Survey reveals top time-wasters for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs across all generations are losing weeks of productivity each year to “wasted time,” according to new research.

The survey polled 2,000 U.S. small business owners, evenly split across generations, and revealed that the average respondent loses one hour and 36 minutes each day to tasks they deem unproductive.

This “wasted time” adds up to over three work weeks annually for small business owners.

Commissioned by Slack and conducted by Talker Research, the survey revealed the top time-wasters that respondents deal with.

These include non-work-related distractions (57%), procrastination (47%) and the seemingly endless wait for status updates (28%).

But a new productivity killer is emerging: context switching between multiple apps and tools (17%). With the average entrepreneur surveyed juggling four different digital tools daily — and nearly a third of them using five or more digital tools — the cost of tech fragmentation is becoming apparent.

Three in 10 respondents waste time searching for information in the wrong places, while 29% find themselves repeating messages across platforms.

“Business owners today juggle multiple tasks and tools. While digital tools enhance productivity, the constant switching between apps can hinder efficiency,” said Jaime DeLanghe, Vice President, Product Management at Slack. “Successful entrepreneurs are learning to streamline their digital workflows, allowing them to focus on growing their business and better serving customers.”

While all respondents deal with “wasted time” throughout their workday, the survey did split respondents by generation to see who felt they had the strongest time management skills.

The survey found that Gen Z small business owners consider themselves the best at managing their time, outpacing older generations by a significant margin.

It found that 47% of Gen Z respondents said they’re “excellent” with time management generally, compared to 33% of millennials, and only a quarter of Gen X (25%) and baby boomers (24%).

Interestingly, the study found that across generations, the ability to focus on what’s important was the primary factor for helping with productivity (69%).

From there, the generations have different opinions. Gen Z, Gen X and baby boomers reported that setting boundaries and saying “no” when they're not able to take on more work came next in order of importance. However, millennials prefer to utilize technology to keep themselves on track.

And this millennial enthusiasm for tech might be catching on. A significant share of small business owners (59%) introduced new technology this year, aiming to simplify tasks (62%), save time (59%) and improve their products or services (51%).

"It's encouraging to see small business owners — no matter their age — embracing technology to drive productivity,” said DeLanghe. “To be successful in such a high-pressure role, it’s essential that entrepreneurs choose tools that integrate seamlessly and streamline processes rather than complicate them. This will go a long way as they try to do more with less and less time.”

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 small business owners , evenly split by generation; the survey was commissioned by Slack and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 28 and July 3.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.

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