TimeBlindness and Me

For many adults with ADHD, including myself, time can feel like a foreign concept. As a result, we might struggle to keep track of time, lose track of time, or find it difficult to estimate how long things will take. This phenomenon is known as time blindness, and it can significantly impact work, life, goals, and relationships.

Time blindness is not just about being forgetful or disorganized. Actually, the term time blindness refers to a cognitive difference that affects the brain's ability to perceive and understand the passage of time. People with ADHD often struggle with time blindness and do not perceive time in the same way that neurotypical people do, which can lead to a host of challenges.

Time blindness can make it challenging for adults with ADHD to meet deadlines, manage their workload, and plan their schedules. They may find it difficult to estimate how long a task will take or prioritize tasks based on their importance. This lack of perception of time can lead to delays in taking action, missed deadlines, and a feeling of overwhelm. Being overwhelmed is my biggest challenge as an adult with ADHD. 

Adults with ADHD may also find it challenging to manage their time outside of work. They may struggle to keep up with appointments, forget to pay bills, or have trouble making it to social events on time, no matter how important the meeting, task, or event may be. Time blindness can lead to feelings of isolation because missing appointments, forgetting important dates, and being late for social events may damage relationships with other people who are not time blind. Friends, family, and coworkers can become frustrated and misunderstand time blindness as a lack of care, ability, or even character. 

Time blindness can also make it difficult for adults with ADHD to achieve their goals. They may struggle to break down tasks into smaller, manageable steps or to plan out a timeline for achieving their objectives. This can lead to feeling stuck or unable to move forward. I often help my clients with a backward planning session to ensure they have allowed enough time to get the details of their goals on the calendar. 

So, what can be done to combat time blindness? 

Here are a few tips that work for me:

Brain Dumping: 

Brain Dumping is letting everything out on paper or your favorite voice typing app without regard for punctuation, voice, margins, feasibility, or any other rules. I use a paper journal and Otter AI for brain dumping, backward planning, breaking down tasks, capturing ideas, noting concerns, and documenting goals. Otherwise, these topics would keep my brain buzzing like a hamster wheel day and night. Brain Dumping is necessary for those who struggle with overwhelm. It is so important that I schedule it on Sundays and Wednesdays every week.

Calendars: 

Speaking of scheduling, each week on Sunday, I check my schedule for the following week and fill out my online calendar. I use Google Calendar because it integrates with my phone, other apps, and my family's shared calendar. When it comes to calendars, pick one and only one. Okay, planners and calendars seem like a great idea, and I have certainly bought several of them. Each calendar seemed like a good idea but ended up left in the packaging or used for three weeks before being lost or set aside. I live and die by my Google Calendar. The same goes for project management software. I can use those for about a month; it is gibberish. 

Reminders:

Setting reminders on a phone or computer can be a helpful tool for remembering appointments, deadlines, and tasks. When setting reminders, add a buffer time for getting ready, traveling, and returning. It may sound obvious, but for those who are time blind, we must be reminded that it takes time to be ready for a Zoom meeting and even more time to drive across town with appropriate pants and shoes. You can’t see me, but I am currently working in my faded gym shorts and pink bunny slippers. 

Other daily reminders that I find helpful are:

• Check and Close: Check email and voicemail, and close tabs at lunch and 4:30 PM each weekday. Checking email and voicemail twice a day helps me stay on top of those messages that may be important to me personally and professionally or affect my calendar. Closing tabs twice daily allows me to redirect my path if I have gone too far down the rabbit hole on an idea and forces me to either add the tab to my bookmarks or move on. This reminder also gives me a fresh start when I return to my desk after lunch and reminds me at 4:30 to get my priorities straight to wind down the day at 6 PM. 

• Lunch: Lunch, yes, lunch; every day, I have lunch blocked out on my calendar and set a reminder for lunch. This reminder ensures that I have had the opportunity to fuel my body, especially if I am hyper-focused. In addition, the block keeps anyone trying to set up an appointment through a client link from taking up that hour in the day. Only I can override that block on my calendar and meet with a client with an urgent need or who has no choice but to meet during lunch.  

In conclusion, time blindness is a real phenomenon that affects many adults with ADHD. However, by brain dumping, choosing one calendar, and setting reminders, adults with ADHD can learn to manage their time more effectively and achieve their goals with less overwhelm. So, here's to making every day feel less like a hamster wheel and more like a day filled with productivity and success!

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