New Duckbill Research Reveals Americans Are Overwhelmed, Out of Time, and Going At it Alone

Rhea-AI Summary

A new survey conducted by Duckbill and The Harris Poll reveals a concerning trend among Americans struggling with time management and daily tasks. The study found that 55% of adults are merely trying to get through each day rather than enjoying it, while 75% feel guilty during their free time. Key findings show that 54% find life management harder than necessary, with healthcare appointments being the most commonly delayed task (22% of Americans procrastinate or avoid them). The impact is particularly severe on young women aged 18-34, with 81% feeling constant pressure to be productive. Despite 76% of Americans wanting to delegate tasks, only 9% actually do so, citing reasons such as not wanting to burden others (44%) and affordability concerns (24%). Duckbill, an AI-powered assistant platform, aims to address these challenges by providing support systems for managing life's tasks.

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More than half of Americans say they're just "getting through the day," as guilt and time scarcity keep them from asking for help.

BOSTON, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from Duckbill and The Harris Poll reveals that at a moment when life is supposed to be getting easier, as AI and digital tools promise greater efficiency, many Americans are experiencing the opposite. Over half of adult Americans (55%) admit that, most of the time, they're simply trying to "get through the day, instead of enjoying it," and 75% feel that even when they have free time, they feel like there is something they should be doing.

Modern life is putting an incredible toll on Americans, who report that time scarcity, guilt, and social pressure make life feel like survival. This is affecting healthcare, quality of life, and exacerbation of inequality, particularly for young people, women, and parents.

Duckbill, an AI-powered, human-led assistant platform, launched this survey with The Harris Poll to find out exactly how and why Americans are overwhelmed. The results point to a growing epidemic: Americans are not able to live the lives they want and are not getting the help they need. Duckbill is on a mission to help solve this by building a support system that takes care of the things people dread most.

"This data clearly reveals what we have long feared, Americans are more overwhelmed than ever, and stuck in the endless cycle of life's tasks," says Meghan Joyce, CEO and Founder of Duckbill. "We can no longer ignore this growing crisis. We need to normalize asking for help, embrace AI for the good that it can do, and use these insights to create solutions that help us live better, more joyful lives."

Key findings from the survey include:

Most Americans struggle to find free time.

• 75% report that even in their free time, they feel there is something they "should be doing."
• 54% say that managing life feels harder than it should be.
• 50% say that time feels like "a luxury that is out of reach for me."
• These sentiments are felt more deeply by women aged 18-34: 81% feel there is something else they should be doing, and 74% feel that time is a luxury that is out of reach.

As a result, many tasks are delayed or avoided completely– healthcare appointments are the most frequently delayed or avoided.

• Over 1 in 5 Americans (22%) say they procrastinate until absolutely necessary or avoid scheduling doctor's appointments for themselves.
• 31% of women aged 18-34 report procrastination or avoiding scheduling these appointments, with a remarkable 1 in 10 saying they avoid scheduling altogether. 
• 25% of men aged 18–34 report similar delays, and 8% avoid them entirely.
• Only 7% of Americans ask for help or delegate scheduling their own doctor's appointments.

Quality of life is on the line - yet, delegation remains rare.

• 86% of Americans agree that life is significantly more enjoyable when they have time to do what they want.
• 54% feel that managing life feels harder than it should be.
• Only 9% on average delegate certain daily tasks to others, like car maintenance or buying groceries.

Despite wanting help, significant barriers exist.

• 76% of Americans say they would like to offload at least one of life's tasks to someone else.
• 44% say they avoid asking for help because they don't want to "burden others," and over half of young women aged 18-34 feel this way (57%).
• 27% of young women aged 18-34 say they do not know who to ask, and 28% of them do not think their needs are as important as other people's.
• Almost one in three Americans (29%) say that asking for help takes more time than it does to do it myself
• 24% say they can't afford help.

Read the full report here. Start asking for the help you deserve at getduckbill.com.

About Duckbill

Duckbill is a support system that combines expert human co-pilots and AI to take on everyday tasks, giving people real help to reclaim their time and energy. We believe everyone deserves the freedom to focus on what they love—Duckbill makes that possible by anticipating your needs and handling the tasks you dread. By combining copilots, a team of human task experts, and AI, Duckbill anticipates needs, surfaces catered results, and executes on members' behalf. Duckbill makes to-do lists all-done lists, so that members can focus on what brings them joy.

About Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is a global public opinion, analytics, and market research consultancy that strives to reveal society's authentic values to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. With a global research reach of more than 90 countries, Harris offers advisory services across sectors to world leaders, CEOs, and business decision-makers with state-of-the-art analytics, real-time software services, and practitioners in marketing, reputation, customer experience, trends, futures, and thought leadership/research-for-public release, The Harris Poll translates shifting social sentiment into a competitive marketplace advantage. Harris is a Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) company. www.theharrispoll.com.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between May 1 - 5, 2025, among 2069 adults (aged 18 and over) by The Harris Poll on behalf of Duckbill via its Harris On Demand omnibus product.

Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, employment, and political party affiliation to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

Press contact: duckbill@originalstrategies.com

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SOURCE Duckbill

FAQ

What are the key findings of Duckbill's 2025 survey about Americans' time management?

The survey found that 55% of Americans are just trying to get through the day, 75% feel guilty during free time, and 54% find life management harder than necessary. Only 9% delegate daily tasks despite 76% wanting help.

How does time scarcity affect healthcare appointments according to the Duckbill study?

22% of Americans procrastinate or completely avoid scheduling doctor's appointments, with only 7% asking for help or delegating this task. The issue is more prevalent among young adults aged 18-34.

What are the main barriers preventing Americans from seeking help according to Duckbill's research?

The main barriers include not wanting to burden others (44%), feeling it takes more time to ask for help (29%), affordability concerns (24%), and not knowing whom to ask (particularly among young women).

How does the time management crisis particularly affect young women according to the Duckbill survey?

Young women aged 18-34 are disproportionately affected, with 81% feeling they should always be doing something, 74% viewing time as a luxury out of reach, and 31% procrastinating on healthcare appointments.

What percentage of Americans want to delegate tasks according to the Duckbill study?

76% of Americans would like to offload at least one of life's tasks to someone else, yet only 9% on average actually delegate daily tasks like car maintenance or grocery shopping.