Improving Time Use and Self-Efficacy Increases Task Performance: Validation of A Novel Process

Abstract

College students are expected to develop time management skills to minimize procrastination and best perform in the tasks they face during education, but many do not implement time management practices and nearly all have trouble focusing on and completing assignments. Contemporary work and theory suggest that time management does not have an effect on task performance, but it can improve self-efficacy, which does correlate with task performance. A time management tool that also worked to improve self-efficacy was thus used to see if increasing self-efficacy could decrease time spent on tasks, i.e., task performance. Analysis of data collected from time and mood tracking before and after intervention demonstrated a significant decrease in time spent working (p<0.001) and significant increases in actual and in perceived productivity (p=0.039 and p=0.009 respectively). The results suggest that implementing practices to improve time management and self-efficacy may increase task performance, but further research must be done to control for specific factors that may confound this effect.