Time Management Facts and Figures: By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Time Management Facts and Figures
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

During the last twenty years, after making over 2,000 presentations around the world, I have
gathered some interesting facts and figures about Time Management and Personal Productivity
for your use and enjoyment.
-There will be 2.2 million deaths in this country this year. 75% are from causes that are largely
preventable.
-There will be 2 million marriages in this country this year and 1 million divorces.
-95% of divorces are caused by a "lack of communication"
-The average working person spends less than 2 minutes per day in meaningful communication
with their spouse or "significant other".
-The average working person spends less than 30 seconds a day in meaningful communication
with their children.
-80% of employees do not want to go to work on Monday morning. By Friday, the rate only drops
to 60%.
-The average person uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time.
-The average person gets 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or approximately 7 an hour, or 50-60
per day. The average interruption takes 5 minutes, totaling about 4 hours or 50% of the average
workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as "little value" or "no value" creating
approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day.
-On an average day, there are 17 million meetings in America.
-By taking 1 hour per day for independent study, 7 hours per week, 365 hours in a year, one can
learn at the rate of a full-time student. In 3-5 years, the average person can become an expert in
the topic of their choice, by spending only one hour per day.
-95% of the books in this country are purchased by 5% of the population. 95% of selfimprovement books, audio tapes, and video tapes purchased are not used.
-97% of workers, if they became financially independent, would not continue with their current
employer or in their current occupation.
-20% of the average workday is spent on "crucial" and "important" things, while 80% of the
average workday is spent on things that have "little value" or "no value".
-In the last 20 years, working time has increased by 15% and leisure time has decreased by 33%.
-A person who works with a "messy" or cluttered desk spends, on average, 1 1/2 hours per day
looking for things or being distracted by things or approximately 7 1/2 per workweek. "Out of
sight; out of mind." When its in sight, its in mind.
-The average reading speed is approximately 200 words per minute. The average working person
reads 2 hours per day. A Speed Reading course that will improve the reading rate to 400 words
per minute will save an hour per day.
-90% of those who join health and fitness clubs will stop going within the first 90 days.
-9 out of 10 people daydream in meetings.
-60% of meeting attendees take notes to appear as if they are listening.
-40% of working people skip breakfast. 39% skip lunch. Of those who take a lunch break, 50%
allow only 15 minutes of less.
-It takes approximately 30 days to establish a new physical or emotional habit.
-The average worker sends and receives 190 messages per day.
-The average American watches 28 hours of television per week.
-78% of workers in America wish they had more time to "smell the roses".
-49% of workers in America complain that they are on a treadmill.
-Angry people are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as a person in better control of their
emotions.
-75% of heart attacks occur between the hours of 5:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m., local time.
-More heart attacks occur on Monday than on any other day of the week.
-25% of sick days are taken for illness. 75% of sick days are taken for other reasons.
-95% of the things we fear will occur, do not occur.
-Taking 5 minutes per day, 5 days per week to improve ones job will create 1,200 little
improvements to a job over a 5 year period.
-1 out of 3 workers changes jobs every year.
-1 out of 5 people moves every year.
-70% of American workers desire to own their own business.
-75% of American workers complain that they are tired.
-The average worker gets a 6 hours and 57 minutes of sleep per night.
-80% of "Crisis Management" events are preventable.
-The average worker spends 35 minutes per day commuting.
-When someone is asking for our time for a meeting, 80% of the time, there is an alternate date
and time that will be acceptable.
-Good Time Managers do not allocate their time to those who "demand" it, but rather, to those
who "deserve" it.
-The most powerful word in our Time Management vocabulary is "no".
-70% of business and professional people use a "to do" list on a regular basis to administer their
"have tos".
-5% of business and professional people use a "to do" list on a regular basis to administer not
only their "have tos", but also their "want tos".
-"If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person."
-It almost always takes twice as long to complete a task as what we originally thought it would
take.
-"A project tends to expand with the time allocated for it." If you give yourself one thing to do, it
will take all day. If you give yourself two things to do, you get them both done. If you give yourself
a dozen things to do, you may not get 12 done, but youll get 7 or 8 completed.
-Delegation is an unlimited method to multiply time for achieving results.
-The hardest part about delegation is simply letting go. "If you want a job done right, you have to
do it yourself."
-1 hour of planning will save 10 hours of doing.
-Hiring a college student to do routine tasks (grocery shopping, yard work, household chores,
etc.) will free up as much as 20 hours per week for the average person to devote to more
productive uses.
-The average person today (1999) receives more information on a daily basis, than the average
person received in a lifetime in 1900.
-The "20/80 Rule" tells us we will typically accomplish 80% of our results through 20% of our
effort. The other 20% of additional results comes from about 80% of additional effort.
-"Stressed" spelled backwards is "desserts".
-We retain 10% of what we read. We retain 20% of what we hear. We retain 30% of what we see.
We retain 50% of what we hear and see. We retain 70% of what we say. We retain 90% of what
we do.
-Half of what is known today, we did not know 10 years ago. The amount of knowledgein the
world has doubled in the last 10 years. And it is said to be doubling again every 18 months.
-Time Management is not doing the wrong things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time
Management is doing the right things.
-"If you always do what youve always done, you always get what youve always got." To change
our output, we must change our input.
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St., P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773
(203) 386-8062
Fax: (203) 386-8064
Email: ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time
Management and Personal Productivity and the author of "Beat the Clock". If you would like to
receive a free copy of his article, "The Five Top Time Management Mistakes", email your request
for "mistakes" to: ctsem@msn.com
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication,
newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for "reprint" to:
ctsem@msn.com

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