You could be losing weeks of productivity every year to “wasted time.”  At least that is what new research shows.

The survey polled 2,000 U.S. small business owners, evenly split across generations, and revealed that the average small business owner loses one hour and 36 minutes each day to tasks they deem unproductive.

This “wasted time” adds up to over three work weeks annually for small business owners.

Commissioned by Slack and conducted by Talker Research, the survey revealed the top time-wasters that respondents deal with.

These include non-work-related distractions (57%), procrastination (47%) and the seemingly endless wait for status updates (28%).

But a new productivity killer is emerging: context switching between multiple apps and tools (17%). The survey found that the average entrepreneur juggles four different digital tools daily — and nearly a third of them using five or more digital tools. The cost of such tech fragmentation is becoming more and more apparent.

Wrong places

The survey found:

• Three in 10 respondents waste time searching for information in the wrong places.

• A third find themselves repeating messages across platforms.

“Business owners today juggle multiple tasks and tools. While digital tools enhance productivity, the constant switching between apps can hinder efficiency,” says Jaime DeLanghe, Vice President, Product Management at Slack.

The answer?

“Successful entrepreneurs are learning to streamline their digital workflows, allowing them to focus on growing their business and better serving customers.”

Generational split

While all respondents deal with “wasted time” throughout their workday, the survey did split respondents by generation to see who felt they had the strongest time management skills.

The survey found that Gen Z small business owners consider themselves the best at managing their time, outpacing older generations by a significant margin.

It found that 47% of Gen Z respondents said they’re “excellent” with time management generally, compared to 33% of millennials, and only a quarter of Gen X (25%) and baby boomers (24%).

Interestingly, the study found that across generations, the ability to focus on what’s important was the primary factor for helping with productivity (69%).

From there, the generations have different opinions. Gen Z, Gen X and baby boomers reported that setting boundaries and saying “no” when they're not able to take on more work came next in order of importance. However, millennials prefer to use technology to keep themselves on track.

New technology

This millennial enthusiasm for tech might be catching on. A significant share of small business owners (59%) introduced new technology this year, aiming to simplify tasks (62%), save time (59%) and improve their products or services (51%).

"It's encouraging to see small business owners — no matter their age — embracing technology to drive productivity,” says DeLanghe. “To be successful in such a high-pressure role, it’s essential that entrepreneurs choose tools that integrate seamlessly and streamline processes rather than complicate them. This will go a long way as they try to do more with less and less time.”