Effective time management can assist in reaching goals, boosting productivity, and lessening stress. Examining time management data offers valuable insights into our behaviors, aiding in optimizing our workdays.
These stats can pinpoint areas for improvement in time organization, leading to heightened productivity and improved work-life balance. In this piece, we’ll delve into recent time management stats and trends, shedding light on how time management influences personal and professional life and fosters a harmonious balance between the two.
General Time Management Statistics
- Chris Bailey suggests that considering necessary activities like sleeping and working, we’re left with only about 17.5 years of free time, despite the average US life expectancy of 79.3 years.
- The American Psychological Association found that 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators.
- Spending 10-12 minutes planning your day can save you up to two hours.
- Only 20% of individuals feel in control of their work on a daily basis.
- On average, workers spend about 2 hours and 48 minutes a day on productive tasks, with the remainder of their time spent on neutral or distracting activities.
- Approximately 20% of the workday is dedicated to important tasks, while the remaining 80% is spent on activities with little or no value.
- 39% of employee stress in the US stems from workload.
- Employees may spend up to 30 hours per week checking new emails.
- According to another study, 88% of working individuals procrastinate daily, with 31.9% procrastinating for 2-3 hours and 17% wasting up to 4 hours daily due to procrastination.
- 20% of people feel they have control over their work every day, while 66% feel in control most of the time (at least three days per week). Conversely, more than 10% feel their work is never under control.
- Mexico tops the list for annual working hours, with 2,255 hours, followed closely by South Korea with 2,070 hours. US workers also work quite a bit, averaging 1,789 hours per year, or about 35 hours per week.
- 44% of individuals feel in control of their work for all five workdays, while 46% feel out of control for one to two days a week and 11% for three or more days.
How Often People Check Email Daily
| Constantly | 33.5% |
| Whenever they see a notification | 31.2% |
| Every 5 minutes | 3% |
| Every 19 minutes | 3.9% |
| Every 30 minutes | 7.5% |
| Once an hour | 11.8% |
| Twice a day | 3.4% |
| Once a day | 4.8% |
| Less than once a day | 2% |
Time Management Techniques
- On average, individuals attempt 13 time management methods.
- Only 18% of people have a proper time management system; the rest rely on lists or their email inboxes.
- The Eisenhower matrix is the most successful time management technique, with 100% of users feeling their work is under control four or five days a week.
- The Pomodoro Technique ranks second, with 60% of users feeling their work is under control 4 or 5 days a week.
- 33% of people manage their time and tasks using a To-Do List.
- 24% of individuals use their Email Inbox for time and task management.
- 12% schedule all their tasks in advance using a diary.
- 25% handle tasks based on perceived importance at the time, which is the least successful technique, with most users feeling their work is rarely or never under control.
- 70% of business professionals use a “to-do” list regularly to manage their tasks.
- Time blocking is the most common time management system (5%), followed by the Rapid Planning Method (3%) and the Eisenhower Matrix (2%).
- According to Timewatch, 91% of respondents agree that better time management reduces workplace stress, 90% believe it increases productivity, and 86% think it enhances focus on tasks.
- 84% of respondents believe better time management accelerates goal achievement, 82% say it boosts confidence at work, and 75% think it improves workplace relationships and leads to more free time.
How Americans Manage Their Time
| To-Do List | 33% |
| Whatever seems most important | 25% |
| Email inbox | 24% |
| Diary scheduling | 12% |
| Time boxing | 3% |
| Pomodoro technique | 2% |
| Eisenhower matrix | 2% |
| Eat that Frog | 1% |
Students Time Management Statistics
- 87% of college students believe that practicing time management skills can improve their academic performance.
- Middle school girls tend to outperform boys in time management skills.
- Only 48% of college students use a calendar to organize their time, tasks, and obligations.
- 13.6% of college students feel they need to attend class more frequently, and 74% spend less than 20% of their time on partying.
- Research shows that teaching time management skills to adolescent students with impairments can increase their test scores by 25% to 82%.
- On average, students spend 3.13 hours per day on homework or research.
- Summer vacation requests typically last an average of 2.34 days.
- In a survey, 52% of respondents noted an increase in their workload during the summer.
- 75% of parents who transport their kids to school do so out of convenience and necessity.
- During the holidays, many people prioritize spending time with family over excessive work. US workers request time off twice as frequently in December compared to other months.
- Teachers spend approximately 60% of their working day instructing students (according to Scholastic).
- 47% of college students feel that high school did not adequately prepare them for the organizational demands of college classrooms.
- 48% of students still use a handwritten notepad to record assignments and due dates.
- 50% of students admit to using no time management tools at all.
Time Spent In Irrelevant Meetings
| Number Of Employees | Hours Per Day | Hours Per Month | Hours Per Year |
| 5 | 14 | 300 | 3600 |
| 10 | 29 | 600 | 7200 |
| 20 | 57 | 1200 | 14,400 |
| 50 | 143 | 3000 | 36,000 |
| 100 | 285 | 6000 | 72,000 |
| 250 | 713 | 15,000 | 180,000 |
| 500 | 1,425 | 30,000 | 360,000 |
| 1000 | 2,850 | 60,000 | 720,000 |
Poor Time Management Statistics
- In 2020, Americans spent an average of 1,320 hours on social media, as per Zippa.com research.
- The average UK adult watches approximately 1000 hours of live TV each year.
- Worldwide, internet users spend an average of 16 hours online per month, while in the US, the average is 32 hours.
- 52% of Twitter users use the platform daily, with sessions lasting less than five minutes on average.
- YouTube viewers watch over one billion hours of video daily, with mobile devices accounting for 40.9% of those hours.
- Email sending and reading are the most common online activities, reported by 92% of users, followed by using search engines (89%).
- Each employee loses an average of three hours per day due to workplace distractions.
- Unnecessary commutes (13%), meetings (16%), and emails (23%) are the most frequent low-value activities that waste people’s time.
- According to Finances Online, staff members are projected to spend over 44 minutes daily on social media in 2020.
- On average, individuals check their phones 58 times per day.
- Within three minutes of a previous pickup, 50% of phone calls will be answered.
- More people prefer using their mobile calendar over a desktop calendar, with 70% of individuals utilizing mobile calendars.
- The typical leader attends 37 meetings per week, according to a survey.
- Americans check their phones an average of 96 times per day.
- Office noise and sociable coworkers are the top two workplace distractions, cited by 80% and 70% of employees, respectively.
- The average employee spends 51% of their workday on tasks that have little to no value.
- 39% of participants admit to multitasking during online meetings to complete unfinished tasks (according to Microsoft).
- Around 76% of employees report spending approximately 10 hours per week moving data (according to Zapier).
People Spending Time on Tasks That Are Not Important To Their Role
| Less Than 1 Hour A Day | 38% |
| 1-2 hours a day | 32% |
| 2-3 hours a day | 17% |
| 3-4 hours a day | 7% |
| 4-5 hours a day | 6% |
| 5-6 hours a day | 4$ |
