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During the last two decades, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of time in the organizational literature. According to [44] 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. [19] 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. [46] Palmer and Schoorman, 1999) and the experience of time pressure among employees (e.g. [25] Jackson and Martin, 1996; [40] Major et al. , 2002; [63] Teuchmann et al. , 1999).
The 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. [3] Ancona et al. , 2001; [20] George and Jones, 2000; [71] 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. [36] 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. [13] Drucker, 1967; [33] Lakein, 1973; [39] Mackenzie, 1972; [41] 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. [13] Drucker, 1967) recognized that planning tasks and activities does not always lead to the completion of planned work, especially when time pressure is high.
[41] McCay (1959) developed a concept...