2025 Workplace Scheduling Report
UNCOVERING THE SECRETS TO A BETTER WORKDAY
To better understand what makes a more productive schedule for busy people, we crunched the numbers from:
Data
2,000+
survey responses
80,000,000+
meetings
The Reality
The ideal work schedule looks different for everyone
Contrary to long-held productivity maxims, knowledge workers feel the need to craft their schedules based on a variety of factors.
Personal commitments highly influence scheduling decisions
Survey respondents mentioned a variety of external factors that structure their days, and Clockwise users sync two personal events to their work calendar per day on average.
Commuting
Childcare
Lifestyle commitments
“Morning I’m getting kids and family ready for school, packing lunches. Monday and Friday morning I take the kids to school and start my workday at 9 am. Tuesday through Thursday I commute at 7:20 am and arrive at the office by 9 am.”
Software Engineer from Entertainment Technology Startup
“I wake up at 5 am. Work until 7 am. Protected baby time from 7-7:30 am. Then I commute from 7:30 to 8 am into the office. My meetings start at 10 am, and I take no more than 5 hours of meetings a day. End the day at 6 pm, walk home from 6-6:30 pm. Protected baby time from 6:30-7 pm.”
CEO from Series E Technology company
.avif)
Time for focused work is something everyone wants, but what it looks like can vary
For some, just 5 hours a week of Focus Time is enough, while others need much more
Focus Time isn’t just for makers. Everyone agrees time for deep work is just as important as meetings.
The key difference is how much time a person needs to have impact.
"Throughout the week, I strive to maintain a healthy rhythm of deep focus and collaborative time. I aim to preserve late mornings and early afternoons for focused work, with meetings ideally clustered in mid-morning or mid-afternoon slots to minimize context switching and maintain momentum."
Technical Account Manager from Software company
"My mornings are for meetings and I have time to work on deep work and strategic tasks starting from 2-3 pm."
Program Management Lead at Social Network
.avif)
While workday preferences are unique, we saw commonalities too
The morning is prime time for Focus Time
Many of those surveyed desire time for focused work in the morning hours before jumping into meetings. We see 75% of Focus Time blocks powered by Clockwise scheduled before noon.
But the way they use that time varies:
- Creative work blocks
- Deep work sessions
- Challenging tasks
- Day planning and organization
People crave
transition periods
People mention they like to structure their day based on their energy levels, work demands, and lifestyle factors.
Set routines are common to help people mentally transition from one type of work to the next.
We heard often about users having an “end of day wind down” practice. As a result, less than 7% of meetings are scheduled at 5 pm or after.
"I keep my Monday mornings free of meetings to review priorities, clear out any outstanding tasks, and organize the week ahead with intention."
Product Manager from B2B Technology company
"I prefer to not schedule meetings after 3 pm on Fridays to provide focus time for internal updates and weekly wrap up."
Account Manager from B2B Technology company
Is it possible to intelligently schedule with such complex needs?
With Clockwise it is. Meet the AI calendar assistant leading companies choose to balance calendar preferences org-wide.
Sign Up — It’s FreeFewer, better meetings is the way to productivity
% of teams with No-Meeting day scheduled by day
Making meetings work
A common theme for making the workday more effective was adopting specific scheduling strategies, including:
- “Meeting-free” zones to lessen meeting load (like lunch hours, no-meeting days)
- Meeting stacking to minimize context switching and preserve focus blocks
- Adding short breaks between meetings
- Limiting meeting length
- Capping daily meetings
Everybody eats
Lunch is a non-negotiable for many
The idea of a “floating lunch” is very popular—a flexible lunch window depending on the day’s schedule. We heard from users that the length of their lunch can vary—from thirty minutes, to over an hour.
Some people mention they protect their lunch breaks from meeting and have a strong “no meetings while eating” rule. Others don’t mind working through lunch or try to extend lunch to get in an exercise break.
“Lunch is flexible, I only need 30 minutes to pop out and grab something. “
“I'd like to have a floating lunch somewhere between 11:30 and 1 pm.”
“I take a 30 minute break for lunch every day and an hour break for exercise 3 days a week around lunchtime.”
Global teams require schedule flexibility
.jpg)
Treat overlapping availability as sacred
Supporting schedules across multiple time zones and finding meeting slots that work for everyone is a constant juggling act.
Teams know overlapping time is precious and the most productive ones preserve these windows for meetings with attendees in different places.
“There is, what we call, the golden hour, which is [when] all time zones can meet. And it's really only one hour right now, because of daylight savings. So those are super inflexible [blocks of time], and we are scheduling two months out.”
Product Manager at E-Commerce Brand
Making your day work for you
Five Core Principles
Regardless of job function or title, people have surprisingly consistent and universal needs when it comes to their schedules.
If you’re looking to improve productivity and satisfaction for yourself or for your team, consider these five principles of an ideal workday:
Intentional scheduling
You align the work you need to get done with your energy, and help your team do the same. Most creative in the AM, or hate meetings during a mid-afternoon slump? Craft schedules accordingly.
More balance for deep work
You minimize interruptions and disruptions during deep work blocks, and schedule collaboration intentionally to boost productivity for every stakeholder.
Strategic approach to meetings
You implement calendar practices like stacking meetings, limiting length, and honoring the time zone “golden hour” to cut down on context switching and maximize efficiency.
Mindful breaks
You model incorporating downtime and transition periods (commuting, lunch, and breaks!) into your day to mitigate meeting hangovers, decision fatigue, and burnout.
Personalized structure
You are considerate of daily routines and schedules that not only accommodate, but prioritize, everyone’s individual needs and commitments.