Time Back Calculator

Estimate weekly team-hours you regain by fixing messy handoffs. Adjust the fields below with your own numbers.

Weekly Status Meeting

Length before (minutes) Length after (minutes) Attendees (people)

“Where is that?” Pings

Pings per week — before Pings per week — after Avg minutes per ping

Reopened Tasks

Reopened per week — before Reopened per week — after Avg minutes per rework loop

Handoff Stalls > 24h

Stalls per week — before Stalls per week — after Avg hours saved per avoided stall

Onboarding Mentoring

New hires per month Mentor hours per new hire — before Mentor hours per new hire — after

Costing (optional)

Avg fully-loaded hourly cost ($)

Hours regained / week

0.0

Estimated $ / week

Method: ((status trim × attendees) + fewer pings + less rework + fewer stalls + onboarding) → weekly hours. Use your real numbers for a defensible claim.

Book a 15-minute Clarity Check Read: Cost of Chaos

Methodology & Sources

How the math works: Hours regained per week = (status meeting trim × attendees) + (fewer “where is that?” pings × minutes per ping ÷ 60) + (fewer reopened tasks × minutes per rework ÷ 60) + (avoided >24h handoff stalls × hours saved) + (onboarding mentor-time reduction × hires/month ÷ 4.33). Defaults are conservative—change the inputs to match your team.

Status & Meetings: Team-minutes are additive. Trimming a 60→45 min status with 6 people saves 1.5 hours/week.
Pings & Task Switching: Micro-interruptions carry restart costs; the default uses a conservative per-ping minute value you can adjust.
Rework Loops: Rework is a major productivity drain; capturing reopened tasks × minutes gives a grounded, team-specific estimate.
Handoff Stalls: Reducing wait states lowers lead time (see Little’s Law). This counts avoided >24h stalls × hours saved.
Onboarding: Mentor hours saved per new hire are spread across weeks (÷ 4.33). SHRM recommends tracking time-to-productivity.

Selected Sources

Gloria Mark et al., The Cost of Interrupted Work (CHI 2008). PDF
Gallup Business Journal (2006): interrupted work resumed in ~23 minutes. Article
Little’s Law (queueing theory) — relationship between WIP, throughput, and lead time. Overview
SHRM: Measuring onboarding success (time-to-productivity). Guide
Boehm & Basili (2001): rework & defect reduction insights. PDF