time management?

The 4 Ps of time management, according to time management statistics, are:

  • Plan – set the goals and tasks, and plan the time to work on them
  • Prioritize – decide what tasks are the most important
  • Push – push through and complete what you started without procrastination
  • Party – allocate the time for fun activities.

(Canadian Small Business Women)

Sources: Development Academy, Trafft, LinkedIn, Firewall Times, Very Well Family, Reliable Plant, Product Plan, Slab, Francesco Cirillo, Balance Time, Allison Academy, Canadian Small Business Women