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Does time management work? A meta-analysis

1 Concordia University, Sir George Williams Campus, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Aïda Faber

2 FSA Ulaval, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Alexandra Panaccio

Associated data.

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

Does time management work? We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the impact of time management on performance and well-being. Results show that time management is moderately related to job performance, academic achievement, and wellbeing. Time management also shows a moderate, negative relationship with distress. Interestingly, individual differences and contextual factors have a much weaker association with time management, with the notable exception of conscientiousness. The extremely weak correlation with gender was unexpected: women seem to manage time better than men, but the difference is very slight. Further, we found that the link between time management and job performance seems to increase over the years: time management is more likely to get people a positive performance review at work today than in the early 1990s. The link between time management and gender, too, seems to intensify: women’s time management scores have been on the rise for the past few decades. We also note that time management seems to enhance wellbeing—in particular, life satisfaction—to a greater extent than it does performance. This challenges the common perception that time management first and foremost enhances work performance, and that wellbeing is simply a byproduct.

Introduction

Stand-up comedian George Carlin once quipped that in the future a “time machine will be built, but no one will have time to use it” [ 1 ]. Portentously, booksellers now carry one-minute bedtime stories for time-starved parents [ 2 ] and people increasingly speed-watch videos and speed-listen to audio books [ 3 – 5 ]. These behaviors are symptomatic of an increasingly harried society suffering from chronic time poverty [ 6 ]. Work is intensifying—in 1965 about 50% of workers took breaks; in 2003, less than 2% [ 7 ]. Leisure, too, is intensifying: people strive to consume music, social media, vacations, and other leisure activities ever more efficiently [ 8 – 11 ].

In this frantic context, time management is often touted as a panacea for time pressure. Media outlets routinely extol the virtues of time management. Employers, educators, parents, and politicians exhort employees, students, children, and citizens to embrace more efficient ways to use time [ 12 – 16 ]. In light of this, it is not surprising that from 1960 to 2008 the frequency of books mentioning time management shot up by more than 2,700% [ 17 ].

Time management is defined as “a form of decision making used by individuals to structure, protect, and adapt their time to changing conditions” [ 18 ]. This means time management, as it is generally portrayed in the literature, comprises three components: structuring, protecting, and adapting time. Well-established time management measures reflect these concepts. Structuring time, for instance, is captured in such items as “Do you have a daily routine which you follow?” and “Do your main activities during the day fit together in a structured way?” [ 19 ]. Protecting time is reflected in items such as “Do you often find yourself doing things which interfere with your schoolwork simply because you hate to say ‘No’ to people?” [ 20 ]. And adapting time to changing conditions is seen in such items as “Uses waiting time” and “Evaluates daily schedule” [ 21 ].

Research has, furthermore, addressed several important aspects of time management, such as its relationship with work-life balance [ 22 ], whether gender differences in time management ability develop in early childhood [ 23 ], and whether organizations that encourage employees to manage their time experience less stress and turnover [ 24 ]. Despite the phenomenal popularity of this topic, however, academic research has yet to address some fundamental questions [ 25 – 27 ].

A critical gap in time management research is the question of whether time management works [ 28 , 29 ]. For instance, studies on the relationship between time management and job performance reveal mixed findings [ 30 , 31 ]. Furthermore, scholars’ attempts to synthesize the literature have so far been qualitative, precluding a quantitative overall assessment [ 18 , 32 , 33 ]. To tackle this gap in our understanding of time management, we conducted a meta-analysis. In addressing the question of whether time management works, we first clarify the criteria for effectiveness. In line with previous reviews, we find that virtually all studies focus on two broad outcomes: performance and wellbeing [ 32 ].

Overall, results suggest that time management enhances job performance, academic achievement, and wellbeing. Interestingly, individual differences (e.g., gender, age) and contextual factors (e.g., job autonomy, workload) were much less related to time management ability, with the notable exception of personality and, in particular, conscientiousness. Furthermore, the link between time management and job performance seems to grow stronger over the years, perhaps reflecting the growing need to manage time in increasingly autonomous and flexible jobs [ 34 – 37 ].

Overall, our findings provide academics, policymakers, and the general audience with better information to assess the value of time management. This information is all the more useful amid the growing doubts about the effectiveness of time management [ 38 ]. We elaborate on the contributions and implications of our findings in the discussion section.

What does it mean to say that time management works?

In the din of current debates over productivity, reduced workweeks, and flexible hours, time management comes to the fore as a major talking point. Given its popularity, it would seem rather pointless to question its effectiveness. Indeed, time management’s effectiveness is often taken for granted, presumably because time management offers a seemingly logical solution to a lifestyle that increasingly requires coordination and prioritization skills [ 39 , 40 ].

Yet, popular media outlets increasingly voice concern and frustration over time management, reflecting at least part of the population’s growing disenchantment [ 38 ]. This questioning of time management practices is becoming more common among academics as well [ 41 ]. As some have noted, the issue is not just whether time management works. Rather, the question is whether the techniques championed by time management gurus can be actually counterproductive or even harmful [ 26 , 42 ]. Other scholars have raised concerns that time management may foster an individualistic, quantitative, profit-oriented view of time that perpetuates social inequalities [ 43 , 44 ]. For instance, time management manuals beguile readers with promises of boundless productivity that may not be accessible to women, whose disproportionate share in care work, such as tending to young children, may not fit with typically male-oriented time management advice [ 45 ]. Similarly, bestselling time management books at times offer advice that reinforce global inequities. Some manuals, for instance, recommend delegating trivial tasks to private virtual assistants, who often work out of developing countries for measly wages [ 46 ]. Furthermore, time management manuals often ascribe a financial value to time—the most famous time management adage is that time is money. But recent studies show that thinking of time as money leads to a slew of negative outcomes, including time pressure, stress, impatience, inability to enjoy the moment, unwillingness to help others, and less concern with the environment [ 47 – 51 ]. What’s more, the pressure induced by thinking of time as money may ultimately undermine psychological and physical health [ 52 ].

Concerns over ethics and safety notwithstanding, a more prosaic question researchers have grappled with is whether time management works. Countless general-audience books and training programs have claimed that time management improves people’s lives in many ways, such as boosting performance at work [ 53 – 55 ]. Initial academic forays into addressing this question challenged those claims: time management didn’t seem to improve job performance [ 29 , 30 ]. Studies used a variety of research approaches, running the gamut from lab experiments, field experiments, longitudinal studies, and cross-sectional surveys to experience sampling [ 28 , 56 – 58 ]. Such studies occasionally did find an association between time management and performance, but only in highly motivated workers [ 59 ]; instances establishing a more straightforward link with performance were comparatively rare [ 31 ]. Summarizing these insights, reviews of the literature concluded that the link between time management and job performance is unclear; the link with wellbeing, however, seemed more compelling although not conclusive [ 18 , 32 ].

It is interesting to note that scholars often assess the effectiveness time management by its ability to influence some aspect of performance, wellbeing, or both. In other words, the question of whether time management works comes down to asking whether time management influences performance and wellbeing. The link between time management and performance at work can be traced historically to scientific management [ 60 ]. Nevertheless, even though modern time management can be traced to scientific management in male-dominated work settings, a feminist reading of time management history reveals that our modern idea of time management also descends from female time management thinkers of the same era, such as Lillian Gilbreth, who wrote treatises on efficient household management [ 43 , 61 , 62 ]. As the link between work output and time efficiency became clearer, industrialists went to great lengths to encourage workers to use their time more rationally [ 63 – 65 ]. Over time, people have internalized a duty to be productive and now see time management as a personal responsibility at work [ 43 , 66 , 67 ]. The link between time management and academic performance can be traced to schools’ historical emphasis on punctuality and timeliness. In more recent decades, however, homework expectations have soared [ 68 ] and parents, especially well-educated ones, have been spending more time preparing children for increasingly competitive college admissions [ 69 , 70 ]. In this context, time management is seen as a necessary skill for students to thrive in an increasingly cut-throat academic world. Finally, the link between time management and wellbeing harks back to ancient scholars, who emphasized that organizing one’s time was necessary to a life well-lived [ 71 , 72 ]. More recently, empirical studies in the 1980s examined the effect of time management on depressive symptoms that often plague unemployed people [ 19 , 73 ]. Subsequent studies surmised that the effective use of time might prevent a host of ills, such as work-life conflict and job stress [ 22 , 74 ].

Overall, then, various studies have looked into the effectiveness of time management. Yet, individual studies remain narrow in scope and reviews of the literature offer only a qualitative—and often inconclusive—assessment. To provide a more quantifiable answer to the question of whether time management works, we performed a meta-analysis, the methods of which we outline in what follows.

Literature search and inclusion criteria

We performed a comprehensive search using the keywords “time management” across the EBSCO databases Academic Search Complete , Business Source Complete , Computers & Applied Sciences Complete , Gender Studies Database , MEDLINE , Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection , PsycINFO , SocINDEX , and Education Source . The search had no restrictions regarding country and year of publication and included peer-reviewed articles up to 2019. To enhance comprehensiveness, we also ran a forward search on the three main time management measures: the Time Management Behavior Scale [ 21 ], the Time Structure Questionnaire [ 19 ], and the Time Management Questionnaire [ 20 ]. (A forward search tracks all the papers that have cited a particular work. In our case the forward search located all the papers citing the three time management scales available on Web of Science .)

Time management measures typically capture three aspects of time management: structuring, protecting, and adapting time to changing conditions. Structuring refers to how people map their activities to time using a schedule, a planner, or other devices that represent time in a systematic way [ 75 – 77 ]. Protecting refers to how people set boundaries around their time to repel intruders [ 78 , 79 ]. Examples include people saying no to time-consuming requests from colleagues or friends as well as turning off one’s work phone during family dinners. Finally, adapting one’s time to changing conditions means, simply put, to be responsive and flexible with one’s time structure [ 80 , 81 ]. Furthermore, time management measures typically probe behaviors related to these three dimensions (e.g., using a schedule to structure one’s day, making use of downtime), although they sometimes also capture people’s attitudes (e.g., whether people feel in control of their time).

As shown in Fig 1 , the initial search yielded 10,933 hits, excluding duplicates.

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The search included no terms other than “time management” to afford the broadest possible coverage of time management correlates. Nevertheless, as shown in Table 1 , we focused exclusively on quantitative, empirical studies of time management in non-clinical samples. Successive rounds of screening, first by assessing paper titles and abstracts and then by perusing full-text articles, whittled down the number of eligible studies to 158 (see Fig 1 ).

Data extraction and coding

We extracted eligible effect sizes from the final pool of studies; effect sizes were mostly based on means and correlations. In our initial data extraction, we coded time management correlates using the exact variable names found in each paper. For instance, “work-life imbalance” was initially coded in those exact terms, rather than “work-life conflict.” Virtually all time management correlates we extracted fell under the category of performance and/or wellbeing. This pattern tallies with previous reviews of the literature [ 18 , 32 ]. A sizable number of variables also fell under the category of individual differences and contextual factors, such as age, personality, and job autonomy. After careful assessment of the extracted variables, we developed a coding scheme using a nested structure shown in Table 2 .

Aeon and Aguinis suggested that time management influences performance, although the strength of that relationship may depend on how performance is defined [ 18 ]. Specifically, they proposed that time management may have a stronger impact on behaviors conducive to performance (e.g., motivation, proactiveness) compared to assessments of performance (e.g., supervisor rankings). For this reason, we distinguish between results- and behavior-based performance in our coding scheme, both in professional and academic settings. Furthermore, wellbeing indicators can be positive (e.g., life satisfaction) or negative (e.g., anxiety). We expect time management to influence these variables in opposite ways; it would thus make little sense to analyze them jointly. Accordingly, we differentiate between wellbeing (positive) and distress (negative).

In our second round of coding, we used the scheme shown in Table 2 to cluster together kindred variables. For instance, we grouped “work-life imbalance,” “work-life conflict” and “work-family conflict” under an overarching “work-life conflict” category. The authors reviewed each variable code and resolved rare discrepancies to ultimately agree on all coded variables. Note that certain variables, such as self-actualization, covered only one study (i.e., one effect size). While one or two effect sizes is not enough to conduct a meta-analysis, they can nonetheless be grouped with other effect sizes belonging to the same category (e.g., self-actualization and sense of purpose belong the broader category of overall wellbeing). For this reason, we included variables with one or two effect sizes for comprehensiveness.

Meta-analytic procedures

We conducted all meta-analyses following the variables and cluster of variables outlined in Table 2 . We opted to run all analyses with a random effects model. The alternative—a fixed effects model—assumes that all studies share a common true effect size (i.e., linking time management and a given outcome) which they approximate. This assumption is unrealistic because it implies that the factors influencing the effect size are the same in all studies [ 83 ]. In other words, a fixed effects model assumes that the factors affecting time management are similar across all studies—the fallacy underlying this assumption was the main theme of Aeon and Aguinis’s review [ 18 ]. To perform our analyses, we used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis v.3 [ 84 ], a program considered highly reliable and valid in various systematic assessments [ 85 , 86 ].

Meta-analyses do not typically perform calculations on correlations (e.g., Pearson’s r). Instead, we transformed correlations into Fisher’s z scales [ 83 ]. The transformation was done with z = 0.5 × ln ( 1 + r 1 − r ) , where r represents the correlation extracted from each individual study. The variance of Fisher’s Z was calculated as V z = 1 n − 3 where n corresponds to the study’s sample size; the standard error of Fisher’s Z was calculated as S E z = V z .

In many cases, studies reported how variables correlated with an overall time management score. In some cases, however, studies reported only correlations with discrete time management subscales (e.g., short-range planning, attitudes toward time, use of time management tools), leaving out the overall effect. In such cases, we averaged out the effect sizes of the subscales to compute a summary effect [ 83 ]. This was necessary not only because meta-analyses admit only one effect size per study, but also because our focus is on time management as a whole rather than on subscales. Similarly, when we analyzed the link between time management and a high-level cluster of variables (e.g., overall wellbeing rather than specific variables such as life satisfaction), there were studies with more than one relevant outcome (e.g., a study that captured both life satisfaction and job satisfaction). Again, because meta-analyses allow for only one effect size (i.e., variable) per study, we used the mean of different variables to compute an overall effect sizes in studies that featured more than one outcome [ 83 ].

Overall description of the literature

We analyzed 158 studies for a total number of 490 effect sizes. 21 studies explored performance in a professional context, 76 performance in an academic context, 30 investigated wellbeing (positive), and 58 distress. Interestingly, studies did not systematically report individual differences, as evidenced by the fact that only 21 studies reported correlations with age, and only between 10 and 15 studies measured personality (depending on the personality trait). Studies that measured contextual factors were fewer still—between 3 and 7 (depending on the contextual factor). These figures fit with Aeon and Aguinis’s observation that the time management literature often overlooks internal and external factors that can influence the way people manage time [ 18 ].

With one exception, we found no papers fitting our inclusion criteria before the mid-1980s. Publication trends also indicate an uptick in time management studies around the turn of the millennium, with an even higher number around the 2010s. This trend is consistent with the one Shipp and Cole identified, revealing a surge in time-related papers in organizational behavior around the end of the 1980s [ 87 ].

It is also interesting to note that the first modern time management books came out in the early 1970s, including the The Time Trap (1972), by Alec MacKenzie and How to Get Control of your Time and your Life (1973), by Alan Lakein. These books inspired early modern time management research [ 21 , 58 , 88 ]. It is thus very likely that the impetus for modern time management research came from popular practitioner manuals.

To assess potential bias in our sample of studies, we computed different estimates of publication bias (see Table 3 ). Overall, publication bias remains relatively low (see funnel plots in S1). Publication bias occurs when there is a bias against nonsignificant or even negative results because such results are seen as unsurprising and not counterintuitive. In this case, however, the fact that time management is generally expected to lead to positive outcomes offers an incentive to publish nonsignificant or negative results, which would be counterintuitive [ 89 ]. By the same token, the fact that some people feel that time management is ineffective [ 38 ] provides an incentive to publish papers that link time management with positive outcomes. In other words, opposite social expectations surrounding time management might reduce publication bias.

Finally, we note that the link between time management and virtually all outcomes studied is highly heterogeneous (as measured, for instance, by Cochran’s Q and Higgins & Thompson’s I 2 ; see tables below). This high level of heterogeneity suggests that future research should pay more attention to moderating factors (e.g., individual differences).

Time management and performance in professional settings

Overall, time management has a moderate impact on performance at work, with correlations hovering around r = .25. We distinguish between results-based and behavior-based performance. The former measures performance as an outcome (e.g., performance appraisals by supervisors) whereas the latter measures performance as behavioral contributions (e.g., motivation, job involvement). Time management seems related to both types of performance. Although the effect size for results-based performance is lower than that of behavior-based performance, moderation analysis reveals the difference is not significant (p > .05), challenging Aeon and Aguinis’s conclusions [ 18 ].

Interestingly, the link between time management and performance displays much less heterogeneity (see Q and I 2 statistics in Table 4 ) than the link between time management and other outcomes (see tables below). The studies we summarize in Table 4 include both experimental and non-experimental designs; they also use different time management measures. As such, we can discount, to a certain extent, the effect of methodological diversity. We can perhaps explain the lower heterogeneity by the fact that when people hold a full-time job, they usually are at a relatively stable stage in life. In school, by contrast, a constellation of factors (e.g., financial stability and marital status, to name a few) conspire to affect time management outcomes. Furthermore, work contexts are a typically more closed system than life in general. For this reason, fewer factors stand to disrupt the link between time management and job performance than that between time management and, say, life satisfaction. Corroborating this, note how, in Table 6 below, the link between time management and job satisfaction ( I 2 = 58.70) is much less heterogeneous than the one between time management and life satisfaction ( I 2 = 95.45).

* p < .05

** p < .01

*** p < .001.

k = number of studies related to the variable | N = total sample size related to the variable.

r = effect size of the correlation between time management and the variable | 95% CI = confidence interval of the effect size.

Q = Cochran’s Q, a measure of between-study heterogeneity | τ 2 = measure of between-study variance | I 2 = alternative measure of between-study heterogeneity.

Moreover, we note that the relationship between time management and job performance (see Fig 2 ) significantly increases over the years ( B = .0106, p < .01, Q model = 8.52(1), Q residual = 15.54(9), I 2 = 42.08, R 2 analog = .75).

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Time management and performance in academic settings

Overall, the effect of time management on performance seems to be slightly higher in academic settings compared to work settings, although the magnitude of the effect remains moderate (see Table 5 ). Here again, we distinguish between results- and behavior-based performance. Time management’s impact on behavior-based performance seems much higher than on results-based performance—a much wider difference than the one we observed in professional settings. This suggests than results-based performance in academic settings depends less on time management than results-based performance in professional settings. This means that time management is more likely to get people a good performance review at work than a strong GPA in school.

In particular, time management seems to be much more negatively related to procrastination in school than at work. Although we cannot establish causation in all studies, we note that some of them featured experimental designs that established a causal effect of time management on reducing procrastination [ 90 ].

Interestingly, time management was linked to all types of results-based performance except for standardized tests. This is perhaps due to the fact that standardized tests tap more into fluid intelligence, a measure of intelligence independent of acquired knowledge [ 91 ]. GPA and regular exam scores, in contrast, tap more into crystallized intelligence, which depends mostly on accumulated knowledge. Time management can thus assist students in organizing their time to acquire the knowledge necessary to ace a regular exam; for standardized exams that depend less on knowledge and more on intelligence, however, time management may be less helpful. Evidence from other studies bears this out: middle school students’ IQ predicts standardized achievement tests scores better than self-control while self-control predicts report card grades better than IQ [ 92 ]. (For our purposes, we can use self-control as a very rough proxy for time management.) Relatedly, we found no significant relationship between time management and cognitive ability in our meta-analysis (see Table 8 ).

a Female = 1; Male = 2.

b Single = 1; Married = 2.

Time management and wellbeing

On the whole, time management has a slightly stronger impact on wellbeing than on performance. This is unexpected, considering how the dominant discourse points to time management as a skill for professional career development. Of course, the dominant discourse also frames time management as necessary for wellbeing and stress reduction, but to a much lesser extent. Our finding that time management has a stronger influence on wellbeing in no way negates the importance of time management as a work skill. Rather, this finding challenges the intuitive notion that time management is more effective for work than for other life domains. As further evidence, notice how in Table 6 the effect of time management on life satisfaction is 72% stronger than that on job satisfaction.

Time management and distress

Time management seems to allay various forms of distress, although to a lesser extent than it enhances wellbeing. The alleviating effect on psychological distress is particularly strong ( r = -0.358; see Table 7 ).

That time management has a weaker effect on distress should not be surprising. First, wellbeing and distress are not two poles on opposite ends of a spectrum. Although related, wellbeing and distress are distinct [ 93 ]. Thus, there is no reason to expect time management to have a symmetrical effect on wellbeing and distress. Second, and relatedly, the factors that influence wellbeing and distress are also distinct. Specifically, self-efficacy (i.e., seeing oneself as capable) is a distinct predictor of wellbeing while neuroticism and life events in general are distinct predictors of distress [ 94 ]. It stands to reason that time management can enhance self-efficacy. (Or, alternatively, that people high in self-efficacy would be more likely to engage in time management, although experimental evidence suggests that time management training makes people feel more in control of their time [ 89 ]; it is thus plausible that time management may have a causal effect on self-efficacy. Relatedly, note how time management ability is strongly related to internal locus of control in Table 8 ) In contrast, time management can do considerably less in the way of tackling neuroticism and dampening the emotional impact of tragic life events. In other words, the factors that affect wellbeing may be much more within the purview of time management than the factors that affect distress. For this reason, time management may be less effective in alleviating distress than in improving wellbeing.

Time management and individual differences

Time management is, overall, less related to individual differences than to other variables.

Age, for instance, hardly correlates with time management (with a relatively high consistency between studies, I 2 = 55.79, see Table 8 above).

Similarly, gender only tenuously correlates with time management, although in the expected direction: women seem to have stronger time management abilities than men. The very weak association with gender ( r = -0.087) is particularly surprising given women’s well-documented superior self-regulation skills [ 95 ]. That being said, women’s time management abilities seem to grow stronger over the years ( N = 37, B = -.0049, p < .05, Q model = 3.89(1), Q residual = 218.42(35), I 2 = 83.98, R 2 analog = .03; also see Fig 3 below). More realistically, this increase may not be due to women’s time management abilities getting stronger per se but, rather, to the fact that women now have more freedom to manage their time [ 96 ].

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Other demographic indicators, such as education and number of children, were nonsignificant. Similarly, the relationships between time management and personal attributes and attitudes were either weak or nonsignificant, save for two notable exceptions. First, the link between time management and internal locus of control (i.e., the extent to which people perceive they’re in control of their lives) is quite substantial. This is not surprising, because time management presupposes that people believe they can change their lives. Alternatively, it may be that time management helps people strengthen their internal locus of control, as experimental evidence suggests [ 89 ]. Second, the link between time management and self-esteem is equally substantial. Here again, one can make the argument either way: people with high self-esteem might be confident enough to manage their time or, conversely, time management may boost self-esteem. The two options are not mutually exclusive: people with internal loci of control and high self-esteem levels can feel even more in control of their lives and better about themselves through time management.

We also note a very weak but statistically significant negative association between time management and multitasking. It has almost become commonsense that multitasking does not lead to performance [ 97 ]. As a result, people with stronger time management skills might deliberately steer clear of this notoriously ineffective strategy.

In addition, time management was mildly related to hours spent studying but not hours spent working. (These variables cover only student samples working part- or full-time and thus do not apply to non-student populations.) This is consistent with time-use studies revealing that teenagers and young adults spend less time working and more time studying [ 98 ]. Students who manage their time likely have well-defined intentions, and trends suggest those intentions will target education over work because, it is hoped, education offers larger payoffs over the long-term [ 99 ].

In terms of contextual factors, time management does not correlate significantly with job autonomy. This is surprising, as we expected autonomy to be a prerequisite for time management (i.e., you can’t manage time if you don’t have the freedom to). Nevertheless, qualitative studies have shown how even in environments that afford little autonomy (e.g., restaurants), workers can carve out pockets of time freedom to momentarily cut loose [ 100 ]. Thus, time management behaviors may flourish even in the most stymying settings. In addition, the fact that time management is associated with less role overload and previous attendance of time management training programs makes sense: time management can mitigate the effect of heavy workloads and time management training, presumably, improves time management skills.

Finally, time management is linked to all personality traits. Moreover, previous reviews of the literature have commented on the link between time management and conscientiousness in particular [ 32 ]. What our study reveals is the substantial magnitude of the effect ( r = 0.451). The relationship is not surprising: conscientiousness entails orderliness and organization, which overlap significantly with time management. That time management correlates so strongly with personality (and so little with other individual differences) lends credence to the dispositional view of time management [ 101 – 103 ]. However, this finding should not be taken to mean that time management is a highly inheritable, fixed ability. Having a “you either have it or you don’t” view of time management is not only counterproductive [ 104 ] but also runs counter to evidence showing that time management training does, in fact, help people manage their time better.

Does time management work? It seems so. Time management has a moderate influence on job performance, academic achievement, and wellbeing. These three outcomes play an important role in people’s lives. Doing a good job at work, getting top grades in school, and nurturing psychological wellbeing contribute to a life well lived. Widespread exhortations to get better at time management are thus not unfounded: the importance of time management is hard to overstate.

Contributions

Beyond answering the question of whether time management works, this study contributes to the literature in three major ways. First, we quantify the impact of time management on several outcomes. We thus not only address the question of whether time management works, but also, and importantly, gauge to what extent time management works. Indeed, our meta-analysis covers 53,957 participants, which allows for a much more precise, quantified assessment of time management effectiveness compared to qualitative reviews.

Second, this meta-analysis systematically assesses relationships between time management and a host of individual differences and contextual factors. This helps us draw a more accurate portrait of potential antecedents of higher (or lower) scores on time management measures.

Third, our findings challenge intuitive ideas concerning what time management is for. Specifically, we found that time management enhances wellbeing—and in particular life satisfaction—to a greater extent than it does various types of performance. This runs against the popular belief that time management primarily helps people perform better and that wellbeing is simply a byproduct of better performance. Of course, it may be that wellbeing gains, even if higher than performance gains, hinge on performance; that is to say, people may need to perform better as a prerequisite to feeling happier. But this argument doesn’t jibe with experiments showing that even in the absence of performance gains, time management interventions do increase wellbeing [ 89 ]. This argument also founders in the face of evidence linking time management with wellbeing among the unemployed [ 105 ], unemployment being an environment where performance plays a negligible role, if any. As such, this meta-analysis lends support to definitions of time management that are not work- or performance-centric.

Future research and limitations

This meta-analysis questions whether time management should be seen chiefly as a performance device. Our questioning is neither novel nor subversive: historically people have managed time for other reasons than efficiency, such as spiritual devotion and philosophical contemplation [ 72 , 106 , 107 ]. It is only with relatively recent events, such as the Industrial Revolution and waves of corporate downsizing, that time management has become synonymous with productivity [ 43 , 65 ]. We hope future research will widen its scope and look more into outcomes other than performance, such as developing a sense of meaning in life [ 108 ]. One of the earliest time management studies, for instance, explored how time management relates to having a sense of purpose [ 73 ]. However, very few studies followed suit since. Time management thus stands to become a richer, more inclusive research area by investigating a wider array of outcomes.

In addition, despite the encouraging findings of this meta-analysis we must refrain from seeing time management as a panacea. Though time management can make people’s lives better, it is not clear how easy it is for people to learn how to manage their time adequately. More importantly, being “good” at time management is often a function of income, education, and various types of privilege [ 42 , 43 , 46 , 109 ]. The hackneyed maxim that “you have as many hours in a day as Beyoncé,” for instance, blames people for their “poor” time management in pointing out that successful people have just as much time but still manage to get ahead. Yet this ill-conceived maxim glosses over the fact that Beyoncé and her ilk do, in a sense, have more hours in a day than average people who can’t afford a nanny, chauffeur, in-house chefs, and a bevy of personal assistants. Future research should thus look into ways to make time management more accessible.

Furthermore, this meta-analysis rests on the assumption that time management training programs do enhance people’s time management skills. Previous reviews have noted the opacity surrounding time management interventions—studies often don’t explain what, exactly, is taught in time management training seminars [ 18 ]. As a result, comparing the effect of different interventions might come down to comparing apples and oranges. (This might partly account for the high heterogeneity between studies.) We hope that our definition of time management will spur future research into crafting more consistent, valid, and generalizable interventions that will allow for more meaningful comparisons.

Finally, most time management studies are cross-sectional. Yet it is very likely that the effect of time management compounds over time. If time management can help students get better grades, for instance, those grades can lead to better jobs down the line [ 110 ]. Crucially, learning a skill takes time, and if time management helps people make the time to learn a skill, then time management stands to dramatically enrich people’s lives. For this reason, longitudinal studies can track different cohorts to see how time management affects people’s lives over time. We expect that developing time management skills early on in life can create a compound effect whereby people acquire a variety of other skills thanks to their ability to make time.

Overall, this study offers the most comprehensive, precise, and fine-grained assessment of time management to date. We address the longstanding debate over whether time management influences job performance in revealing a positive, albeit moderate effect. Interestingly, we found that time management impacts wellbeing—and in particular life satisfaction—to a greater extent than performance. That means time management may be primarily a wellbeing enhancer, rather than a performance booster. Furthermore, individual and external factors played a minor role in time management, although this does not necessarily mean that time management’s effectiveness is universal. Rather, we need more research that focuses on the internal and external variables that affect time management outcomes. We hope this study will tantalize future research and guide practitioners in their attempt to make better use of their time.

Supporting information

S1 checklist, acknowledgments.

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our colleagues for their invaluable help: Mengchan Gao, Talha Aziz, Elizabeth Eley, Robert Nason, Andrew Ryder, Tracy Hecht, and Caroline Aubé.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Data Availability

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Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Does time management work? A meta-analysis

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Concordia University, Sir George Williams Campus, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Roles Methodology, Validation

Affiliation FSA Ulaval, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Roles Validation, Writing – review & editing

Brad Aeon,
Aïda Faber,
Alexandra Panaccio

Published: January 11, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066
Reader Comments

Citation: Aeon B, Faber A, Panaccio A (2021) Does time management work? A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 16(1): e0245066. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

Editor: Juan-Carlos Pérez-González, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED), SPAIN

Received: October 27, 2020; Accepted: December 21, 2020; Published: January 11, 2021

Copyright: © 2021 Aeon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist

Introduction

What does it mean to say that time management works?

Literature search and inclusion criteria

As shown in Fig 1 , the initial search yielded 10,933 hits, excluding duplicates.

PPT PowerPoint slide
PNG larger image
TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.g001

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t001

Data extraction and coding

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t002

Meta-analytic procedures

Overall description of the literature

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t003

Time management and performance in professional settings

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t004

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.g002

Time management and performance in academic settings

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t005

Time management and wellbeing

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t006

Time management and distress

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t007

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.t008

Time management and individual differences

Time management is, overall, less related to individual differences than to other variables.

Age, for instance, hardly correlates with time management (with a relatively high consistency between studies, I 2 = 55.79, see Table 8 above).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.g003

Contributions

Future research and limitations

Supporting information

S1 checklist. prisma 2009 checklist..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.s001

S1 File. Funnel plots.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.s002

S2 File. Dataset.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066.s003

Acknowledgments

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our colleagues for their invaluable help: Mengchan Gao, Talha Aziz, Elizabeth Eley, Robert Nason, Andrew Ryder, Tracy Hecht, and Caroline Aubé.

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How to manage your time as a researcher

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The importance of effective time management in research: Strategies for improving productivity

Research is a crucial aspect of academic and professional life, but it can be challenging to balance research responsibilities with other commitments. Effective time management is essential for researchers to be productive and achieve their goals without sacrificing their personal lives. In this article, we will explore the importance of time management in research and provide strategies for improving productivity.

Importance of Time Management in Research:

Effective time management is critical in research for several reasons. First, research requires a significant amount of time, and effective time management ensures that this time is used efficiently. Poor time management can result in missed deadlines, incomplete projects, and wasted resources. Second, time management can help researchers achieve a healthy work-life balance, which is essential for maintaining well-being and avoiding burnout. Third, time management can improve research outcomes by allowing researchers to focus on their work without distractions.

Strategies for Improving Productivity:

Here are some strategies for improving productivity through effective time management:

Plan Ahead: Effective time management begins with planning. Researchers should create a research plan that includes their goals, deadlines, and milestones. Planning helps researchers stay organized and avoid last-minute rushes.

Prioritize Tasks: Not all tasks in research are equally important. Researchers should prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. Tasks that are urgent and important should be given priority over tasks that are less critical.

Use Time-Blocking: Time-blocking is a technique that involves scheduling specific blocks of time for different tasks. Researchers can allocate time for specific activities, such as writing, data analysis, or meetings. Time-blocking can help researchers stay focused and avoid distractions.

Take Breaks: Taking breaks is essential for maintaining productivity. Researchers should take regular breaks to rest their minds and recharge their energy. Short breaks can help researchers stay refreshed and focused.

Avoid Multitasking: Multitasking can reduce productivity and increase stress. Researchers should focus on one task at a time and avoid distractions. Switching between tasks can reduce efficiency and increase the risk of errors.

Use Productivity Tools: There are several productivity tools available that can help researchers manage their time more effectively. Tools such as calendar apps, to-do lists, and project management software can help researchers stay organized and on track.

Delegate Tasks: Delegating tasks can help researchers save time and reduce their workload. Researchers can delegate tasks to research assistants or collaborators to free up their time for more critical activities.

Effective time management is critical for researchers to achieve their goals and maintain a healthy work-life balance. By planning ahead, prioritizing tasks, using time-blocking, taking breaks, avoiding multitasking, using productivity tools, and delegating tasks, researchers can improve their productivity and achieve their research objectives. Adopting these strategies can help researchers achieve their full potential and succeed in their research endeavors.

Effective Time Management Tips for Researchers

Efficient time management is essential at every stage of a researcher’s career. A researcher is expected to undertake several tasks such as carrying out experiments, writing reports, publishing papers , administrative tasks, teaching, and applying for funding. This amidst many frustrations including constant interruptions from emails, colleagues, and students as well as experiments that do not always go as planned. Time is a scarcity and hence, needs to be used wisely.

How Effective Time Management Helps

To be a successful researcher, it is important to remain focused on your work. This can be accomplished by effectively managing your time. Effective time management can make you more productive as a researcher and minimize the factors that drain your time such as procrastination and interruptions.

Effectively managing your time will help you experience:

improved job satisfaction
reduced stress
increased productivity

Expert Tips to effectively utilize time

Plan well: Plan your day according to your most productive times. If you are a morning person, schedule tasks that require more concentration early in the day. Create a to-do list in accordance with your plan.
Manage interruptions : Assign a fixed time during the day to deal with interruptions such as emails, phone calls, instant messages, and social media rather than allowing them to interrupt you throughout the day. You could waste up to half an hour of your time regaining your focus after you have been disturbed.
Use spare time effectively: Always keep something to read with you. A reading task can be done while waiting on a bus or in a queue.
Go Digital: Use a project management software to help you organize and keep control of all your tasks.
Avoid postponing : Needlessly postponing unpleasant tasks just delays completing them.
Practice self-discipline : Lack of self-discipline is a serious impediment. Stick to the plan.
Time buffers : Schedule an extra 50% of the time as a buffer when you schedule time for a task. If you do not use this buffer, you can use the time to tick off a quick task. But at least you won’t eat into the next task’s time slot.

Things to keep in mind

The only time you should multi-task is while you are waiting for an experiment such as an incubation step. People are much more productive when concentrating on one task at a time.
Make time for a break. Research has shown that you are less productive when you work long hours . The increase in stress and exhaustion not only slows you down; it leads to errors, accidents, and ill-health. Any of these factors could cost you extra time and decrease your productivity in the long run.
Avoid aggravation during group meetings and maintain a positive environment at work. This can certainly improve productivity.
Make time for meals. Deficiency of essential nutrients can have a deleterious effect on memory and cognitive ability.

Hopefully, this article will help you practice effective time management and make you a productive researcher.

Would you like to add any other useful tip? Let us know in the comments section below.

Time management is definitely very important when you want to stay productive and efficient. I am not very good at keeping track of my productivity, that’s why I use time tracking tools to help me out.

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Time Management: 10 Strategies for Better Time Management

The term Time Management is a misnomer. You cannot manage time; you manage the events in your life in relation to time. You may often wish for more time, but you only get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds each day. How you use that time depends on skills learned through self-analysis, planning, evaluation, and self-control. Much like money, time is both valuable and limited. It must be protected, used wisely, and budgeted.

People working and moving around a large clock.

Are more productive.
Have more energy for things they need to accomplish.
Feel less stressed.
Have more free time to do the things they want.
Get more things done.
Relate more positively to others.
Feel better about themselves. (Dodd and Subdheim, 2005)

Finding a time management strategy that works best for you depends on your personality, ability to self-motivate, and level of self-discipline. By incorporating some, or all the ten strategies below, you can more effectively manage your time.

1. Know How You Spend Your Time

A time log is a helpful way to determine how you use your time. Record what you are doing in 15-minute intervals for a week or two. Evaluate the results:

Did everything you needed to do get done?
Which tasks require the most time?
What time of day when you are most productive?
Where is most of your time is devoted (i.e. job, family, personal, recreation)?

Identifying your most time-consuming tasks and determining whether you are investing your time in the most important activities can help you to determine a course of action. Having a good sense of the time required for routine tasks can help you be more realistic in planning and estimating how much time is available for other activities. Many apps exist to help you keep track of your time, as mentioned in Strategy 3.

2. Set Priorities

Managing your time effectively requires a distinction between what is important and what is urgent (MacKenzie, 1990). Experts agree that the most important tasks usually aren’t the most urgent tasks. However, we tend to let the urgent tasks dominate our lives. Covey, Merrill, and Merrill (1994) categorize activities into four quadrants in their Time Management Matrix: urgent, not urgent, important, and not important. While activities that are both urgent and important must be done, Covey et al. suggests spending less time on activities that are not important (regardless of their urgency) to gain time for activities that are not urgent but important. Focusing on these important activities allows you to gain greater control over your time and may reduce the number of important tasks that become urgent.

Creating a "to do” list is an easy way to prioritize. Whether you need a daily, weekly, or monthly list depends on your lifestyle. Be careful to keep list-making from getting out of control. List manageable tasks rather than goals or multi-step plans. Rank the items on your “to do” list in order of priority (both important and urgent). You may choose to group items in categories such as high priority, medium priority, or low priority; number them in order of priority; or use a color-coding system. The goal is not to mark off the most items, but to mark off the highest priority items (MacKenzie, 1990). A prioritized “to do” list allows you to set boundaries so you can say “no” to activities that may be interesting or provide a sense of achievement but do not fit your basic priorities.

3. Use a Planning Tool

People constructing a tower of blocks reading

When using a planning tool:

Always record your information on the tool itself. Jotting notes elsewhere that must be transferred later is inefficient and wastes more time.
Review your planning tool daily.
Keep a list of your priorities in your planning tool and refer to it often.
Keep planning tools synchronized. If you keep more than one, make sure your phone, computer, and paper planning tools match.
Keep a back-up system.

Apps on your phone can be great planning tools. Apps typically fall into one of the following categories:

Time Trackers – Gain an awareness of how you spend your time.
Time Savers – Increase productivity and break time-wasting habits.
Task Managers – Prioritize and organize tasks to improve time management.
Habit Developers – Create healthy habits to encourage time management.

4. Get Organized

Disorganization leads to poor time management. Research has shown that clutter has a strong negative impact on perceived well-being (Roster, 2016). To improve your time management, get organized.

Set up three boxes (or corners of a room) labeled "Keep," "Give Away," and "Toss." Sort items into these boxes. Discard items in your “Toss” box. Your "Give Away" box may include items you want to sell, donate, or discard.

The next step is to improve the time you spend processing information. For example, tasks such as email can eat up your day. To combat wasted time, implement an email organization system that allows you to process the information in each email as efficiently as possible. Use folders, flagging, or a color-coded system to keep track of what’s what.

5. Schedule Appropriately

Scheduling is more than just recording what must be done (e.g., meetings and appointments). Be sure to build in time for the things you want to do. Effective scheduling requires you to know yourself. Your time log should help you to identify times when you are most productive and alert. Plan your most challenging tasks for when you have the most energy. Block out time for your high priority activities first and protect that time from interruptions.

Schedule small tasks such as drafting an email, creating a grocery shopping list, reading, watching webinars or listening to podcasts for long commutes or when waiting for a call or appointment. Capitalize on what would otherwise be time lost. Avoid nonproductive activities, such as playing games or scrolling through social media. Limit scheduled time to about three-fourths of your day to allow for creative activities such as planning, dreaming, and thinking.

6. Delegate: Get Help from Others

Delegating means assigning responsibility for a task to someone else, freeing up your time for tasks that require your expertise. Identify tasks others can do and select the appropriate person(s) to do them. Select someone with the appropriate skills, experience, interest, and authority needed to accomplish the task. Be specific. Define the task and your expectations while allowing the person some freedom to personalize the task. Check how well the person is progressing periodically and provide any assistance, being careful not to take over the responsibility. Finally, reward the person for a job well done or make suggestions for improvements if needed. (Dodd and Sundheim, 2005). Another way to get help is to “buy” time by obtaining goods or services that save time. For example, paying someone to mow your lawn or clean your house, or joining a carpool for your children’s extracurricular activities frees time for other activities. The time-savings from hiring someone for specialized projects is often worth the cost.

7. Stop Procrastinating

People put off tasks for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the task seems overwhelming or unpleasant. To help stop procrastination, consider “eating the big frog first.” A quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain says, “If it’s your job to eat a frog today, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the big frog first.” Unpleasant tasks we procrastinate completing are “big frogs.” Complete these tasks as your first action of the day to get them out of the way. Another option is to “snowball” your tasks by breaking them down into smaller segments, completing preparatory tasks, and eventually completing the larger task at hand. Whether you choose the “big frog first” or “snowball” method, try building in a reward system for completed tasks to help stay motivated.

8. Manage Time-Wasters

Reduce or eliminate time spent in these activities by implementing some simple tips.

Handheld Devices

Take advantage of voice-to-text features such as transcribed voicemails or to make notes or draft emails and text messages when you are on the go.
Avoid small talk. Stay focused.
Take any necessary action immediately following a call.
Impose screen time limits and regularly monitor your digital wellness (see Strategy 10).
Schedule breaks from your devices.
Set aside a specific time to view and respond to email, but don’t let it accumulate to the point it becomes overwhelming to sort.
Turn off notifications for email.
Handle each item only once if possible.
Immediately delete or unsubscribe from junk emails.
Keep address books up-to-date and organized.
Utilize built-in shortcuts to sort email.

Unexpected Visitors

Schedule time for face-to-face visits.
Inform visitors of your time constraints and politely offer to reschedule.
Set a mutually agreeable time limit for the visit.
When someone comes to the door, stand up and have your meeting standing to help keep it brief.

In-Person and Virtual Meetings

Know the purpose of the meeting in advance.
Arrive early.
Start and end the meeting on time.
Prepare an agenda and stick to it. Use a timed agenda, if necessary.
Don’t schedule meetings unless they are necessary and have a specific purpose or agenda.
Use recording software or designate a note-taker.

Family Obligations

Use and sync virtual calendars for easy sharing between busy family members.
Make each family member responsible for consulting the master calendar for potential conflicts.
Create a central area or agreed upon app for posting communications such as appointment reminders, announcements, and messages.

9. Avoid Multi-tasking

Psychological studies have shown that multi-tasking does not save time. In fact, the opposite is often true. You lose time when switching from one task to another, resulting in a loss of productivity (Rubinsteim, Meyer, and Evans, 2001). Routine multi-tasking may lead to difficulty in concentrating and maintaining focus. Do your best to focus on just one task at a time by keeping your area clear of distractions, including turning off notifications on your devices, and set aside dedicated time for specific tasks.

10. Stay Healthy

The care and attention you give yourself is an important investment of time. Scheduling time to relax or do nothing helps you rejuvenate physically and mentally, enabling you to accomplish tasks more quickly and easily. Be sure to monitor your screen time as a part of your digital well-being, setting boundaries to stay healthy. A study conducted by Google showed that four out of five study participants who took steps to improve their digital well-being believe their overall well-being was positively impacted as well (Google, 2019). To improve your digital well-being, set time limits or utilizing built-in software on electronic devices such as phones and tablets to help maintain your digital wellness. Blue light blockers and grayscale mode may also help you improve your digital well-being. Set a time each night to shut off all digital devices to give your mind time to relax; this can also help improve your sleep schedule.

Unfortunately, poor time management and too much screen time can result in fatigue, moodiness, and more frequent illness. To reduce stress, reward yourself for time management successes. Take time to recognize that you have accomplished a major task or challenge before moving on to the next activity.

Whatever time management strategies you use, take time to evaluate how they have worked for you. Do you have a healthy balance between work and home life? Are you accomplishing the tasks that are most important in your life? Are you investing enough time in your own personal well being? If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, then reevaluate your time management strategies and transition to ones that will work better for you. Successful time management leads to greater personal happiness, more accomplishments at home and at work, and a more satisfying future.

Previously updated by: Roxie Price, University of Georgia Extension Dana Carney, University of Georgia Extension Rachael Clews, K-State Research and Extension

Originally written by: Sue W. Chapman, retired, UGA Extension Michael Rupured, retired, UGA Extension

Covey, S. R., Merrill, A. R., & Merrill, R. R. (1994). First things first: To live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy . Simon & Schuster.

Dodd, P., & Sundheim, D. (2005). The 25 best time management tools and techniques: How to get more done without driving yourself crazy . Peak Performance Press, Inc.

Google, Global (DE, ES, FR, IT, PL, U.K., U.S.). (2019). Digital wellbeing survey (General population, 18+ years, n=97).

MacKenzie, A. (1990). The time trap (3rd ed.). American Management Association.

Roster, C., Ferrari, J., & Jurkat, M. (2016, March 16). The dark side of home: Assessing possession ‘clutter’ on subjective well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 46 , 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.03.003

Rubinsteim, J., Meyer, D., & Evans, J. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27 (4), 763–797. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.27.4.763

Status and Revision History Published with Full Review on Apr 25, 2014 Published with Minor Revisions on Aug 26, 2020 Published with Full Review on Feb 19, 2024

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Time Management

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to effectively accomplish their goals .

How to Streamline Your Time
Integrating Work and Life

In attempting to juggle various domains of life—work, home, social life , hobbies— it is important to establish clear goals and priorities in order to set aside non-essential tasks that can eat up time and to monitor where the time actually goes.

In the 1970s, the ABC prioritization method was the rage . Any project or action item landing on the A list was deemed most important, with the second most important items appearing on the B list, and C items marked as least important. Various iterations of this formula continue to exist, all aimed at allocating priorities, and often doing the most difficult or onerous tasks first.

Poor time management can be related to procrastination , attention problems, or difficulties with self-control . To counter these behaviors, organizational psychologists promote the idea of setting up work environments that boost efficiency and productivity . An optimal surrounding that emphasizes a conducive workspace is key.

Cutting out sleep and trying to add hours into each day won't help, and neither will maintaining a lengthy and disorganized to-do List. However, streamlining life and knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses are better starting points. For example, a procrastinator must face his tendency to delay and not hide from it.

Setting a goal is important, but more crucial is setting a goal that is achievable . On any given day, it’s important to figure out whether there is enough time to devote to that one particular goal. After identifying and setting aside the necessary time, make that goal the day’s top priority.

The U.S. is unique in a focus on round-the-clock work life. On a scale from 1 to 10, Denmark enjoys a 9.8 in quality of life, while the U.S. scores a 5.3. Not surprisingly, the extended workweek applies to only 2 percent of the population in the Netherlands. But are Danes and Hollanders less productive? In a word: no.

Granted, many employees are expected to respond to emails at all hours. But being more deliberate about how one spends time away from work can help make time, in general, more valuable. Of course, there are certain mandatory actions that must take place, the most important of which is the need for optimal self-care.

It is critical to clearly communicate one's preferences: Keeping separate email accounts, one for work and one for home, is an example. Plus, the desired boundary must be shared with family and coworkers as well.

In this, as in many domains, focusing on specifics rather than overwhelming generalities is a good rule of thumb. Breaking down tasks and taking on one thing at a time can help; focusing on just one assignment through to completion will help movement toward the next task.

Research reveals the intriguing link between time and sex.

Your digital habits might be to blame for your concentration issues.

How can people support social change leaders to sustain their motivation and reduce the loneliness of being out on their own trying to improve the world?

Understanding your own time perspective can enhance your life experience. Children are generally present-oriented, while adults favor the future. Seniors tend to preserve the past.

You're tired of spending so much time barely getting through your day. Here are ways to get back in touch with what really matters to you and live with more intention.

Are you frustrated with the speed at which your child completes tasks? You might be able to improve their processing speed with video games and other technologies.

Instead of trying in vain to cram more tasks into each day and get more done, perhaps making better use of the limited time that we have is a better strategy.

Despite their success, high-achieving professionals face unique challenges. They may need to prioritize mental health and seek support from friends, family, or professionals.

Many self-organization books promise to change your life if you follow a method. Some work for some people. But they might become another task or leave you frustrated.

SMART Goals lie at the heart of a lot of management thinking but may not be as effective as you've been led to believe. Sometimes, you just need to 'Go Rhino'.

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Time management or time agility: how to find the flow.

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Auto race drivers view time from a variety of perspectives.

Have you ever found yourself in a professional race, navigating through your days and sometimes feeling like you're going in circles? We all have those moments. Drivers who race professionally can offer us some valuable lessons for dealing with these common time dilemmas.

Professional drivers have a unique relationship with time. In racing, where every second counts, they must remain intensely focused on the present moment and immediate challenges, taking each turn speedily and precisely. They live by the clock.

Yet, they also remain forward-thinking, considering variables like fuel efficiency and weather. Since they can never be sure of the track conditions ahead, winning drivers adopt a flexible and adaptable approach to time. They always remain alert to changing circumstances and stay ready to modify plans and create new strategies on the go.

Thus, the auto race driver’s time orientation is not just a methodical process but a dynamic interplay of precision, immediacy, strategic foresight, creativity, and adaptability.

Likewise, purpose-driven leadership requires time agility. The key is to carefully manage time for immediate demands while also holding space for creatively shaping the future.

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Get up to 50 off during the hoka memorial day sale, wayfair memorial day sale the 22 best deals to shop while you still can, focus on the immediate and create the future.

Time is multidimensional. It is more than a challenge to manage or a resource to employ. Time is also the dynamic backdrop that shapes your life and work.

Tackling Today While Creating Tomorrow

Focusing on immediate tasks without sacrificing your purposeful future requires balancing how you structure your time with intention and foresight.

As a purpose-driven leader, you dedicate energy and resources to causes beyond personal or short-term organizational goals. You strive to make a positive and meaningful impact through your work while also carrying out your assigned role as a leader in your organization.

Such leadership requires a deep connection with your values, a clear vision, and the ability to inspire and engage others short and long term. To successfully address complex problems while achieving short-term objectives, you must be committed, patient, and willing to persevere.

While you may be able to manage your time carefully by applying standard tactics to achieve more mundane daily objectives, purpose-related dilemmas will require a different perspective. These problems are usually complex and evolving continuously. You will need fresh thinking to find solutions.

Thus your success as a purpose-driven leader requires you to balance time management to meet short-term objectives with some suspension of time pressures while you and your team pursue your longer-term purpose creatively.

Viewing Time as a Challenge to Manage

Time often appears to be finite when you are managing it to address immediate challenges. Most likely you focus on efficiency, productivity, and deadlines. Your skills and techniques for scheduling, goal setting, and minimizing distractions add to your success.

Because you need control over your time, you plan your days to maximize productivity and meet deadlines. You assume that every minute counts.

Time management skills for meeting immediate demands are essential for surviving in the workplace. However, if you care about sustained impact as well as the quick wins, you must also adopt a longer-term perspective.

Approaching Time as a Resource to Employ

You become more strategic by adopting the view that time is a resource to invest in achieving your goals. By embracing this perspective, you will prioritize how to allocate time most effectively to achieve both short-term and longer-term outcomes.

For example, you might set deadlines for immediate tasks while also creating space for innovation. This approach allows you to invest time in creative thinking and experimentation without sacrificing productivity for the short term.

Understanding Time as an Intangible Condition

Most workplaces require leaders to tackle time as a challenge to manage and a resource to invest. However, since you are a purpose-driven leader, you will benefit from also understanding time as an intangible presence that provides the backdrop to your life and work. This perspective envisions time as invisible, ever-present, and fluid.

Complex challenges that are connected with a purpose require creative solutions. By periodically embracing a more holistic and flexible approach to time, you can establish the environment for suspending the more familiar focus on urgent issues and deadlines, allowing unforced exploration and creativity.

Otto Scharmer , MIT senior lecturer and author, offers the term “holding the space” to describe how leaders create the right conditions for the emergence of new ideas.

He says leaders must enable cultures that support individuals in connecting deeply with themselves and others while letting go of old patterns and assumptions.

By creating environments where inspired people can approach their work with open minds and time to reflect and create, you are enabling individuals and groups to transition from past habits to future potential, according to Scharmer .

Balancing Frameworks for Time

How you balance time will have a significant impact on your results as a leader.

By now, you fully appreciate the complexity of balancing time perspectives. Your task is not to choose one time orientation over another. Rather you must embrace all of these time frameworks.

You undoubtedly experience daily pressures in your work. Therefore your challenge is to effectively manage time and employ it as a resource for completing your day-to-day tasks while reserving space for greater time fluidity. It is through these periods of uncluttered thinking and imagining that creative ideas emerge.

Here are some tips for balancing your approaches to dealing with time:

Adopt a Dual Framework

Embrace time not only as a finite resource but also as a fluid backdrop for your work. Carry out tasks that require your immediate attention efficiently. In addition, allow space for strategic and emergent long-term growth and creativity.

Action : Set clear priorities and deadlines for short-term tasks while allocating time regularly for reflection and innovation.

Cultivate Flexibility and Adaptability

Recognizing time as fluid means adapting to changing circumstances and being open to revising plans when necessary.

Action : Encourage a culture that embraces change and is responsive to new information. Foster an environment where teams can pivot quickly without losing sight of long-term goals.

Balance Structure with Creativity

Support cultures where innovation can thrive while you also acknowledge the benefits of discipline and organization.

Action : Implement practices like "innovation hours" or "think tanks" where teams can focus on creative problem-solving without the pressure of immediate deliverables.

Promote Mindfulness and Presence

Foster mindfulness practices that help individuals and teams stay present and fully engaged with their current tasks while remaining open to emerging opportunities.

Action : Incorporate mindfulness exercises, regular check-ins, and reflective practices into the work routine to help maintain focus and openness.

Integrate Long-Term Vision with Immediate Actions

Connect daily actions to a larger vision, ensuring immediate efforts contribute to long-term goals. And hold the space for free-flowing, open-minded explorations of ideas.

Action : Regularly communicate the long-term vision and strategic objectives to the team. Show how their current work fits into the broader mission and purpose. And promote the benefit of standing back from the day-to-day to allow new ideas and solutions to emerge as the future unfolds.

Like auto race drivers, you must address immediate concerns by focusing on the finish line while also staying alert to unpredictable and challenging conditions ahead.

You must balance the urgency of present demands with the patience and strategic foresight you need to achieve sustainable success.

You can navigate the complexities of your roles by managing time as a valuable resource for achieving short-term objectives while simultaneously holding space for innovation and creative, long-term thinking. No matter how much time pressure you experience, remember that time will always remain that fluid backdrop for your life and work.

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You Need New Skills to Make a Career Pivot. Here’s How to Find the Time to Build Them.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Even when you have a full-time job.

With any significant change in your career comes the need for new skills. But that’s even more true when you want a radical career change. In these situations, it’s going to take more than listening to a few webinars to build the knowledge you need get to where you want to go. You must set aside a significant amount of time for self-directed learning, formal training, or even a second job to gain the skills for the big leap.

There are a few strategies to be effective for consistently making time for acquiring new career skills. First, accept the time commitment; you may need to scale back on nonessential activities. Second, research what’s required for your new field, whether it’s formal licensing, independent working, or side hustle work. Third, layer in learning onto activities you’re already doing throughout your day. Fourth, designate specific times you’ll dedicate to skill-building — and stick to it. Finally, modify your work schedule, if needed.

Sometimes you don’t just want a new job, you want a radical career change . Perhaps you’ve been in finance and now want to be an acupuncturist, you’re a marketer eager to lead a startup, or you’re an educator looking to shift into catering and event planning.

ES Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach and the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching & Speaking . She is the author of How to Invest Your Time Like Money and Divine Time Management . Find out more at RealLifeE.com .

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A real-time traffic sign detection in intelligent transportation system using YOLOv8-based deep learning approach

Original Paper
Published: 28 May 2024

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Mingdeng Tang 1

Intelligent transportation systems rely heavily on accurate traffic sign detection (TSD) to enhance road safety and traffic management. Various methods have been explored in the literature for this purpose, with deep learning methods consistently demonstrating superior accuracy. However, existing research highlights the persistent challenge of achieving high accuracy rates while maintaining non-destructive and real-time requirements. In this study, we propose a deep learning model based on the YOLOv8 architecture to address this challenge. The model is trained and evaluated using a custom dataset, and extensive experiments and performance analysis demonstrate its ability to achieve precise results, thus offering a promising solution to the current research challenge in deep learning-based TSD.

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Zhang, J., Zou, X., Kuang, L.-D., Wang, J., Sherratt, R.S., Yu, X.: CCTSDB 2021: a more comprehensive traffic sign detection benchmark. Human Centric Comput. Inf. Sci. 12 , 2022 (2021)

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COMMENTS

Does time management work? A meta-analysis
A critical gap in time management research is the question of whether time management works [28, 29]. ... this meta-analysis rests on the assumption that time management training programs do enhance people's time management skills. Previous reviews have noted the opacity surrounding time management interventions—studies often don't ...
Does time management work? A meta-analysis
A critical gap in time management research is the question of whether time management works [28, 29]. ... this meta-analysis rests on the assumption that time management training programs do enhance people's time management skills. Previous reviews have noted the opacity surrounding time management interventions—studies often don't ...
Time Management Strategies for Research Productivity
Thus, improving time management skills is essential to developing and sustaining a successful program of research. This article presents time management strategies addressing behaviors surrounding ...
How to manage your time as a researcher
Time-management strategies can help to rein in work hours, but can also promote a culture of unhealthy hyper-productivity or act as a Band-Aid to cover up toxic research environments. Time ...
Impact of Time Management Behaviors on Undergraduate Engineering
Time management can be defined as clusters of behavioral skills that are important in the organization of study and course load (Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993).Empirical evidence suggests that effective time management is associated with greater academic achievement (McKenzie & Gow, 2004; Trueman & Hartley, 1996) as students learn coping strategies that allow them to negotiate competing demands.
Time Management Strategies for Research Productivity
Time Management Techniques There are a variety of approaches to time management that minimize procrastination, minimize interruptions, and enhance discipline particularly when engaging research activities. Time management involves allocating time to activities that will help achieve goals. Approaches to time management
Time Management in Research: 10 Strategies to Boost Your Productivity
7. Eliminate disturbances: Block some time of your day to focus on your work and get things done. Here are a few time management strategies for research productivity that will help you stay focused. Turn off push notifications on your phone. Turn on the 'do not disturb' mode on your phone.
Principles of Effective Time Management for Balance, Well-being, and
The principles below are derived from research on time management, motivation theory and much experience working with university students. Think of time management techniques as tools to help you do what you value the most. Make these tools into an expression of your values—what's most important to you—not just a schedule to get more stuff done....
TIME MANAGEMENT AND STUDY SKILLS GUIDE FOR IMPROVING ...
psychology, a guide of learning and time management. In the cas e of time management, we focus on. defining goals as well as on prioritizing and organizing activi ties. In terms of learning skills ...
Time Management: Articles, Research, & Case Studies
The World Management Survey at 18: Lessons and the Way Forward. by Daniela Scur, Raffaella Sadun, John Van Reenen, Renata Lemos, and Nicholas Bloom. With a dataset of 13,000 firms and 4,000 schools and hospitals spanning more than 35 countries, the World Management Survey provides a systematic measure of management practices used in organizations.
Time Management Is About More Than Life Hacks
HBR Learning's online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Time Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by ...
College Students' Time Management: a Self-Regulated Learning
One, more research is needed to understand the specific teaching methods that are most effective in improving the various aspects of college students' time management. For instance, using some sort of time log activity to teach students how to monitor and reflect upon their use of time is a common activity used to improve college students ...
The importance of effective time management in research: Strategies for
First, research requires a significant amount of time, and effective time management ensures that this time is used efficiently. Poor time management can result in missed deadlines, incomplete projects, and wasted resources. Second, time management can help researchers achieve a healthy work-life balance, which is essential for maintaining well ...
Time Management: A Realistic Approach
Realistic time management and organization plans can improve productivity and the quality of life. However, these skills can be difficult to develop and maintain. The key elements of time management are goals, organization, delegation, and relaxation. The author addresses each of these components and provides suggestions for successful time management.
Effective Time Management Tips for Researchers
Expert Tips to effectively utilize time. Plan well: Plan your day according to your most productive times. If you are a morning person, schedule tasks that require more concentration early in the day. Create a to-do list in accordance with your plan. Manage interruptions: Assign a fixed time during the day to deal with interruptions such as ...
Time Management: 10 Strategies for Better Time Management
People who practice good time management techniques often find that they: Are more productive. Have more energy for things they need to accomplish. ... Disorganization leads to poor time management. Research has shown that clutter has a strong negative impact on perceived well-being (Roster, 2016). To improve your time management, get organized.
9 Popular Time Management Techniques and Tools
Learning time management tips will not only help you manage your time better but also boost personal productivity. With that said, here are some time management strategies you can try: 1. Pareto Analysis (a.k.a., the 80/20 rule) The 80/20 rule is a technique created by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It's the idea that 20% of actions ...
Time Management
The concept of time can both be obvious and confusing. Here are two ways to unpack time's unsettling truths. 1. 2. Next. Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the ...
PDF Time Management and Academic Achievement: Examining the Roles of
experimental, descriptive-correlational techniques. The study used mean, standard deviation and correlational analysis to analyzed the data. Based on the findings, the overall level of time management is moderate. The level of academic achievement is very good. In the test of correlation, the finding revealed that time management
PDF The effectiveness of Time Management Strategies Instruction on ...
individual characteristics and others influence in time management research (Claessens et al, 2007). This is also in line with related empirical findings. For example, high achieving students were found to exhibit more self-regulated learning skills (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1990), and with time management in particular
A Qualitative Investigation of Time Management Interventions for
The study on the relationship between time management skills and academic performance of students was conducted at Mariano Peralta National High School's Open High School Program.
18 Effective Time Management Strategies & Techniques
18 time management strategies for work. Below is a list of time management strategies that you can use to improve your work productivity and time management. 1. Start your day with a plan. It all starts with a plan. To effectively use your time, you should create a plan for everything that you want to accomplish that day.
Prioritization Techniques and Time Management in the Workplace
Let's explore some proven techniques for managing time efficiently and boosting productivity. Pomodoro Technique. Break your workday into focused intervals, typically 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break. This method helps maintain concentration and productivity by providing regular breaks to recharge.
Time Management Tips
Time management is important because it allows individuals to prioritize tasks effectively, optimize productivity, and achieve a better work-life balance. Efficiently managing time ensures that important tasks are completed on time, reducing stress, and increasing overall effectiveness. Here are some time management tips for graduate school:
Time Management Or Time Agility: How To Find The Flow
Viewing Time as a Challenge to Manage. Time often appears to be finite when you are managing it to address immediate challenges. Most likely you focus on efficiency, productivity, and deadlines ...
You Need New Skills to Make a Career Pivot. Here's How to Find the Time
First, accept the time commitment; you may need to scale back on nonessential activities. Second, research what's required for your new field, whether it's formal licensing, independent ...
A real-time traffic sign detection in intelligent ...
Intelligent transportation systems rely heavily on accurate traffic sign detection (TSD) to enhance road safety and traffic management. Various methods have been explored in the literature for this purpose, with deep learning methods consistently demonstrating superior accuracy. However, existing research highlights the persistent challenge of achieving high accuracy rates while maintaining ...
Sensors
Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face significant driving challenges due to deficits in attention and executive functioning, elevating their road risks. Previous interventions targeting driving safety among this cohort have typically addressed isolated aspects (e.g., cognitive or behavioral factors) or relied on uniform solutions. However, these approaches often ...
(PDF) The Impact of Time Management on the Students ...
Time mana gement pla ys a vital role in improving studen t's academic perfor mance and achievements. Each and. every student should have time management ability which includes setting goals ...
Compare Mortgage Rates and Loans
Simply enter your home location, property value and loan amount to compare the best rates. For a more advanced search, you can filter your results by loan type for 30 year fixed, 15 year fixed and ...

Does time management work? A meta-analysis

Aïda Faber

Alexandra Panaccio

Introduction

What does it mean to say that time management works?

Literature search and inclusion criteria

Data extraction and coding

Meta-analytic procedures

Overall description of the literature

Time management and performance in professional settings

Time management and performance in academic settings

Time management and wellbeing

Time management and distress

Time management and individual differences

Contributions

Future research and limitations

Supporting information

Funding Statement

Data Availability

Does time management work? A meta-analysis

Introduction

What does it mean to say that time management works?

Literature search and inclusion criteria

Data extraction and coding

Meta-analytic procedures

Overall description of the literature

Time management and performance in professional settings

Time management and performance in academic settings

Time management and wellbeing

Time management and distress

Time management and individual differences

Contributions

Future research and limitations

Supporting information

S1 File. Funnel plots.

S2 File. Dataset.

Acknowledgments

How to manage your time as a researcher

Access options

Competing Interests

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Time Management: 10 Strategies for Better Time Management

1. Know How You Spend Your Time

2. Set Priorities

3. Use a Planning Tool

4. Get Organized

5. Schedule Appropriately

6. Delegate: Get Help from Others

7. Stop Procrastinating

8. Manage Time-Wasters

Handheld Devices

Unexpected Visitors

In-Person and Virtual Meetings

Family Obligations

9. Avoid Multi-tasking

10. Stay Healthy

Have a question?

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