Staff who took a 4-week phone course scored higher on using time well

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   54 staff at a university in Tehran, Iran, who signed up because they were easy to reach. 26 took the phone course and 28 got the usual training.

2. 02

   What they did

   For 4 weeks, one group studied a time course on their phones at their own pace. It used text, slides and short videos on why time matters, key rules, time-wasters and methods. The other group got the university's usual training for 4 weeks, which the paper doesn't describe.

3. 03

   What happened

   At the end, the phone group scored higher on a 12-question questionnaire about using work time well. They also scored higher on all four parts of a test of what they knew about managing time. Some of the paper's numbers don't add up and it gives no group averages, so we can't give sizes.

What the study found

1. HelpedTime management

   Staff who took a 4-week phone course scored higher on using work time well than staff with usual training.

   • Action: Take a time-management coursetested

   Small trial of 54 university staff in Iran · vs the university's usual staff training · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

2. HelpedOther outcomes

   The phone course also raised scores on a test of what staff knew about managing time.

   • Action: Take a time-management coursetested

   Small trial of 54 university staff in Iran · vs the university's usual staff training · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source