Effective Time Management Strategies for ADHD Brains

A Quick Guide

Time management and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD don’t always mix because of the way an ADHD brain processes information. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, people with ADHD frequently struggle to stay organized, on track, and focused, all of which could make time management difficult. It might be challenging to keep on track if you’re oblivious to the amount of time that has passed or unsure of how long a task will take. Planning, concentration, and thoughtfulness are necessary for time management. You may study and build strategies to help you manage your time and stay on schedule. You could discover that your life becomes a little less frustrating once you discover these techniques.

How does ADHD affect time management? 

Always running late? Time blindness is one possibility. The inability to perceive time is known as time blindness. According to research, people with ADHD have trouble anticipating how long a task will take or how much time they have already spent on it. This, according to experts, is a result of the way ADHD affects the brain’s ability to perceive time. 

Learn more about Is It Really Zoning Out Or Dissociation With ADHD?  

How to manage time when you have ADHD

Here are some ways you can learn to manage time with ADHD.

Get comfortable with deadlines

Every procrastinator’s biggest enemy is deadlines. Until they aren’t anymore.  Deadlines are really neurologically advantageous to the brains of people with ADHD. A deadline helps you become hyperfocused and use your ADHD as a strength rather than a problem. A deadline puts your primary task into focus and elevates your adrenaline. 

It’s time to take on the task yourself if no one is placing deadlines on you. Any task you wish to complete should have a deadline. Then, make a note of it somewhere you won’t forget it. Set reminders if you can to prevent forgetting. Combine deadline setting with time blocking in your calendar to increase its effectiveness. Whatever the project is, add an event to your calendar with the activity’s name and the timeframe necessary to complete it. If it will require more than one session, schedule them all beforehand and set appropriate deadlines accordingly.

Reward yourself

Rewarding yourself after finishing a task is an additional strategy for getting your ADHD brain to practice effective time management. You consider the consequences of not doing so often. And while the threat of punishment can occasionally serve as a motivator, neurological research suggests that incentives can actually be more appealing. Being productive while living in fear of undesirable outcomes is not easy. Why not try rewards instead to see if they work better and are more enjoyable?

Build trust in yourself

By making tiny commitments and then keeping them, people with ADHD should focus on gaining confidence in themselves. Numerous people with ADHD can miss deadlines and let people down if they don’t have adequate coping mechanisms. This creates a vicious cycle in which they stop expecting to keep their promises since they haven’t in the past. Therefore, unless they actively take action to disrupt it, the cycle just keeps repeating itself.

The best time to begin is now, and the best way to begin is small. By establishing and achieving little goals, you can increase your confidence. Try scheduling a walk for today or tomorrow between 4:15 and 4:30 on your calendar. Once the time comes, simply do it. 

In the broad scheme of things, it might not matter if you go for a 15-minute stroll one afternoon. However, your confidence in your capacity to carry out what you say you will do will start to grow as a result of the fact that you made good on your promise to do it.

Identify patterns

Have you ever noticed how quickly you can recall the majority of the instances in which you were ineffective or disregarded a work or project? This could easily lead someone to believe that you’re a lazy, unproductive individual. But that doesn’t give you enough credit for yourself. It turns out that most people find it simpler to recall instances of failure rather than of success. This is a smaller manifestation of a larger cognitive prejudice known as negativity bias.

To overcome it, think about occasions when you were in your zone and working effectively rather than dwelling on periods when you were unproductive. 

• What was common to these periods? 
• Was there a specific time of day, a particular activity, or a specific subject? 

You can enter those flow states more consistently if you start to notice patterns in your optimal efficiency. Additionally, you can plan your day to maximize productivity.

CBT can assist you in prioritizing work

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one approach to treating ADHD that is gaining popularity. CBT is a form of therapy that concentrates on teaching your brain to reframe your thoughts and enhance your functioning. For instance, procrastination may keep you from doing routine tasks if you have ADHD. 

However, CBT can equip you with the skills necessary to learn how to rearrange your priorities. You may improve how you manage your time by prioritizing tasks. Make sure your top priorities come first, then move on to chores you can do later. Prioritizing your tasks into three groups depending on importance level is another tactic you could learn in CBT. You can be more aware of the type of task you’re trying to do by using these categories such as priority 1, 2, and 3.

Practical Techniques to Help ADHD Brains See Time

• As part of your morning routine, place a note in the restroom noting the time you need to leave. Place a similar note in your kitchen, as well as one in your bedroom. Ensure that each room has a clock that is easy to see.
• Disable auto-play on all of your streaming services so you can see how much time has passed between videos.
• Limit your time online by using Internet-limiting devices.
• Plan your priorities and the times you will work on them at the beginning of the day.
• Use a timer to automatically turn off your lights and TV to serve as a bedtime reminder.
• When scheduling appointments, factor in preparation or transition time as well as travel time before and after. Next, set up an alarm to sound when the first step is completed.

Practical Ways to Manage Your Time

• Create incentives for finishing assignments, for instance, you can go out after you finish the dishes.
• Establish a bedtime so that you are under pressure to complete tasks sooner in the evening.
• Establish external accountability by informing someone else of your plans and asking them to follow up with you.
• If waiting costs you money such as late fees, etc consider what you could buy with the cash you would save by acting sooner.
• Prioritize sleep, a healthy diet, and exercise because these can provide you with better energy and help you make the most of your time.
• To prevent procrastination, schedule frequent check-ins with your supervisor or coworkers.
• When working on large projects, establish interim deadlines, for instance, finish writing the report by Sunday, and the first draft by Wednesday.

Managing ADHD

You can learn a variety of effective tools for managing your time, and by extension, your adult ADHD. These strategies can assist you to stay focused and handle any responsibilities that come your way, even if you only have mild ADHD. Learn more about Why People With ADHD Are More Focused At Night?

We hope you found this article useful in learning more about how you can learn to better manage your time along with ADHD.

Learn more about how ADHD looks in the classroom.