I think it also comes from a certain kind of optimistic thinking, "I have 15 minutes, I can finish this up in the next 5 minutes and leave". But then it takes 12 minutes and suddenly I'm in a big rush.
The other day I arrived somewhere 7 minutes early and I caught myself thinking, "Man, I didn't have to leave so early, I could have gotten something else done..."
Then I realized, "Wait, no! Being 7 minutes early means I actually got here at the appropriate time! I did good!"
It sounds weird, but it actually was important to give myself some internal praise for that so I would seek that out more in the future.
Also, I'm learning that if I get somewhere early enough, I can be a bit productive (thinking, writing, etc.) on my phone _and_ be on time without stress.
Ugh! Time blindness is the bane of my existence! It’s so validating to read about it and know I’m not alone.
As a trauma survivor, one of the top issues I have is the long-lasting damage to my capacity to perceive time due to amnesia. In order to forget traumatic events after they happened in my childhood, my mind developed the awesome superpower of forgetting the event within 10 minutes of it happening. Which was amazing when I was a kid, and it certainly kept me sane, but now, I have a 10 minute window before and after all events where time is phenomenally fuzzy. Transitions are time black-holes for me.
The number of people who have trauma they don’t recognize is so much higher than anybody could possibly imagine. Whether it’s really severe, or chronic, ongoing emotional misattunement, I think unaddressed trauma has a lot of impact on our capacity to perceive time. As children in unsafe environments, I think our minds develop the capacity to blank out what is totally impossible to process. And then, as adults we’re left with this blanking out part who can’t let down it’s guard or stop doing it’s job until the underlying trauma is fully addressed.
As I heal my trauma, my time blindness has improved somewhat, but in the meantime, these top down approaches are so crucial for being a functional adult! My vision is to heal it from the bottom up by getting to the root of the traumas, so that I don’t have to have this dissociative relationship to time. But meanwhile, I’m ordering even more timers!
Forgetting events after they happen - yes, still to this day, and it can be tricky when I would call in to work with a migraine (fits my definition of a traumatic event, they're pretty rough on me), then get back to work once it's gone and everyone's like: How's the head? and I'm staring blankly thinking: Huh? Basically, if it's not happening now it probably doesn't exist for me.
I always tell my wife that "Time travel is hard" when I lose track of time. My tips for include having multiple sources for my alarms. I've set Pandora (does anyone else still use that music service?) to go off with a certain playlist at a certain time, which means it's time to do that task.
I also swear by the Pomodoro Method, which it seems like everyone who has ADHD has already heard of. However, I forget to start the pomodoro timer, which kinda negates the help that it does. When I remember, it's great. When I don't, it's pretty awful.
after listening to Tracy Otsuka’s book i purchased one of those polygon timers (each face has a different time increment on it and you just turn it on and put the interval you want facing up and it starts). personally i like *not* knowing how much time remains because then i can’t get anxious or distracted by it - i know i have a set amount of time to do whatever i’ve just chosen to do (emails / journal / sketching / reading etc) and my mind can let that element go. it’s newish to me but has been revelatory so far!
I'm wondering if you could describe in a little more detail what you mean by "using your working memory to keep track of time". I frequently look at the clock on my computer, and at my watch and am curious if this means I am not using my working memory to do this. Thanks!
Love this article. I remember comments like, "Nice kid, never gets her work done." If I cared about the project I would go completely overboard and hyper-focus on the task. I would often deliver those before required, or after with 100 extra items. I still do that today. :)
I learnt a new “check list “ solution to some of my wanna to do every list.
I ticks them off at the end of the day , including a turn down time I write in the checklist. Turndown service - I learnt from the hotel
industry.
I like ur countdown time clock ids and clocks and clocks every where idea. Will work on that .
A friend of mine does. Program called my 25 th hour. It is amazing. If that interests you, I can share more or connect u to him . Check out pavanbhattad knowledge and karma website
As someone who has experienced childhood trauma, time blindness is a real fact in my life, and I definitely rely on Google Calendar to help run my family and look for ways to bite-size projects so that I don’t exclude people when I lose track of time.
And yet, one more thing…. From a psychotherapist’s perspective(aka, me): losing total track of time is one of those experiences many seek when they are ensconced in the act of doing a thing that they love. I frequently encourage perfectionists, anal retentive types and cynics to do more of this 💞
I relate! My friend says I have an 'interesting' relationship with time. I do much better at arriving places when I actually writing out the activities ahead of a place I need to be (with a little wiggle room). Plus with social anxiety, it helps it I also include when I can leave. From the post, I need more visual clocks where I'm working!
I’ve always tended to be on-time or a bit early (fashionably late never made sense to me - it seems more rude than fashionable, but that’s just me…). My time-blindness comes in the forms of procrastination, seriously underestimating the amount of time any given project will take, and then getting into that hyper focus flow state.
I do have ADHD and recently began treatment (Vyvanse) and I’ve found it’s made a tremendous difference. So has learning about how my ADHD brain functions. Just knowing the science makes it easier to adopt strategies and tools to help me improve my executive function.
As far as my favorite timepiece? My Apple Watch. It reminds me to stand up at 10 minutes to the hour (so I don’t sit hunched over my writing project for 4 hours straight), I use the timer function, it tracks my activity during the day, and, hey - it even tells time! What a concept!
My earliest memory of time - ooohhhh this is fun! I was about 7 years old, as both my sisters were also school age. My mum would leave for work after my dad got home from his shift (he did nights), and he would have a sleep before taking us to school. I was learning to tell the time, and I knew what time we needed to leave, I think it was 8.30 or so to be there for 9. Only my judgement on where the hands were wasn't quite refined enough and I think we left at 7.30. My dad woke up to a silent house and came and found us at school in the deserted (apart from us) playground. We weren't too concerned, we could play wherever we wanted, but he made us go home and took us back at the proper time. We only lived about a 5 minute walk from home. I hope he got back to sleep after waking up like that. Different world now half a century later.
I can deeply related to this!
I think it also comes from a certain kind of optimistic thinking, "I have 15 minutes, I can finish this up in the next 5 minutes and leave". But then it takes 12 minutes and suddenly I'm in a big rush.
The other day I arrived somewhere 7 minutes early and I caught myself thinking, "Man, I didn't have to leave so early, I could have gotten something else done..."
Then I realized, "Wait, no! Being 7 minutes early means I actually got here at the appropriate time! I did good!"
It sounds weird, but it actually was important to give myself some internal praise for that so I would seek that out more in the future.
Also, I'm learning that if I get somewhere early enough, I can be a bit productive (thinking, writing, etc.) on my phone _and_ be on time without stress.
Yes, why do I hate being early more than being late?
Ugh! Time blindness is the bane of my existence! It’s so validating to read about it and know I’m not alone.
As a trauma survivor, one of the top issues I have is the long-lasting damage to my capacity to perceive time due to amnesia. In order to forget traumatic events after they happened in my childhood, my mind developed the awesome superpower of forgetting the event within 10 minutes of it happening. Which was amazing when I was a kid, and it certainly kept me sane, but now, I have a 10 minute window before and after all events where time is phenomenally fuzzy. Transitions are time black-holes for me.
The number of people who have trauma they don’t recognize is so much higher than anybody could possibly imagine. Whether it’s really severe, or chronic, ongoing emotional misattunement, I think unaddressed trauma has a lot of impact on our capacity to perceive time. As children in unsafe environments, I think our minds develop the capacity to blank out what is totally impossible to process. And then, as adults we’re left with this blanking out part who can’t let down it’s guard or stop doing it’s job until the underlying trauma is fully addressed.
As I heal my trauma, my time blindness has improved somewhat, but in the meantime, these top down approaches are so crucial for being a functional adult! My vision is to heal it from the bottom up by getting to the root of the traumas, so that I don’t have to have this dissociative relationship to time. But meanwhile, I’m ordering even more timers!
Forgetting events after they happen - yes, still to this day, and it can be tricky when I would call in to work with a migraine (fits my definition of a traumatic event, they're pretty rough on me), then get back to work once it's gone and everyone's like: How's the head? and I'm staring blankly thinking: Huh? Basically, if it's not happening now it probably doesn't exist for me.
I'm with you! Thanks for sharing.
I always tell my wife that "Time travel is hard" when I lose track of time. My tips for include having multiple sources for my alarms. I've set Pandora (does anyone else still use that music service?) to go off with a certain playlist at a certain time, which means it's time to do that task.
I also swear by the Pomodoro Method, which it seems like everyone who has ADHD has already heard of. However, I forget to start the pomodoro timer, which kinda negates the help that it does. When I remember, it's great. When I don't, it's pretty awful.
after listening to Tracy Otsuka’s book i purchased one of those polygon timers (each face has a different time increment on it and you just turn it on and put the interval you want facing up and it starts). personally i like *not* knowing how much time remains because then i can’t get anxious or distracted by it - i know i have a set amount of time to do whatever i’ve just chosen to do (emails / journal / sketching / reading etc) and my mind can let that element go. it’s newish to me but has been revelatory so far!
I'm wondering if you could describe in a little more detail what you mean by "using your working memory to keep track of time". I frequently look at the clock on my computer, and at my watch and am curious if this means I am not using my working memory to do this. Thanks!
Love this article. I remember comments like, "Nice kid, never gets her work done." If I cared about the project I would go completely overboard and hyper-focus on the task. I would often deliver those before required, or after with 100 extra items. I still do that today. :)
I learnt a new “check list “ solution to some of my wanna to do every list.
I ticks them off at the end of the day , including a turn down time I write in the checklist. Turndown service - I learnt from the hotel
industry.
I like ur countdown time clock ids and clocks and clocks every where idea. Will work on that .
A friend of mine does. Program called my 25 th hour. It is amazing. If that interests you, I can share more or connect u to him . Check out pavanbhattad knowledge and karma website
As someone who has experienced childhood trauma, time blindness is a real fact in my life, and I definitely rely on Google Calendar to help run my family and look for ways to bite-size projects so that I don’t exclude people when I lose track of time.
Can a person have selective time blindness? In certain things/tasks he/she can be timely?
SO needed this article as I try to eye the clock and wonder why I haven't started my day.....
Thank you my husband has this condition. Leads to frustration for him. Can you please give your views on a good sleep?
And yet, one more thing…. From a psychotherapist’s perspective(aka, me): losing total track of time is one of those experiences many seek when they are ensconced in the act of doing a thing that they love. I frequently encourage perfectionists, anal retentive types and cynics to do more of this 💞
Oh so familiar, lol! Thank you for this helpful post, I look forward to the one on hyperfocus too!
I relate! My friend says I have an 'interesting' relationship with time. I do much better at arriving places when I actually writing out the activities ahead of a place I need to be (with a little wiggle room). Plus with social anxiety, it helps it I also include when I can leave. From the post, I need more visual clocks where I'm working!
I’ve always tended to be on-time or a bit early (fashionably late never made sense to me - it seems more rude than fashionable, but that’s just me…). My time-blindness comes in the forms of procrastination, seriously underestimating the amount of time any given project will take, and then getting into that hyper focus flow state.
I do have ADHD and recently began treatment (Vyvanse) and I’ve found it’s made a tremendous difference. So has learning about how my ADHD brain functions. Just knowing the science makes it easier to adopt strategies and tools to help me improve my executive function.
As far as my favorite timepiece? My Apple Watch. It reminds me to stand up at 10 minutes to the hour (so I don’t sit hunched over my writing project for 4 hours straight), I use the timer function, it tracks my activity during the day, and, hey - it even tells time! What a concept!
My earliest memory of time - ooohhhh this is fun! I was about 7 years old, as both my sisters were also school age. My mum would leave for work after my dad got home from his shift (he did nights), and he would have a sleep before taking us to school. I was learning to tell the time, and I knew what time we needed to leave, I think it was 8.30 or so to be there for 9. Only my judgement on where the hands were wasn't quite refined enough and I think we left at 7.30. My dad woke up to a silent house and came and found us at school in the deserted (apart from us) playground. We weren't too concerned, we could play wherever we wanted, but he made us go home and took us back at the proper time. We only lived about a 5 minute walk from home. I hope he got back to sleep after waking up like that. Different world now half a century later.