Do you:
- Tell yourself, or others, you are going to do something, sincerely really mean it, but then a few weeks or months later realise you have forgotten all about it?
- Miss deadlines and appointments, or end up rushing to complete projects at the last minute when the deadline is fast approaching or has just passed
- Struggle to plan effectively for future events, or projects that take place over an extended period of time?
- Find it difficult to manage and make good use of your time?
These, and more, may be the consequence of ‘time blindness’. A phenomenon that is experienced by many people affected by ADHD, and as ADHD is a on spectrum it may well affect you even if you do not have a diagnosis.
In this article you’ll learn what time blindness is, how and why it differs from procrastination, and the ways it can affect you, especially when it comes to your home and clutter. I will also share some useful tools and strategies that can help. I believe one of the most important tools to begin with is being kind to yourself, and I ask you to apply this if you recognise some of these symptoms and as you read what follows.
What is time blindness?
One way people affected by time blindness often describe it is that while they understand that there is a structure to time: hours, days, weeks, months etc, their actual experience is almost as if there are only two times: now and not now/the future.
So when you say, I’ll do that tomorrow, or next Tuesday, or after the kids go back to school, in your brain it just kind of goes into a big bucket labelled ‘later’.
Research has shown that this links to how in some brains the ‘executive function’ and sense of future time work differently. Executive function is your brain’s ability to plan, organise, and follow through to get things done.
In contrast, for neurotypical people ‘later’ isn’t one flat bucket. Tomorrow feels close, next month feels further off, and that felt difference can help them plan effectively and creates a gently increasing sense of priority as the deadline or event approaches. For someone with time blindness, things simply don’t register the same way.
If you’re affected by time blindness, you may find this hard to hear, so remember to be kind to yourself. (If you hear it as a criticism see my blog about Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria.) But I hope it also helps explain how some people seem to be a lot better at planning and project work. I think it can also go a long way towards explaining why you struggle with clutter.
How time blindness can lead to clutter
These difficulties with executive function and different perception of future time can affect your behaviour in ways that contribute to clutter and disorganisation in your home, some examples are:
- Items related to planned projects (eg creative, work or home projects) that you’ve not started can build up
- You think ‘I’ll put that away or tidy up the area tomorrow or next week’, and genuinely mean it, but it rarely or never happens.
- Objects you’ve been using for half completed or postponed tasks accumulate.
- It can be very hard to tackle decluttering, as this needs a clear plan and a clear sequence.
- A declutter project needs a clear end, but if time blindness comes into play, then not knowing how much time it will take, not allowing enough time, or not being able to structure time into the diary can all have a huge effect.
How time blindness relates to procrastination
Behaviour that you or others describe as procrastination may sometimes actually be due to time blindness. Procrastination is about avoiding or putting off something that you don’t want to do because it is hard, painful or boring. If you’re affected by time blindness, very often you genuinely intend and want to do the thing you say you’re going to do, it’s just that how your brain functions makes it hard to get started and follow through.
Side note: While time blindness can be mistaken for procrastination, it does not mean you will not sometimes procrastinate as well.
Time blindness and time management
As you might expect, managing time is a big area that time blindness affects. When you experience time differently and your brain struggles to model it, naturally it is going to be harder to plan and manage how you make use of time. This often leads to feelings of overwhelm, anxiety and frustration, and it can affect many areas of your life.
The good news is that there are tools and behaviours you can put in place that will help you to manage this better.
A personal example. I have shared this many times, but I hate to exercise. For years I told myself I would get fitter, yet the time never actually made it into my diary. Call it procrastination or time blindness, but what changed everything was paying a personal trainer to coach me and make it fun. Having someone to be accountable to made all the difference.
Work with your brain, not against it
As with any challenge, awareness must come first. Once you know and accept the ways that time blindness shows up for you, you can start to do something about it. After all, if you don’t see or acknowledge a problem, you aren’t going to take any steps to change or manage it.
Here are some proven strategies that will help:
Structure and planning
Make good use of calendars, diaries and wall planners. If you have ADHD, evidence suggests that paper is better than digital most of the time. Some find it helps to use both, but if you do, decide which is going to be the primary ‘source of truth’.
One rather unhelpful quirk of the ADHD brain is that it thinks you will remember tasks and appointments. It’s almost as if you are blind to the time blindness! So build the habit of reminding yourself that you probably won’t remember things, and get everything down on paper. A key part of using tools such as calendars is to also schedule time to check them regularly and remind yourself of what is coming up today, this week, month and season/quarter. To begin with, it can help if you use alarms and reminders to follow these schedules and turn them into habits.
This is about learning to use and rely on an ‘external brain’ to supplement your actual brain, especially in the areas it works differently. It is also a way of being kind to your future self, more on this later.
Groups and buddies
As in my personal example, this is another way of externalising or outsourcing time management. A group or buddy can help remind you about tasks, events and commitments. They can also give you some extra accountability to help you complete things, which will help stop the clutter associated with unfinished tasks building up. I draw on this strategy a lot when I run my online programmes and this is one of the reasons they are successful for people.
Put it away, straight away
One of my favourite mantras. Whenever you notice yourself thinking, ‘I’ll do that later’, if it will only take a few moments, just do it there and then. Unless it is likely to lead to a cascade of other actions and distract you from something you are working on
Complete, complete, complete
If you have ADHD, you are probably very prone to distraction and jumping from one activity to another. Recognise your tendency to start new things, forget or lose track of projects, and try to focus on completing what you are doing. Plan and work in clearly defined and focused blocks of time, where you stick to one activity. This is especially important when you are decluttering, complete on area and then move onto the next. Resist the temptation to start another room when what you are working on gets tough. The often suggested ‘five minutes a day’ decluttering method may not be very effective if you are neurodivergent.
Be kind to your future self
When you stop working on something, aim to make this a conscious choice rather than drifting off or getting distracted. Leave yourself a note of where you are at and what the next action is. This may sound a bit boring, but it is important to be kind to your future self. Trust me, without that note, when you get back to the project it is likely you will have forgotten where you were at.
You are not lazy or stupid, you are just wired differently
If the concept of time blindness is new to you, some of what we’ve covered may be hard to hear. It may also be painfully familiar. If you have a strong critical voice inside you, it may be activated, so please be kind to yourself. None of this is your fault. However, now that you have a little more awareness of the issues and some possible solutions, you have the opportunity to make some new choices regarding what you do about it.
There is lots more information and support available.
When it comes to clutter and your home, I can help. My 1:1 support and programmes such as The Clutter Shift are shaped and informed by my training in, and understanding of, neurodiversity. If you’d like to know more, please visit my website or get in touch.