Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is a degenerative condition with a variable clinical course. We aim to quantify the sources of potential delay in management and understand how the timing of these events may affect quality of life measures. Methods: The Canadian Spine Outcomes Research Network Registry was used to identify patients older than 18 years of age and have received cervical decompression surgery from January 1, 2013 to March 1, 2016. The primary outcome was the Short Form-12 Physical Component Score at 12-month follow-up. Four time groups were identified: 1) duration of symptoms, 2) time awaiting surgical consult, 3) time spent monitoring symptoms, and 4) time awaiting surgery. -Multivariate regression was used for analysis. Results: A total of 208 patients were identified. The mean age was 59.5 years. 61.53% of patients had symptoms for >12 months at initial consult. Mean time awaiting surgical consult, monitoring symptoms, and awaiting surgery was 77.2, 60.9, and 46.9 days, respectively. Time awaiting surgery (β=-0.032, p=0.04) was a significant factor for change in Physical Component Score. Conclusions: We found time awaiting surgery to be a significant factor on PSC score at 12-month follow-up. Increased time awaiting surgery may result in negative impacts on quality of life outcomes.