MJAMR

Priorities and Time: A New Skill to Embrace: Are Ugandans Ready?

Dr Arinaitwe Julius, Professor Edris Kasenene Serugo, Dr Mategeko Betty


Abstract

This study examined the relationship between time orientation, priority-setting behaviour, and economic and social outcomes in the Ugandan context, arguing that the management of time and priorities constituted an increasingly critical competency for Ugandan individuals, households, organizations, and government actors in a rapidly globalizing and digitalizing environment. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 1,842 adult Ugandans conducted across all regions of the country, supplemented by qualitative interviews with 86 urban and rural respondents, the study explored cultural attitudes toward time, the priority-setting practices of individuals and households, the organizational time cultures of public and private sector institutions, and the gap between existing time management practices and the requirements of Uganda's economic development aspirations. The findings revealed that Uganda was characterized by a complex and internally varied time culture that combined elements of what the literature described as polychronic time orientation comfort with multiple simultaneous activities, flexible scheduling, and relationship-prioritized temporal decisions with growing aspirational alignment with monochronic time norms associated with formal employment, digital technology use, and international business engagement. The study argued that rather than requiring Ugandans to wholesale abandon indigenous time orientations, the cultivation of priority and time management skills required the development of a contextually intelligent temporal flexibility the capacity to navigate between different time cultures as context demanded and that this capacity was both learnable and urgently needed.

Keywords

Priorities Culture Time Skill and development
Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research

Cite This Article

Dr Arinaitwe Julius, Professor Edris Kasenene Serugo & Dr Mategeko Betty (2026). Priorities and Time: A New Skill to Embrace: Are Ugandans Ready?. Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research, 5(4). https://journals.miu.ac.ug/pages/article.php?article_id=390

More in This Issue

View full issue →
1
Access To Business Information And Performance Of Smes In Nakawa Market, Kampala, Uganda
Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara, Irumba Alex, Akampurira Sarah
Business Information SME Performance Nakawa Market Kampala
2
Africa's Youngest Giant: A Longitudinal Analysis of Uganda's Demographic Dividend Opportunity and the Policy Imperatives for Realization
Dr Arinaitwe Julius1 , Dr Mategeko Betty2
Africa's Youngest Giant Longitudinal Analysis Uganda's Demographic Dividend Opportunity and Policy Imperatives for Realisation
3
Agriculture Support Programs And Poverty Eradication In Rural Areas: A Case Study Of Ntusi Sub-County
Kato Jacob1 , Kamugira Apophia2
Agriculture Support Programs Poverty Eradication Input Support Extension Services
5
Assistive Technology And Participation Of Students With Special Needs In Selected Secondary Schools In Mbale District
Bikala Mathias Brian, Mirembe Suzan
Assistive Technology Students with Special Needs Inclusive Education Participation