Exceeds expectations
- Plans the day around the two peak counter hours, so routine work never collides with the rush.
- Clears the highest-value tasks before lunch, leaving low-focus work for the slower afternoon.
- Batches similar approvals into one sitting, cutting the switching that used to fragment the day.
- Finishes the month-end close a day early by starting the data pull in the middle of the month.
- Protects a daily quiet block for detailed work and defends it from avoidable meetings.
- Estimates task times accurately, so commitments to the manager rarely slip.
- Keeps a short, ordered task list and works top down instead of by whatever shouts loudest.
- Delegates the routine part of a task so own hours go to what only they can do.
Meets expectations
- Prioritises the day's tasks sensibly and finishes the important ones on time.
- Meets most deadlines and gives early warning when one is at risk.
- Keeps meetings to their planned length rather than letting them drift.
- Handles routine and urgent work without letting either fully crowd out the other.
- Uses a task list or reminder so commitments are not forgotten.
- Blocks time for focused work when a task needs it.
- Says no or renegotiates when genuinely overloaded, instead of silently dropping tasks.
- Recovers a slipped plan by re-sequencing rather than working blindly through the list.
Needs improvement
- Reacts to whatever is loudest, so important but non-urgent work keeps sliding.
- Under-estimates how long tasks take, so commitments slip more often than not.
- Lets meetings overrun, which pushes the rest of the day late.
- Starts many tasks and finishes few, leaving several half-done at day end.
- Takes on more than the day allows rather than renegotiating deadlines.
- Spends peak-focus morning hours on low-value routine that could wait.
- Keeps no task list, so smaller commitments are forgotten until chased.
- Switches constantly between tasks, and the context switching slows everything down.
Self-review phrases
- I now clear my highest-value tasks before lunch and keep routine work for the afternoon.
- I estimate task times more carefully, so my commitments to the manager slip less.
- I want to stop task switching and finish one thing before starting the next.
- I block a quiet hour daily for detailed work and protect it from meetings.
Tips for writing this feedback
- Judge time management by results: were priorities right, deadlines met, and important work protected from the merely urgent?
- Look at estimation. Someone who consistently under-estimates task time has a planning gap, even if they work hard.
- Check how the person handles overload. Renegotiating deadlines is healthier than silently dropping tasks.
- Distinguish busy from effective. Long hours with many half-done tasks is a time-management problem, not a strength.
- Name a real week in the feedback, showing where time went well or poorly, so the point is concrete.
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What does good time management look like in a review?
Good time management shows in choices, not hours worked. The person sorts urgent from important, protects focus time for demanding work, estimates task length well, and meets deadlines or flags risk early. When overloaded, they renegotiate rather than drop tasks silently. Look at whether the right work got done on time, not how busy the person seemed.
How do I give feedback to someone who is always busy but misses deadlines?
Separate effort from effectiveness. Acknowledge the hard work, then show the pattern: many tasks started, few finished, deadlines slipping. The usual causes are poor prioritisation, weak time estimates, or taking on too much. Suggest one concrete habit, such as a short ordered task list worked top down, and review it next cycle.
Should meetings count in a time-management review?
Yes. How a person runs and attends meetings is part of time management. Note whether their meetings start and end on time, stay on topic, and are worth the group's hours. Someone whose meetings routinely overrun is costing not just their own time but everyone else's, which belongs in the feedback.