Taming ‘Time Blindness’: A Guide to Managing Time with ADHD

Do you ever feel like time slips away from you? One minute you’re starting a task, the next the day is gone? If you have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this experience may be linked to time blindness, a common challenge that affects how you perceive, estimate, and manage time.

Time blindness is a difference in how your brain processes time, and with the right strategies, it can become much more manageable.

Read on as our team at Body & Mind Consulting explains why time management is harder for people with ADHD, how to improve your time management, and when you might benefit from help here in our ADHD testing center.

How ADHD affects time perception

ADHD impacts your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that helps with planning, organization, and time perception. 

If you have ADHD, this area may work differently, which can make it harder to sense the passage of time and lead to what’s often called time blindness. When your brain struggles to track time internally, it becomes harder to pace yourself or anticipate future demands.

What time blindness looks like in everyday life

Time blindness can show up in subtle yet frustrating ways. You might underestimate how long tasks will take, lose track of time while hyperfocused, or feel constantly rushed even when you start early.

You may notice patterns such as:

• Always running late
• Ignoring tasks until the last minute 
• Struggling to transition between tasks
• Losing all track of time when hyperfocused on something 
• Thinking in “now” and “not now,” with little sense of the time in between

Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward change, and it’s also why Dr. Lisa Webb, Dr. Ken Robins, or counselors Richard Bagley and Margaret Anne Anderson may ask questions about how you experience and manage time. These conversations help us identify whether time blindness may be contributing to home or work struggles.

How to manage time

You can improve your time management skills with these strategies: 

Make time visible 

Don’t rely on your internal sense of time. Instead, make time “visible” with visual and auditory cues.

You might try:

• Setting timers or alarms for starting tasks, stopping tasks, and for transitions
• Using visual timers or countdown apps
• Keeping clocks in frequently used spaces
• Wearing a watch (ideally with an option to use timers)
• Blocking time on a digital calendar

When time becomes something you can see or hear, it’s easier to respond to it.

Break tasks into time-based steps

Large tasks can feel overwhelming when you can’t tell how long they’ll take. Instead of focusing on finishing the task, focus on working for a set amount of time.

For example:

• Work for 10 or 15 minutes, then reassess
• Use the Pomodoro method, where you work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, and repeat
• Schedule start times instead of vague goals

You might also estimate times for the smallest pieces of a project rather than the entire project at once.

Allow time for all transitions 

Transitions are often harder than the task itself when you have ADHD. Shifting from one activity to another requires mental energy, and without planning, time can disappear.

Support smoother transitions by:

• Setting a warning alarm before switching tasks
• Building buffer time into your schedule
• Pairing transitions with consistent routines

These small adjustments can reduce stress and help your day flow more smoothly.

Try a few different time management tricks

Progress comes from experimenting. What works for someone else may not work for you, and that’s OK. For example, your friend may love the Pomodoro method, but you don’t. Instead, you might do best with shorter-focus bursts, flexible timers, visual reminders, or time blocking that allows room for breaks and transitions.

Remove your personal distractions

Remove personal distractions whenever possible. If you know certain things — like background TV, the radio, or scrolling on your phone — tend to quietly eat up time, reduce the temptation. 

You might use an app to block social media during work hours, turn off the TV during the day, or keep your phone in another room while you focus.

When support can make a difference

If time blindness is interfering with your work, relationships, or emotional well-being, professional support can help. Therapy or ADHD-focused coaching at our office in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, can give you personalized strategies, accountability, and tools that fit your lifestyle and strengths.

Our team can help you learn to manage time without forcing yourself into rigid systems. We help you create structures that work with your brain, not against it.

To get help managing ADHD, or to schedule an ADHD assessment, call 615-310-1491 today or click here to get started.