30 Time Management Statistics for Executives and Small Business Owners

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Poor time management is more than an inconvenience; it’s a serious stressor for many small business owners. It causes deadlines to pass unnoticed, accumulates into countless wasted hours in your work day, and forces you to constantly compromise the things you want to do for the things you have to do. 

For all of the professional procrastinators and to-do list dawdlers, finding ways to squeeze the most out of your day while making time for family, hobbies, and activities outside of work feels impossible. Worst yet, it’s not uncommon for small business owners to feel busy all the time yet still face an overwhelming workload at the end of an exhausting day. 

To lend a little perspective on the topic and remind you that you’re not alone in your struggles, we’ve rounded up 30 time management statistics that might be the motivation you need to finally commit to a system that works for you. 

General Time Management Statistics

  1. Only 18% of people use a dedicated, consistent time management system. [Source]
  2. 54% of professionals feel that they are only productive for 70% of their workday. [Source]
  3. A whopping 91% of employees feel that they have less work-related stress when using a time management solution. [Source]
  4. Business owners only spend around 32% of their day working ON their business rather than IN their business. [Source]
  5. 20% of business owners work more than 60 hours per week, with 97% stating that they work weekends. [Source]
  6. 66% of people feel that they have control of their work most of the time, while 21% feel that their work is rarely under their control. [Source]
  7. The average person spends 91 minutes daily on tasks that are irrelevant to their job role.  [Source]
  8. 35% of employees feel that poor time management is the main obstacle to their productivity.  [Source]
  9. 26% of work is completed outside of office hours. [Source]

Time Management Methods

  1. According to Acuity Training, 10-12 minutes spent planning your workday can save up to 2 hours of lost time. [Source]
  2. The Eisenhower Matrix is the most effective time management solution, followed by the Pomodoro Technique. [Source]
  3. Tackling tasks as they come up is the least effective strategy. [Source]
  4. The most productive work hours for most offices are 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, with an average of nine tasks achieved by employees. [Source]
  5. 49% of people have never conducted a time audit. [Source]
  6.  To-do lists are the most common time management method, with 38% of people relying on them to remember tasks. [Source]
  7. The least popular method is “Eat the Frog,” with less than 1% of employees using this strategy. [Source]
  8. In a Zippia study, they found that people tried, on average, 13 different time management methods. [Source]

Work Day Time Wasters

  1. On an average workday, employees only spend 10 minutes and 30 seconds on a task before they are interrupted.  [Source]
  2. 44% of work interruptions are self-interruptions, which include trying to multi-task, shifting to a new task before finishing the previous one, and distractive thinking. [Source]
  3. One of the top workday “time sucks” is excessive meetings, according to 67% of employees. [Source]
  4. Another study showed that 80% felt the biggest distraction was social coworkers, followed by 70% noting noisy offices as a key distractor. [Source]
  5. Executives spend, on average, 23 hours per week in meetings. [Source]
  6. 77% of employees say that they use social media at work. [Source
  7. 32% of people say they are “constantly” checking their emails. [Source]
  8. The average office worker receives 191 messages per day. [Source]

What is the Cost of Poor Time Management?

  1.  Office interruptions cost US businesses $650 billion per year in lost productivity. [Source]
  2. Trying to multitask can reduce productivity by up to 40%, particularly when it consists of rapidly switching between activities. [Source]
  3. Teams that identify as “low engagement” have up to 43% more turnovers than those that are highly engaged. [Source]
  4. 50% of people say that they are burned out because of work. [Source]
  5. 29% of people feel “quite a bit” or “extremely” at work. [Source]

It’s Time to Get a Handle on Your Time Management

Needless to say, these time management statistics are startling proof that every executive and business owner needs to turn a keen eye on how they and their employees spend workday hours. While it will take some time to get everybody– including yourself– on board, it’s too costly to continue wasting time, money, and resources on things that don’t matter. 

Before you can authentically expect your employees to get on board, though, it’s vital that you’ve developed excellent time management skills. That’s where a business coach comes in.

Not only can Lori help you work through your hangups and hiccups on your journey to a more efficient workday, but she can also guide you on implementing these methods with your team. It’s a win-win for yourself, your business, and your employees. 

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