时间管理文献综述

A review of the time managementliteratureBrigitte J.C.Claessens,Wendelien van Eerde and Christel G.RutteTechnische Universiteit Eindhoven,Eindhoven,The Netherlands,andRobert A.RoeUniversiteit Maastricht,Maastricht,The NetherlandsAbstractPurpose –The purpose of this article is to provide an overview for those interested in the current state-of-the-art in time management research.Design/methodology/approach –This review includes 32empirical studies on time management conducted between 1982and 2004.Findings –The review demonstrates that time management behaviours relate positively to perceived control of time,job satisfaction,and health,and negatively to stress.The relationship with work and academic performance is not clear.Time management training seems to enhance time management skills,but this does not automatically transfer to better performance.Research limitations/implications –The reviewed research displays several limitations.First,time management has been defined and operationalised in a variety of ways.Some instruments were not reliable or valid,which could account for unstable findings.Second,many of the studies were based on cross-sectional surveys and used self-reports only.Third,very little attention was given to job and organizational factors.There is a need for more rigorous research into the mechanisms of time management and the factors that contribute to its effectiveness.The ways in which stable time management behaviours can be established also deserves further investigation.Practical implications –This review makes clear which effects may be expected of time management,which aspects may be most useful for which individuals,and which work characteristics would enhance or hinder positive effects.Its outcomes may help to develop more effective time management practices.Originality/value –This review is the first to offer an overview of empirical research on time management.Both practice and scientific research may benefit from the description of previous attempts to measure and test the popular notions of time management.Keywords Time measurement,Training,Control,Job satisfaction,Performance management Paper type Literature reviewDuring the last two decades,there has been a growing recognition of the importance of time in the organizational literature.According to Orlikowsky and Yates (2002),the temporal dimension of work has become more important because of expanding global competition and increased demands for immediate availability of products and services.Garhammer (2002)has pointed at the increased pace of life shown in doing things faster (acceleration),contracting time expenditure (e.g.eat faster,sleep less),and compressing actions (making a phone call while having lunch).Other studies have examined the perception of time in organizational contexts (e.g.Palmer and Schoorman,1999)and the experience of time pressure among employees (e.g.Jackson and Martin,1996;Major et al.,2002;Teuchmann et al.,1999).The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at /0048-3486.htmTimemanagementliterature255Received 4July 2004Revised 13October 2004Accepted 15December 2005Personnel Review Vol.36No.2,2007pp.255-276q Emerald Group Publishing Limited0048-3486DOI 10.1108/00483480710726136The increasing salience of time is reflected in theoretical as well as practical publications.A number of authors discussed the need for better incorporating time in theoretical models and research designs (e.g.Ancona et al.,2001;George and Jones,2000;Wright,2002).Others focused on the ways in which people in organizations manage their time,and on ways in which these efforts can be improved (e.g.Macan,1994).In this article we will address time from the second perspective,and review the empirical studies on time management.More specifically,we will review definitions of time management,discuss methods for studying time management,summarize empirical findings on time management and the use and effectiveness of time management methods,identify gaps in the current research literature,and give suggestions for future research.The interest in time management is by no means new.The problem of how to manage time was already discussed in the 1950s and 1960s,and several authors proposed methods on how to handle time issues on the job (e.g.Drucker,1967;Lakein,1973;Mackenzie,1972;McCay,1959).They suggested simple remedies such as writing work plans down on paper (so-called “to-do lists”)in order to increase job performance.At the same time,some authors (e.g.Drucker,1967)recognized that planning tasks and activities does not always lead to the completion of planned work,especially when time pressure is high.McCay (1959)developed a concept for a time-management training program,which is still being used.Critical elements are:giving insight into time-consuming activities,changing time expenditure,and increasing workday efficiency by teaching people how to make a daily planning,how to prioritise tasks,and how to handle unexpected tasks.Many books and articles were written to convey these and similar ideas to managers,promising them a greater effectiveness while using less time (e.g.Blanchard and Johnson,1982).Over the years the focus of time management publications and training courses has shifted from managers as the major target group to a broad audience of working people.The term “time management”is actually misleading.Strictly speaking,time cannot be managed,because it is an inaccessible factor.Only the way a person deals with time can be influenced.Time management can be viewed as a way of monitoring and controlling time (e.g.Eilam and Aharon,2003).In this regard,it would be more appropriate to speak about self-management with regard to the performance of multiple tasks within a certain time period.But in the literature,the term self-management has a different meaning.It refers to monitoring and regulating oneself,but without any specific reference to techniques for monitoring time use.Therefore,we will stick to the use of the term time management in the present paper.In spite of all popular attention to managing time,relatively little research has been conducted on the processes involved in using one’s time effectively (e.g.by using “prime time”to carry out important tasks)and completing work within deadlines.In 1987,a review was published that addressed the increasing popularity of time management (Richards,1987).It discussed the principles mentioned by authors like McCay (1959)and concluded that,for instance,setting life goals and keeping time logs were important techniques for effectively managing one’s time.Although this article was helpful in understanding the ideas behind the notion of time management,it was not a review of empirical time management studies.In fact,to our knowledge,no reviews of empirical research of time management have been published since the article by Richards (1987).Therefore,the first aim of the present study is to review pastPR 36,2256empirical studies on time management and to determine the state-of-the-art in this area of research.We will review the way in which researchers have incorporated time management concepts and methods in their research and critically discuss the research designs they used.Questions to be addressed are:What is time management behaviour?What are its antecedents?What is its impact on outcome variables,such as health and job performance?Our second aim is to determine in which areas more research is needed to extend the present knowledge of time management and the processes involved.MethodSelection of studiesEmpirical studies on time management published between1954(when time management was introduced)and2005were found through PsycInfo,Sociofile,and references of past studies.Query terms included time management,time use,time allocation,and time structuring.Afirst criterion for the selection of studies was that time management had been related to academic or work situations.Quite a few studies dealt with topics like rehabilitation after an injury or accident,geriatric afflictions,and other medical conditions(for example,Sakelaris,1999),which fell outside the scope of our study.The second criterion was that time management behaviour or attitudes had been measured by means of instruments constructed for this purpose.In some studies (e.g.Sweidel,1996),time management was measured post hoc by combining some items that were more or less related to time management,rather than by means of validated scales to measure time management.Results were therefore questionable and were not included in this review study.Using these two criteria,35empirical studies were selected for inclusion in this review.We will discuss these studies by presenting the theoretical contributions made, the definition of time management used,the measurement scales,the results,gaps in research,and suggestions for future research.ResultsTable I describes the studies included in this review in terms of:author(s)and publication year,the methods used,the samples,the measures of time management, and the variables involved.As can be seen in Table I,we found no empirical studies published before1982. Obviously,time management has made its way into the literature without being accompanied by empirical research.The number of respondents in the studies ranged from four to701,with an average of90.Three types of research groups were included,i.e:(1)employees of different organizations(social service agencies,car dealers);(2)students following psychology classes;and(3)employees with double workload,that is,working full-time while studyingpart-time,or working full-time and running a household with children.The majority of respondents were recruited among students in psychology classes. Research methods included self-report questionnaires,diaries,and experiments.Time managementliterature257A u t h o rM e t h o dS a m p l e T i m e m a n a g e m e n t m e a s u r e V a r i a b l e s i n c l u d e d i n t h e s t u d y1.A d a m s a n d J e x (1997)S u r v e y522e m p l o y e d a d u l t sT M B S T e s t o f f a c t o r s t r u c t u r e o f T M B S2.A d a m s a n d J e x (1999)S u r v e y522e m p l o y e d a d u l t sT M B S T i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,p e r c e i v e d c o n t r o l o f t i m e ,W -F c o n fli c t ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,h e a l t h 3.B o n d a n d F e a t h e r (1988)S u r v e y3s a m p l e s :312,160a n d 211s t u d e n t sT S Q T i m e s t r u c t u r e ,s e l f -e s t e e m ,d e p r e s s i o n ,p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i s t r e s s ,s t a t a n x i e t y ,t r a i t a n x i e t y ,n e u r o t i c i s m ,e x t r a v e r s i o n ,h e a l t h ,p h y s i c a l s y m p t o m s ,h o p e l e s s n e s s ,t y p e A b e h a v i o u r 4.B a r l i n g e t a l.(1996)S u r v e y102c a r s a l e s p e r s o n s S h o r t v e r s i o n T M QS h o r t -r a n g e p l a n n i n g ,l o n g -r a n g e p l a n n i n g ,a c h i e v e m e n t s t r i v i n g ,s a l e s p e r f o r m a n c e ,y e a r s o f s a l e s e x p e r i e n c e 5.B r i t t o n a n d T e s s e r (1991)S u r v e y 90f r e s h m a n a n d s o p h o m o r e u n d e r -g r a d u a t e s i n p s y c h o l o g y c l a s s T M Q S h o r t -r a n g e p l a n n i n g ,l o n g -r a n g e p l a n n i n g ,t i m e a t t i t u d e s ,g r a d e p o i n t a v e r a g e ,s c h o l a s t i c a p t i t u d e t e s t6.B u r t a n d K e m p (1994)S t u d y 1:e x p e r i m e n tS t u d y 1:100s t u d e n t s A c t i v i t y p l a n n i n g ,T S Q S t u d y 1:e x p e c t e d ,r e t r o s p e c t i v e ,a n d a c t u a l t a s k d u r a t i o nS t u d y 2:s u r v e yS t u d y 2:50s t u d e n t sS t u d y 2:t i m e s t r u c t u r e ,r o l e o v e r l o a d ,a c t i v i t y d u r a t i o n ,a c a d e m i c p e r f o r m a n c e 7.C l a e s s e n s e t a l.(2004)S u r v e y ,l o n g i t u d i n a l70R &D e n g i n e e r sP l a n n i n g s c a l eP l a n n i n g ,p e r c e i v e d c o n t r o l o f t i m e ,w o r k s t r a i n ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e 8.D a v i s (2000)S u r v e yW o m e n w o r k i n g i n 14d i f f e r e n t n u r s i n g h o m e s T M B ST i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,j o b -i n d u c e d t e n s i o n ,s o m a t i c t e n s i o n ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,e x p e r i e n c e ,p e r f o r m a n c e9.E i l a m a n d A h a r o n (2003)I n t e r v e n t i o n s t u d y ,o b s e r v a t i o n s ,a n d v i d e o r e c o r d i n g s 33s t u d e n t sY e a r l y a n d d a i l y p l a n n i n g r e p o r t sP l a n n i n g t a s k s ,a w a r e n e s s o f d i s c r e p a n c i e s b e t w e e n s u g g e s t e d v e r s u s e n a c t e d w o r k (m o n i t o r i n g ),a n d r e a d j u s t i n g p l a n s o v e r t i m e 10.F r a n c i s -S m y t h e a n d R o b e r t s o n (1999a )E x p e r i m e n t ,s u r v e y 48s t u d e n t s o r e m p l o y e e sT M B S ,T S QE x p e c t e d t a s k d u r a t i o n ,r e t r o s p e c t i v e a n d p r o s p e c t i v e t a s k s ,t i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,t i m e s t r u c t u r e(c o n t i n u e d )Table I.Time management studies in the reviewPR 36,2258A u t h o rM e t h o d S a m p l eT i m e m a n a g e m e n t m e a s u r e V a r i a b l e s i n c l u d e d i n t h e s t u d y11.G r e e n a n d S k i n n e r (2005)S u r v e y232e m p l o y e d a d u l t s (134a l s o f o l l o w u p m e a s u r e m e n t )K e y S k i l l s Q u e s t i o n n a i r e d e v e l o p e d f o r t h e s t u d y s e v e r a l t i m e m a n a g e m e n t s k i l l s T i m e m a n a g e m e n t s k i l l s ,t i m e c u l t u r e ,s t r e s s ,w o r k h o m e b a l a n c e12.G r i f fit h s (2003)S u r v e y120c e n t r a l o f fic e e m p l o y e e s o r t e l e w o r k e r sT M B ST i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,s e l f -r e w a r d ,s e l f -p u n i s h m e n t ,j o b p r o d u c t i v i t y ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,w o r k -f a m i l y c o n fli c t ,s t r e s s ,p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e a f f e c t i v i t y ,c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s 13.H a l l a n d H u r s c h (1982)D i a r y s t u d y4m e m b e r s o f f a c u l t y a n d s t a f f a t a u n i v e r s i t y A n a c t i v i t y l o g a n d s h o r t s u r v e yT i m e s p e n t o n h i g h -p r i o r i t y t a s k s ,f e e l i n g s o f e f f e c t i v e n e s s ,s a t i s f a c t i o n14.J e x a n d E l a c q u a (1999)S u r v e y525e m p l o y e e s o f a v a r i e t y o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s o r p a r t -t i m e s t u d e n t s T M B ST i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,r o l e c o n fli c t ,r o l e o v e r l o a d ,W -F c o n fli c t ,s t r a i n ,f e e l i n g s o f c o n t r o l o v e r t i m e15.K a u f m a n -S c a r b o r o u g h a n d L i n d q u i s t (1999)S u r v e y112p a r t i c i p a n t s (o f w h i c h 95w o r k e r s )T S QT i m e s t r u c t u r e ,p o l y c h r o n i c i t y16.K e l l y (2002)S u r v e y130u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s T M B S ,T S QT i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,p e r c e i v e d c o n t r o l o f t i m e ,t i m e s t r u c t u r e ,w o r r y 17.K i n g e t a l.(1986)S u r v e y ,i n t e r v e n t i o n56p a r t i c i p a n t sT i m e m a n a g e m e n t s c a l e K n o w l e d g e o f t i m e m a n a g e m e n t ,h i g h -p r i o r i t y t a s k s ,s e l f -m o n i t o r i n g o f w o r k i n g o n h i g h -p r i o r i t y t a s k s ,s e l f -e f fic a c y ,s o c i a l s u p p o r t ,s t r e s s ,l i f e e v e n t s ,s p o u s e r e p o r t s 18.K o o l h a a s e t a l.(1992)S u r v e y469p e r s o n n e l o f fic e r s P T P ’90(D u t c h s c a l e )O p t i m i s m ,s a v i n g ,h e r e a n d n o w ,p a s t ,r u s h ,v a g u e n e s s ,t i m e l i n e s s ,p e r s o n a l g r o w t h 19.L a n g (1992)S u r v e y96u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s T i m e m a n a g e m e n t c o p i n g s c a l e T i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r ,c o p i n g ,s t r a i n ,s o m a t i c c o m p l a i n t s (c o n t i n u e d )Table I.Timemanagementliterature259A u t h o rM e t h o dS a m p l e T i m e m a n a g e m e n t m e a s u r e V a r i a b l e s i n c l u d e d i n t h e s t u d y20.L a y a n d S c h o u w e n b u r g (1993)S u r v e y 65p s y c h o l o g y s t u d e n t s S h o r t v e r s i o n o f T M B S T r a i t p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n ,a g i t a t i o n ,d e j e c t i o n21.M a c a n e t a l.(1990)S u r v e y353e m p l o y e e s o f t w o o r g a n i z a t i o n sT M B S T i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,p e r c e i v e d c o n t r o l o f t i m e ,r o l e a m b i g u i t y ,r o l e o v e r l o a d ,j o b -i n d u c e d t e n s i o n ,s o m a t i c t e n s i o n ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,T y p e A -B b e h a v i o u r ,j o b p e r f o r m a n c e 22.M a c a n (1994)S u r v e yS t u d y 1:353e m p l o y e e s o f 2o r g a n i z a t i o n s T M B ST i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,j o b p e r f o r m a n c eS t u d y 2:341s t u d e n t s 23.M a c a n (1996)S u r v e y ,i n t e r v e n t i o n s t u d y 38e m p l o y e e s f r o m a s o c i a l s e r v i c e a g e n c y T M B ST i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,s t r e s s ,j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n ,j o b p e r f o r m a n c e 24.M u d r a c k (1997)S u r v e y701a d u l t s f o r T S Q T M B S ,T S QT e s t o f p s y c h o m e t r i c q u a l i t i e s o f T S Q a n d T M B S207a d u l t s f o r T M B S 25.O r p e n (1994)D i a r y s t u d y96u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t sT i m e m a n a g e m e n t s c a l e c r e a t e d f o r t h e s t u d y T i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r ,e x p e r i e n c e d o v e r l o a d ,a n x i e t y ,d e p r e s s i o n ,s o m a t i s a t i o n ,s o c i a l d e s i r a b i l i t y26.P e e t e r s a n d R u t t e (2005)S u r v e y 123e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l t e a c h e r s S h o r t v e r s i o n o f T M B S B u r n o u t ,e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n ,p e r s o n a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t27.S h a h a n i e t a l.(1993)S u r v e y S t u d y 1:93u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s1:T M B S ,T S Q1:T i m e m a n a g e m e n t b e h a v i o u r s ,i m m e d i a t e t i m e p r e s s u r e ,l o n g -t e r m p e r s o n a l d i r e c t i o n (g o a l ),t i m e u t i l i z a t i o n ,t i m e a n x i e t y ,t i m e s u b m i s s i v e n e s s ,t i m e p o s s e s s i v e n e s s ,g r e e d y a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t i m e S t u d y 2:106u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s 2:T M B S2:C o m p r e h e n s i b i l i t y o f l i f e ,m a n a g e a b i l i t y o f l i f e ,m e a n i n g f u l n e s s o f l i f e ,h i g h /l o w a c a d e m i c p r e s s u r e28.S i m o n s a n d G a l o t t i (1992)S u r v e y ,i n t e r v e n t i o n s t u d y ,a n d d i a r y s t u d yS t u d y 1:88u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t sP l a n n i n g s u r v e yP l a n n i n g p r a c t i c e s ,g o a l s e t t i n g ,p r i o r i t i s i n g ,a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s c h e d u l i n g(c o n t i n u e d )Table I.PR 36,2260A u t h o r M e t h o d S a m p l eT i m e m a n a g e m e n t m e a s u r e V a r i a b l e s i n c l u d e d i n t h e s t u d yS t u d y 2:39u n d e r g r a d u a t e p s y c h o l o g y s t u d e n t s 29.S l a v e n a n d T o t t e r d e l l (1993)S u r v e y ,d i a r y s t u d y ,i n t e r v i e w s ,a n d i n t e r v e n t i o n34d e l e g a t e s o f t w o t i m e m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g c o u r s e sE v a l u a t i o n o f m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g ,e x e c u t i v e s t i m e m a n a g e m e n t i n v e n t o r y W o r k c o m m i t m e n t ,i n t e r n a l w o r k m o t i v a t i o n ,w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t f a c t o r s30.S t r o n g m a n a n d B u r t (2000)S u r v e y ,d i a r y s t u d yS t u d y 1:101fir s t y e a r s t u d e n t s S t u d y 1:T S Q T i m e s t r u c t u r e ,p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n ,r o l e o v e r l o a d ,s e l f -e s t e e m ,b r e a k sS t u d y 2:17s t u d e n t s S t u d y 2:d i a r y 31.T r u e m a n a n d H a r t l e y (1996)S u r v e y293s t u d e n t s T M QD a i l y p l a n n i n g ,c o n fid e n c e i n l o n g -t e r m p l a n n i n g ,a g e ,a c a d e m i c p e r f o r m a n c e 32.V a nE e r d e (2003)S u r v e y37t r a i n e e s i n t i m e m a n a g e m e n t w o r k s h o p s a n d 14p a r t i c i p a n t s i n c o n t r o l g r o u p S h o r t v e r s i o n o f T M B ST M B ,t i m e m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g ,e m o t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y ,w o r r y i n g ,a v o i d a n c e r e a c t i o n s ,t r a i n i n g m o t i v a t i o n33.V o d a n o v i c h a n d S e i b (1997)S u r v e y115s t u d e n t sT S QT i m e s t r u c t u r e ,p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n34.W i l l i a m s e t a l.(1995)S u r v e y204p s y c h o l o g y s t u d e n t s T M Q T i m e m a n a g e m e n t ,p e r s o n a l i t y t y p e s35.W o o l f o l k a n d W o o l f o l k (1986)E x p e r i m e n t ,s u r v e y ,a n d i n t e r v e n t i o n81b e g i n n i n g t e a c h e r s E v a l u a t i o n t i m e m a n a g e m e n t t r a i n i n g ,s e l f -r e p o r t s a b o u t t i m e m a n a g e m e n t s k i l l sT a s k s t h a t n e e d t o b e fin i s h e d (w i t h d i f f e r e n t d e a d l i n e s a n d m e a s u r e m e n t o f m e e t i n g d e a d l i n e s ),s e l f -r e p o r t a n d e x t e r n a l r a t i n g s o f u s e o f t i m e m a n a g e m e n tTable I.Timemanagementliterature261Definitions of time managementThere is no agreement on the definition of time management in past studies.Although many authors referred to Lakein (1973),who suggested that time management involves the process of determining needs,setting goals to achieve these needs,prioritising and planning tasks required to achieve these goals,several other definitions were suggested.Thus,time management has been referred to as:techniques for managing time (Jex and Elacqua,1999;Davis,2000;Macan,1994,1996;Macan et al.,1990;Mudrack,1997);a technique for effective time use,especially having enough time to accomplish the many tasks required (Orpen,1994;Slaven and Totterdell,1993;Woolfolk and Woolfolk,1986);planning and allocating time (Burt and Kemp,1994;Francis-Smythe and Robertson,1999a);the degree to which individuals perceive their use of time to be structured and purposive (Bond and Feather,1988;Strongman and Burt,2000;Sabelis,2001;Vodanovich and Seib,1997);a way of getting insight into time use (Koolhaas et al.,1992);a technique to increase the time available to pursue activities (King et al.,1986);practices intended to maximize intellectual productivity (Britton and Tesser,1991);an application of self-regulation processes in the temporal domain (Griffiths,2003);coping behaviour in at-risk populations (King et al.,1986);self-regulation strategies aimed at discussing plans,and their efficiency (Eilam and Aharon,2003);the use of procedures that are designed to help the individual to achieve his or her desired goals (Hall and Hursch,1982);ways to assess the relative importance of activities through the development of a prioritisation plan (Kaufman-Scarborough and Lindquist,1999);clusters of behaviour that are deemed to facilitate productivity and alleviate stress (Lay and Schouwenburg,1993).Some authors gave no definition at all (Barling et al.,1996;Simons and Galotti,1992;Trueman and Hartley,1996).Besides time management,other terms,such as time structure (Bond and Feather,1988),were used interchangeably with essentially the same meaning.Because a commonly accepted definition of the concept was lacking,we found it difficult to determine the exact content of time management in past research,to describe the current state of affairs,and to identify which parts are responsible for what results.Based on the literature,we suggest a definition of time management as “behaviours that aim at achieving an effective use of time while performing certain goal-directed activities”.This definition highlights that the use of time is not an aim in itself and cannot be pursued in isolation.The focus is on some goal-directed activity,such as performing a work task or an academic duty,which is carried out in a way that implies an effective use of time.These behaviours comprise:.Time assessment behaviours,which aim at awareness of here and now or past,present,and future (Kaufman et al.,1991)and self-awareness of one’s time use (attitudes,cognitions,e.g.Wratcher and Jones,1988),which help to accept tasks and responsibilities that fit within the limit of one’s capabilities..Planning behaviours,such as setting goals,planning tasks,prioritising,making to-do lists,grouping tasks (e.g.Britton and Tesser,1991;Macan,1994,1996)which aim at an effective use of time.PR 36,2262.Monitoring behaviours,which aim at observing one’s use of time while performing activities,generating a feedback loop that allows a limit to the influence of interruptions by others(e.g.Fox and Dwyer,1996;Zijlstra et al., 1999).Measurement instruments usedPast studies have mainly used self-report questionnaires.There were only a few diary studies and experiments.In total,ten different types of self-report questionnaires were used to measure time management behaviours,three types of which were used more often.These questionnaires are:(1)the time management behaviour scale(TMBS,Macan et al.,1990);(2)the time structure questionnaire(TSQ,Bond and Feather,1988);and(3)the time management questionnaire(TMQ,Britton and Tesser,1991).The TMBS was constructed by Macan et al.(1990),and was based on a list of popularised concepts of time management behaviours examined by factor analysis. The subscales were:setting goals and priorities,mechanics of time management(e.g. making to-do lists),preference for organization(e.g.having a preference for an orderly way of working),and perceived control of time.Reliability levels were moderate and differed greatly among different studies(see,for instance,Davis,2000).In her study in 1994,Macan argued that perceived control of time was actually an outcome variable of time management behaviours,and should not be considered part of the TMBS.Adams and Jex(1997)tested the underlying factor structure of the TMBS using confirmatory factor analysis and found additional evidence for a three-factor solution, although they included only28of the33original items.Shahani et al.(1993) investigated the convergent validity of the TMBS by examining the relationships with three other scales(including the TSQ).They found that the TMBS factors were significantly correlated with the other scales and concluded that the TMBS had convergent validity.They stated that the TMBS is the most elaborately validated scale to measure time management behaviours.The studies that included the TMBS did not present all information on the internal consistency of the scales(e.g.Adams and Jex, 1997).Those who did present coefficient alphas found that they ranged from0.50to 0.90(Adams and Jex,1999;Davis,2000;Francis-Smythe and Robertson,1999a;Macan et al.,1990;Macan,1994;Mudrack,1997;Shahani et al.,1993).The lowest coefficients alphas were found for the preference for organization-scale(0.50,0.60,0.68,0.70,and 0.83,respectively).The TSQ was constructed by Bond and Feather(1988)and consists of items referring to the extent to which time is used in a structured and purposeful way.Factor analysis on the items of the TSQ revealed six factors,but onlyfive could be named,i.e. sense of purpose,structured routine,present orientation,effective organization,and persistence.Bond and Feather(1988)claimed that the TSQ meets the usual psychometric criteria for further use as a research instrument,and concluded that the scale had face validity.Although the internal consistency of the total TSQ score in the three samples amounted to0.88,0.92,and0.91respectively,the internal consistency for the subscales ranged from0.55to0.75.A total of eight other studies included the TSQ and found internal consistencies ranging from00.66to0.75.Time managementliterature263。