CELPIP Vocabulary for Time and Productivity
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
Time & Productivity collocations for CELPIP
Deadlines, busy schedules and free time appear in CELPIP prompts about work, study and family life. Writing Task 1 may ask you to email a manager for more time on a project, or tell a friend why you have to change your plans. Writing Task 2 surveys may ask whether an office should switch to flexible hours or a four-day week. In Speaking, Task 1, Giving Advice, may involve a friend who always feels rushed; Task 2, Talking about a Personal Experience, may ask about a time you had too much to do; and Task 6, Dealing with a Difficult Situation, may involve two commitments at the same time. These collocations help you talk about planning, delays and getting things done.
Verb + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| manage your time | organize how you use your hours | Learning to manage your time well reduces stress at work. |
| set a deadline | decide on a due date for a task | Our manager set a deadline of Friday for the report. |
| prioritize tasks | decide what to do first based on importance | I prioritize tasks by urgency every morning. |
| meet a deadline | finish something by the due date | The team worked late to meet the deadline. |
| waste time | use time badly | Scrolling on my phone wastes so much time. |
| make the most of (your time) | use time as well as possible | She makes the most of her lunch break by going for a walk. |
| procrastinate on a task | keep delaying something you should do | I tend to procrastinate on paperwork until the last minute. |
| schedule an appointment | arrange a fixed time for a meeting or visit | I need to schedule an appointment with my accountant in March. |
| juggle responsibilities | manage several duties at once | Working parents often juggle responsibilities all day. |
| delegate a task | give a piece of work to someone else | A good manager knows when to delegate a task. |
| take a break | stop working for a short time to rest | It's important to take a break every couple of hours. |
| stay on track | keep making steady progress | Using a planner helps me stay on track with deadlines. |
Adjective + noun collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| a tight deadline | very little time to finish something | We're working to a tight deadline this week. |
| a hectic schedule | an extremely busy timetable | Her hectic schedule leaves little time for hobbies. |
| spare time | free time with nothing planned | I like to read in my spare time. |
| a productive morning | a morning when you get a lot done | I had a really productive morning before lunch. |
| a time-consuming task | something that takes a long time to do | Filling out expense forms is a time-consuming task. |
| a last-minute rush | a stressful hurry just before a deadline | Starting early helps you avoid a last-minute rush. |
| a well-organized plan | a clearly structured, effective plan | A well-organized plan kept the move on schedule. |
| a packed agenda | a meeting or day full of items | Today's meeting has a packed agenda, so let's start on time. |
| quiet downtime | a calm period with little to do | Sunday afternoons are my quiet downtime. |
| quality time | time given fully to someone you care about | We try to spend quality time together on weekends. |
| a fast-paced environment | a workplace where things happen quickly | She does her best work in a fast-paced environment. |
| flexible hours | a work schedule that can be adjusted | The company offers flexible hours to all office staff. |
Phrasal verbs
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| put off (a task) | delay or postpone something | I keep putting off doing my taxes until the end of April. |
| catch up on (work) | do work that has piled up | I spent the weekend catching up on emails. |
| keep up with (deadlines) | manage to do everything as it comes | It's hard to keep up with deadlines during exam season. |
| fall behind (schedule) | become slower than planned; also "fall behind on" a task | The project fell behind schedule after the supplier's delay. |
| carry on (with a task) | continue doing something | Let's carry on with the meeting after the break. |
| wind down | relax before rest, often in the evening | I like to wind down with a book before bed. |
| get around to (something) | finally find time to do something | I finally got around to organizing my files. |
| cut down on (distractions) | reduce something | Turning off notifications helps me cut down on distractions. |
| speed up (a process) | make something happen faster | The new software has sped up our workflow. |
| slow down | reduce your pace, often to avoid burnout | You should slow down before you burn out completely. |
| take on (more work) | accept extra responsibility | She agreed to take on more work this quarter. |
| squeeze in (a meeting) | fit something into a busy schedule | I managed to squeeze in a quick call before lunch. |
Formal and spoken phrases for time and productivity
These phrases belong to time and workload situations. Use the formal ones in a Writing Task 1 email to a manager or instructor, or a Writing Task 2 survey response about work schedules, and the spoken ones when you talk about your own week in Speaking.
Formal phrases for Writing
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| allocate sufficient time to | set aside enough time for a task | It is important to allocate sufficient time to testing before the launch. |
| given the limited timeframe | because there is not much time | Given the limited timeframe, we should focus on the two most urgent items. |
| in order to maximize efficiency | so that work is done with the least waste | The office changed its meeting schedule in order to maximize efficiency. |
| request an extension | formally ask for more time | I am writing to request a one-week extension for the quarterly report. |
| a revised timeline | a new, updated schedule for a project | I have attached a revised timeline showing the new completion dates. |
| competing deadlines | several deadlines that fall at the same time | With three competing deadlines this month, I need to set clear priorities. |
| an unmanageable workload | more work than one person can reasonably do | The staff shortage has created an unmanageable workload for our team. |
| a reasonable timeframe | a fair and realistic amount of time | Two weeks seems a reasonable timeframe for reviewing the contract. |
| maintain a healthy work-life balance | keep a fair balance between your job and your life | A four-day week would help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance. |
| redistribute the workload | share the work differently among people | Could we redistribute the workload until Priya returns from leave? |
Spoken phrases for Speaking
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I'm always racing against the clock | I'm always under time pressure | I'm always racing against the clock on Monday mornings. |
| I never seem to have enough time | I'm always short of time | I never seem to have enough time for my hobbies lately. |
| I'm swamped | I'm extremely busy | I'm swamped this week. Can we meet on Monday instead? |
| I'm running behind | I'm late, or behind schedule | Sorry, I'm running behind. I'll be there in ten minutes. |
| pull an all-nighter | stay up all night to finish something | I had to pull an all-nighter to finish my final project. |
| get a head start on | start something early | I like to get a head start on the week by planning on Sunday night. |
| my to-do list | the list of things I need to do | My to-do list keeps getting longer, not shorter. |
| I lost track of time | I didn't notice how much time had passed | I lost track of time and missed my bus. |
| kill time | do something unimportant while you wait | I killed time at the airport by reading the news. |
| crunch time | the busy period just before a deadline | It's crunch time at work, so I can't make it to the game. |
| I'm a morning person | I work best early in the day | I'm a morning person, so I do my hardest tasks before ten. |
| time flies | time passes very quickly | Time flies when you're busy. I can't believe it's Friday already. |
Connectors such as "research suggests that" and chunks such as "to tell you the truth" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.
Worked examples
Writing Task 1: Asking your manager for more time
Prompt: You have too much work this week and will not be able to finish an important report on time. Write an email to your manager. In your email:
- explain what you are working on;
- describe why you cannot finish the report on time;
- say what you would like your manager to do.
Dear Ms. Chen,
I am writing about the client report that is due this Friday. As you know, I am also preparing the training materials for the three new staff members who start next month. Both projects need my full attention.
The problem is that I now have competing deadlines. On Monday, I agreed to take on the Henderson account while Luis is on vacation, and it has turned out to be a very time-consuming task. I have been prioritizing tasks carefully and staying late to catch up on emails, but I have still fallen behind on the report by about two days.
Given the limited timeframe, I would like to request an extension until next Tuesday. That would let me check the figures properly instead of rushing them, which matters because the client will use them to plan its budget. If the Friday deadline cannot move, could someone else handle the Henderson account until Wednesday?
I have attached a revised timeline for both projects. Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
Sofia Marquez
The email covers the three bullets in order, gives a specific cause for the delay, and offers the manager two options.
Speaking Task 2: Talking about a Personal Experience
Prompt: Talk about a time when you had too much to do and not enough time.
I'd like to talk about my last term at college, when I learned to manage my time the hard way.
I had a big marketing project due in December, and our instructor gave us six weeks. But I was working part-time, so I kept putting it off. It always felt like there was plenty of time.
Then, two weeks before the due date, two other assignments landed in the same week, and suddenly I was working to a tight deadline. The last few days were a last-minute rush. I had to pull an all-nighter on the Sunday, and I only just met the deadline. I submitted the project at ten to midnight.
I passed, but it wasn't my best work, and I felt terrible for days. After that, I started to prioritize tasks every Monday and break big projects into small steps. I've never left anything that late again.
The story moves in time order, from the cause to the crisis to what the speaker learned, which fills the 60 seconds.
CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways
CLB 7 version: I have a lot of work this week, and I am late with two projects.
CLB 9 version: I'm swamped this week, and I've fallen behind schedule on two projects.
What changed: "have a lot of work" became the spoken phrase "I'm swamped", and "am late with" became the phrasal verb "fall behind schedule on".
Common mistakes
- "I did the deadline" → I met the deadline. You meet, miss or extend a deadline.
- "Let's make a break" → let's take a break. Breaks are taken, not made.
- "We have a quick deadline" → we have a tight deadline. "Tight" is the fixed adjective for very little time.
- "I finished it in the last minute" → I finished it at the last minute.
- "I spent the weekend to study" → I spent the weekend studying. "Spend time" is followed by an -ing verb.
- "I passed the weekend at home" → I spent the weekend at home. "Pass" is a false friend for French and Spanish speakers; in English you spend time.
- "Using the bus earns me time" → taking the bus saves me time. You save time and waste time; you don't earn it.
- "I postponed to do my taxes" → I put off doing my taxes or I postponed doing my taxes. Both verbs are followed by an -ing form.
- "I procrastinated my homework" → I procrastinated on my homework or I put off my homework. "Procrastinate" doesn't take a direct object.
- "The project fell back" → the project fell behind schedule. "Fall back" means move backward or retreat.
- "I'm falling behind my work" → I'm falling behind on my work. Use "on" before the thing you are behind with.
- "I need to keep up with my emails from my vacation" → I need to catch up on my emails. "Catch up on" is for work that has piled up; "keep up with" is for work that keeps arriving.
- "I'm swamped, so can you give me more time?" in a formal email to a manager → given my current workload, I would like to request an extension. The spoken phrase is fine with a coworker, but too casual for Writing Task 1 to a manager.
Practise
- Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
- Writing Task 1 practice: write an email asking for more time on a project and use at least five collocations from this page.
- Speaking Task 2 practice: tell the story of a busy week using "put off", "a tight deadline" and "meet a deadline".
- Speaking Task 6 practice: handle two commitments at the same time using "I'm swamped" and "fall behind on".