How Do Personality Traits Affect Time Management?

Baltas Group

People have many responsibilities to fulfill in their daily lives. While carrying out these responsibilities, not only knowledge and skills but also the ability to manage time effectively becomes important. In the rising age of digitalization, we are exposed to many distracting stimuli, making it increasingly difficult to focus on a single task. Without consistency, delays in fulfilling responsibilities become inevitable. Planning for the future and setting priorities in those plans are possible with more effective time management skills.

In modern management thought, time is considered an important production factor and holds a fundamental share as a resource in investments.¹ In this context, time management gains new significance from an organizational perspective. Today, companies organize time management workshops and seminars to help employees use their time more effectively.²

Time Management and Personality

Conceptually, time management can actually be misleading because time, unlike other resources, is not a factor whose cost can be directly or easily observed. The main purpose here is to express how a person copes with time.

So, what determines the difference between attending a meeting regularly, prepared and early, versus arriving unprepared and late? Research shows that habits lie behind this situation. Personality dimensions provide good guidance in interpreting how time management shapes individuals’ habits.

When the relationship between personality and time management is examined through the dimension of conscientiousness, individuals with high conscientiousness are described as "dutiful and self-disciplined," with an implicit sense of responsibility focusing on results, success, and perseverance.³ Time management can be evaluated as the way one monitors and controls time. Considering the completion of multiple tasks within a specific time frame, the concept of self-regulation also proves beneficial.⁴ Self-regulation provides a theoretical framework for understanding how individuals monitor, control, and adjust their behaviors to achieve goals, encompassing self-discipline associated with habit formation. Research shows that self-regulation processes play an important role in time management and that individuals use strategies such as goal setting, planning, and monitoring to make the best use of their time. Studies also emphasize the importance of attention control, inhibitory processes, and self-efficacy beliefs in facilitating effective time management behaviors.⁵

High conscientiousness is found to be associated with the tendency to make lists, plan, and prioritize activities. This indicates a tendency to show less procrastination and a more positive attitude toward tasks.⁶ However, it is important to note that individuals with very high conscientiousness may also have tendencies to get caught up in details and exhibit repetitive control impulses, which can sometimes cause delays in their tasks; thus, maintaining balance becomes crucial.

When characteristics such as goal setting, acting systematically, and adhering to tasks come together, such data reveal that individuals with high conscientiousness organize their behaviors according to pre-structured goals and make consistent efforts to achieve them.³ Here, rather than a high drive for competition, there is also an indirect internal motivation to manage time effectively.

Chronic Procrastination and Personality

Looking at the negative side of time management, one of the concepts that emerges is chronic procrastination. The term “procrastination,” used to define chronic procrastination behavior, has been frequently mentioned in recent years and is examined in detail in many studies. Chronic procrastination is defined as being mostly considered the result of a failure in self-control, which diverts individuals from reaching their goals. Individuals who show a lack of self-control have difficulty resisting the urges from pleasurable stimuli and therefore postpone the tasks that need to be completed.

Research shows that individuals with high conscientiousness can suppress their desires against immediate or pleasurable temptations and complete tasks on time. The results of a study examining attitudes toward behaviors that require the individual to control time—such as creating task lists, controlling behaviors, and adapting to time—show that high conscientiousness is associated with lower procrastination behavior, while individuals with low conscientiousness combined with a sense of inadequacy try to obtain short-term gains by postponing their tasks.⁷ Another study on chronic procrastination found a positive relationship between low conscientiousness and chronic procrastination behavior.⁸ Consequently, research reveals that individuals with high conscientiousness tend to approach tasks in a more organized and planned way, while those with low conscientiousness are more inclined toward chronic procrastination.

Conclusion

Time management skills are also shaped by the fundamental personality traits underlying individual habits. Therefore, what matters is recognizing our personality traits and developing time management strategies that suit them. In this way, individual productivity increases while supporting greater success in professional life. Personality dimensions should be evaluated comprehensively and as a whole by using personality inventories with scientific foundations. In this context, Baltaş Personova—the first and only personality inventory adapted to Turkish culture and norms—offers an up-to-date, valid, and reliable assessment. For more comprehensive information about time management and planning, you can access the Selected Priorities publication of our Kaynak Magazine via the link https://kaynakbaltas.com/dergiler/secilmis-oncelikler/.

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