Key Findings
- Up to 60% of working hours are spent on less meaningful work
- 68% of people say they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time
- Only 18% of people have a dedicated time management system in place
- 50% of people using the Eisenhower Matrix say their workload is under control
- On average, we spend up to eight hours online daily
- Tasks take up to 15% longer when trying to multitask
- Good time management is linked to strong performance reviews
Key Time Management Statistics for 2025
The average US citizen works 1,799 hours per year. (Our World in Data)
That’s equivalent to 34.5 hours per week, which isn’t bad. But how does it compare to elsewhere in the world?
- Mexico works 2,207 hours per year (42 per week)
- Canada is 1,865 (35 weekly)
- The UK is 1,524 (29 weekly)
- Germany is 1,343 (25 weekly)
While the US still has a way to go before it enjoys the same working hours as Europe, it’s still a massive improvement from those who had to suffer 3,150 – 3,650 working hours per year in 1850!
How are workers spending their work weeks, exactly?
Freelancers spend more time working than the average office worker, with 69% clocking up more than 39 hours a week. (Freelancermap)
Almost 3,500 freelancers were surveyed across 84 countries, and it was found that:
- The majority of freelancers (31%) work 39-40 hours per week, and 29% work up to 50 hours per week.
- 9% are really putting in the hours and working more than 50 hours weekly.
- Only 4% of freelancers get to enjoy a ten-hour work week or less.
This is an improvement from previous years. Overall, the average number of weekly hours worked in 2023 was 40, compared with:
- 45 in 2022 and 2021
- 44 in 2020
- 43 in 2019
Despite the long working hours, not all of it is productive. The same study found that:
47% of freelancers spend around 10-20% of their time on “unproductive tasks.”
That’s about six hours weekly on tasks like client acquisition, accounting, and customer care.
- 37% devoted less than 10% of their time to unproductive work
- 47% spent between 10 - 20% of their time on these tasks
- 16% clocked up around 20% of their time doing these things
Despite this, 58% of all surveyed said that time management was the main benefit of switching to freelancing.
A 2019 study concluded that more hours – about 60% – are spent on less meaningful work. (Asana 1)
Asana surveyed the behaviors and attitudes of 10,223 knowledge workers across several countries. A knowledge worker was defined as someone who spent 50% or more of their time using a device to complete tasks.
The “less meaningful” work refers to “work about work.” Activities such as communicating, looking for documents, managing priorities, checking emails, etc.
As such:
- Workers found they only had 27% of their time left for skilled tasks
- The remaining 13% was spent on strategizing and planning
Out of the time spent on less meaningful work, 10% was wasted on duplication. That’s over four hours per week on unnecessary repetition.
The reasons for all of these issues were found to be due to a lack of communication – such as working in silos – and inefficient processes.
This correlates with a recent 2024 study that found:
42% of workers say that too much time is spent on "busy work.” (Mercer)
These are the things that don't add value and don’t contribute to productivity.
Other top productivity killers, according to the report, include:
- Too many interruptions and not enough “thinking” time (38%)
- Ineffective organizational structure (35%)
- Too-high workloads (32%)
- Stress (29%)
- Difficulty finding the right information (26%)
Speaking of interruptions…
