On Top of the Hour: Preference for Scheduling and Starting Tasks at the Beginning of the Hour.

Choosing when to start tasks can be an important aspect of task management in daily life. Do people prefer to start tasks at the beginning of the hour, that is, using clock time as a cue for their scheduling preferences? A first study showed a strong preference to start tasks on the hour, even in sc...

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Publicado en:Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 81 - 89
Autores principales: Peetz, Johanna, LeBlanc, Corey, Wells, Tayler, Zohar, Emily, Sidhu, David M.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Canadian Psychological Association Jun2026
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: On Top of the Hour: Preference for Scheduling and Starting Tasks at the Beginning of the Hour.
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        au:
          Peetz, Johanna
          LeBlanc, Corey
          Wells, Tayler
          Zohar, Emily
          Sidhu, David M.
        affil:
          Department of Psychology, Carleton University
          Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
      su:
        Habit
        Task performance
        Decision making
        Behavior
        Goal (Psychology)
        Self-control
        Flextime
        Motivation (Psychology)
        Time management
        Cognition
        Research funding
        Descriptive statistics
        Chi-squared test
        Regression analysis
      sug:
        subj:
          Habit
          Task performance
          Decision making
          Behavior
          Goal (Psychology)
          Self-control
          Flextime
          Motivation (Psychology)
          Time management
          Cognition
          Research funding
          Descriptive statistics
          Chi-squared test
          Regression analysis
      keyword:
        clock time
        fresh start effect
        goal pursuit
        scheduling
        subjective productivity
        effet de nouveau départ
        heure de l'horloge
        planification
        poursuite d'objectifs
        productivité subjective
        clock time
        fresh start effect
        goal pursuit
        scheduling
        subjective productivity
        effet de nouveau départ
        heure de l'horloge
        planification
        poursuite d'objectifs
        productivité subjective
      ab: Choosing when to start tasks can be an important aspect of task management in daily life. Do people prefer to start tasks at the beginning of the hour, that is, using clock time as a cue for their scheduling preferences? A first study showed a strong preference to start tasks on the hour, even in scenarios involving a cost to starting on the hour, in scenarios involving no other people, and across several forms of start preference measurement. A second study examined reports of real-life tasks: Participants identified next-day tasks ahead of time and then reported on these exact tasks 2 days later. Starting tasks on the hour was not linked with benefits for individual task progress, but starting a higher percentage of tasks on the hour over the day was linked with judging the day overall as having been spent more efficiently. In sum, these studies identify a preference for scheduling and starting tasks on the hour but show mixed evidence that this preference is beneficial for task achievement.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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