Category: Productivity

Time Blindness in ADHD: Simple Strategies to Implement Straight Away.

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Blindfolded woman in front of clockface to represent time blindness.

Time Blindness in ADHD: Simple Strategies to Implement Straight Away.

Time blindness is a very familiar phenomenon for my clients with ADHD, and it may be for you, too. Broadly speaking, time blindness is a difference in the perception and awareness of time passing.

It can affect people in various ways, for example:

A) being unable to estimate the time it may take to do a task,

B) having no sense of time passing while engaged in something,

C) struggling to sense future events coming up and act accordingly.

Let’s look at the above three aspects of time perception and consider some possible strategies for each of them in turn.

A. Difficulty in estimating time accurately.

This difficulty can take the form of both under and over-estimating the time it takes to complete something.

Time underestimation.

The result of underestimating time can often have dire consequences in the workplace.

For example, when we believe that each job will take less time than it actually does, projects and assignments start to build up as we find they take longer, thereby pushing other tasks further into the future. At some point, the accumulated backlog of tasks becomes overwhelming, and we feel we cannot cope at work.

Another example would be a person who needs to leave the house by a particular time and reckons it won’t take them long to get ready. However, in reality, they are inevitably late leaving the house every day.

I have worked through this challenge with various clients over the years, and usually, the primary reason comes down to underestimating time in some way or another. Once we have established this, it’s relatively straightforward to work through each part of getting ready and develop a more realistic estimate to enable them to leave the house in time. For more on that topic, go here

Time overestimation.

Overestimating time is often associated with some of the less pleasant activities or those tasks which don’t hold so much interest for us. This can stop us dead in our tracks, as really, who’d want to start washing up believing it’s going to take 45 minutes or start writing an email, suspecting it will take at least half an hour – maybe more?

Strategies for time estimation

So, what’s the solution for these internal time warps?

Well, one of the most effective ways is actually to time yourself to begin with. YES, with a stopwatch if necessary. This enables you to accurately identify how long something takes to complete.

I have created a simple tool you can use to help you do this. It’s called the Time Estimation Tool, or TET for short, and you can download your copy here.

        The TET enables you to keep testing out your “guesstimates” and then adjusting your techniques based on the real-life results you get. Mostly, when people have done this exercise, they are surprised to discover the actual amount of time things take. With practice, and applying it to various different life situations, this can revolutionise people’s time management skills in all kinds of positive ways.

TIP: Using clocks and watches, various timepieces and reminders and alarms on our phones or smart watches can help familiarise us with common time periods in our individual circumstances.

Find out what works for you, either audio or visual ways of seeing the passage of time or a combination, until you know for sure how long these things take you.

The effect of having small chunks of certainty in an often windswept existence is strangely comforting and provides a firm foundation to build on.

B) Having little sense of time passing when we are engaged in something.

It is hard enough to get going on something and feel we can sustain focus on something without interrupting ourselves to look at the clock. That is what many of my coaching clients have told me over the years. We are usually talking about hyperfocus. 

For those not in the know – you could liken hyperfocus to very heavy sleep where nothing gets through; even a loud bang next door or a car alarm going off is not enough to wake you. On the other hand, the kind of sustained focus with awareness is more like a light sleeper, one who is sleeping, but noises like thunder or a ring on the doorbell would waken them sufficiently to notice what’s happening around them.

One is so intensely focused on the matter at hand that there is no awareness of anything else. The other is still focused, yet with the possibility of dipping in and out of focus on the task to notice, for instance, hunger, noises, other people, and, of course, what time it is, as well as the significance of that information.

Strategies for noticing time passing while engrossed in something.

  1. Again, you can use anything that gets your attention, like a noise, a timer, or a message; some people even ask someone to come and tell them it’s time to eat, stop, or whatever else needs to be done.
  2. Another effective strategy is to set yourself up with an intention beforehand. For example, I will work for 20 minutes on X, then stand up and walk to fetch water and stretch for 5 minutes.

In this way, you are priming yourself to bear time in mind when you first set out to do something.

3. You can also make a pact to check in with yourself at intervals throughout the day, say mid-morning, lunchtime, mid-afternoon, and (at a time which can be particularly tricky for many with ADHD) at the close of the working day. Yes, you may well need a check-in at 5 pm to tell you to wrap up and literally get ready to go home. Many people overwork and extend their working hours more by accident than design, simply due to not noticing time going by.

      You can build this up in small increments until you have more awareness of time passing throughout the day.

C) Not sensing future events coming up and acting accordingly.

Time blindness results in perceiving events as literally less “real” the further away they are in the future. This lack of awareness of the distance of future dates and events causes ADHD-ers to be chronically underprepared when the time inevitably does come. Life will be full of unpleasant surprises as a result, leaving you feeling demoralised and often at a disadvantage.

Examples:

  • Lack of awareness of how close or far away events are in time leads to leaving things to the last minute – e.g.  Not realising the due date for a bill until you get a final notice or a court summons.

         Not seeing your holiday dates coming up might lead to you not packing the suitcase until the last minute or realising your passport is out of date when it’s too late to do anything about it.

  • Another common circumstance of time blindness comes when preparing for well-known future events – knowing there is a deadline for handing in a piece of work, for example, but being very hazy about when that is. In coaching sessions, many people have told me,” Oh, it’s in a couple of months, I think.” When I asked them the exact date to put in their calendar or planner, they had to go and look it up and were, in many cases, surprised to find it was rather sooner than they thought.

Once these clients firm up their knowledge around due dates and record them where they can easily refer to them, they find it much easier to make a realistic plan to get the work done in time.

  • Not doing things for our future selves is another result of time blindness. Often, because of impulsivity added to time blindness, we enjoy ourselves so much in the moment that we forget the needs of our future self. This can lead to burnout, energy crashes, or just plain overwhelm, as our self-care needs continually get put on the back burner.

Strategies for dealing effectively with future events.

  1. Make time visual and external to your brain whenever you can, using calendars, wall charts, and diaries. If you are OK with checking digital devices, then use those too.
  2. Identify precise dates and times when events are happening to be sure to set reminders and timers for them. You may want to remind yourself a few times they are coming up soon, as well.
  3. Practise asking yourself, “What would future me thank me for doing right now?” That extra glass of water, healthy option, or money in the bank can very likely help “future you” maintain your equilibrium.

Fortunately, there are many strategies that you can employ to combat time blindness.

  • Using methods which make time more “real” for you,
  • Experimenting to find out which of them works for you, and
  • Implementing one or more of the above strategies, you will be able to bring more awareness and skilfulness into your dealings with this elusive construct we call time, and live your life more smoothly and enjoyably as a result.

Anna Schlapp B.A., ACC, ACCG, is a certified ADHD coach, coaching people to understand and manage their unique time perception more productively. If you would like to explore this or any other of your ADHD traits with a highly experienced coach of more than ten years, you can contact Coach Anna here.

 

Get More Done With 3 Easy Ways to Boost Hyperfocus

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Get More Done With 3 Easy Ways to Boost Hyperfocus

Hyperfocus is an extreme form of focus. It has a range of effects and uses, from the awful to the awesome. My coaching clients often ask me if there’s a way to switch hyperfocus on or boost hyperfocus. They would like to take advantage of the lift it gives their productivity. Their desire is to get hyperfocus more under their control. Many times, it just seems to “happen,” and not necessarily when they want it to. Getting into hyperfocus is not so much about flipping a switch as creating the ideal environments where hyperfocus can flourish.

To get yourself into a state of hyperfocus:

  1. Clear the decks
  • Carving out or defining some time for the project or task you wish to hyperfocus on is an excellent first step. Dedicating thought to when, and for how long, can help clarify further. 
  • You may need to clear your space; this could be the physical space you want to work in or your virtual space. Getting clutter out of the way will give a boost to your ability to focus efficiently.
  • Get any outstanding items off your to-do list that might surface while you are busy, and off your mind. The last thing you want is having your focus broken into by thoughts of urgent emails you need to write or payments that will incur a penalty if you miss the deadline. 

 

  1. Remove potential distractions
  • Dealing with distractions before they happen is a sure way to promote hyperfocus. For example, you may decide to work on your project at night or early in the morning when no-one is around. Or choose a weekend when everyone is away to focus better on one thing. 
  • Alternatively, consider temporarily moving yourself to an undisturbed location, if it’s busy where you live or work. Try also using ear defenders to block out external audible distractions.
  • Some people find the opposite works best for them – they need something to concentrate against to focus well. Many use music, white noise, or other sounds as a background, or go to busy cafes to get things done.

 

  1. Make it easy by being prepared
  • Get yourself ready to hyperfocus: for many, physical exercise or movement of some kind before settling to something is a must for being able to focus. Make a point of having food and drink to keep you well-fed and watered while you work. This will optimize the brain energy you need in order to hyperfocus and increase your productivity.
  • Make the project or task you want to hyperfocus on seem as appealing as possible. Use that fantastic creativity of yours to find new ways to look at or approach the task. 
  • Save time and frustration by optimising your environment and gathering materials and equipment for your project together beforehand. 
  • According to Shawn Achor, in his book “The Happiness Advantage,” people find it much easier to manage their attention when they’re happy. Part of your preparation can involve using your knowledge about what makes you happy. The neurochemicals involved in happiness can put you in a good place for being able to direct your attention exactly where you want it to go. Experiment with listening to music, spending time with people you love, and playfulness, for example, to discover what works best for you and when.
In summary: 
  • Step one

Remove obstructions; carve out time, clear physical space, and empty or defer to-do list items, and you’re one step closer to bringing on hyperfocus.

  • Step two

The key with distractions is to get to know your particular triggers. Finding ways to mitigate them upfront will help you get into hyperfocus and stay there.

  • Step three

Get prepared before you start; use a personalized selection of methods. Things like movement, creative approaches, optimising your environment, gathering materials and tools, and sparking beneficial neurochemicals will help you slip effortlessly into a deeper level of concentration.

Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to create the ideal conditions for whenever you want that extra boost of hyperfocus power.

 

If you’re curious about any of the tips mentioned above and you’d like to explore further how to work with your unique brain to harness hyperfocus, get in touch with me here to book an initial conversation to discuss your needs and discover how ADHD coaching can benefit you.

Anna Schlapp, B.A., ACC, ACCG has been coaching people with ADHD since 2015, and has thousands of hours of experience in helping her talented and creative clients get more out of life. 

Want to be More Productive at Work? Here’s Six Reasons to Take a Break.

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Want to be More Productive at Work? Here’s Six Reasons to Take a Break.

Woman celebrating nature

 

It might seem counterintuitive that going away from your work to take a break can actually make you more effective. In fact, an increase in productivity is just one of the benefits.

As neurodivergent people in the workplace, who love to get involved and give a lot of ourselves, we invariably end up with our time fully committed and perhaps with more than one role to contend with (think diversity leader, or mental health designated person, mother, father, child, team member, leader, etc) each with their consequent agendas to attend to throughout the course of just one day. We often have difficulty saying no to requests, and our divergent perspective on time can lead us down the path of getting overloaded and towards burnout.

I’ve seen it all too often; the clients who come to coaching overwhelmed and exhausted, on the verge of imminent collapse. They work from morning to night, spend long periods working evenings and weekends to “catch up” , yet no matter how many hours they put in, they haven’t reached that ideal place yet where they feel relaxed and in control – with a “mind like water” as David Allen describes, the well-known productivity guru and author of several great books on the subject of “Getting Things Done”.

Breaks help you rest

When I ask these clients , “So when did you last have a holiday? and by holiday I mean a time where you don’t monitor or answer emails, don’t respond to work-related communications, and definitely don’t log in to your devices to “catch – up!” “, typically the answer is many months and sometimes years in the past. Some of them have yet to use their Out of Office function on their emails. 

“And when did you last have some time to yourself to do something just for you that’s nothing to do with work?“ “Ermmm…”

It’s OK to be enthused by your work, it absolutely is. However, what I frequently hear is that although someone may be plugged in to their devices, their brain has gone elsewhere, and the time and effort they expend trying to accomplish tasks is not actually that productive. They get distracted, may spend time scrolling on their devices instead, and find it hard to sit and focus on that one piece of work they need to get done. Even when you don’t want to rest, your brain will find a way. Cat pictures, anyone?

Breaks replenish dopamine levels and raise productivity

When we have ADHD, we can have challenges with maintaining focus. It is possible to hyperfocus on something we are really interested in, however when we are tired and constantly bombarded with interruptions and more and more work coming in, it’s a lot harder to focus in any way. 

One method that has served many with ADHD well is the 15 – 20 minute rule.

What you do is to divide your work into handy chunks of no more than 15 – 20 minutes, set an alarm for the stop time and then dive in. The ADHD brain thrives on sprints rather than marathons. The very thought of working for a stretch of several hours without a break is off-putting for many of the clients I coach. Once your alarm goes off, that’s your cue to get up, stretch and move your body, and get useful brain chemicals flowing such as dopamine and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor ( BDNF for short).

Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters/hormones implicated in ADHD, where there is usually a deficiency of dopamine in the circuits which support the Executive Functions. Dopamine helps us feel alert, motivated and engaged. Thankfully there are many ways to increase it. Medication is one such approach. Other methods include diet, exercise or movement, listening to music, spending time outside in nature, meditation, massage.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22588-dopamine-deficiency

As you might notice, virtually none of these methods seem to involve being chained to a computer or working 24/7 for 365 days per year. Interesting hmm?

Breaks help us learn

Ways to increase Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) a neurotransmitter and hormone, include exercise, meditation, deep sleep, and sunlight. Things that block BDNF include stress, sugar, carbs, and social isolation.

https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/21-proven-ways-to-increase-your-brains-growth-hormone#:

BDNF is the brain’s growth hormone, and assists in learning, memory, and emotional regulation.

https://www.banutascifresko.com/health-101/all-the-facts-on-bdnf-brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor/?lang=en

Breaks give fresh perspective

Apart from a break giving us a change physically from being seated at our screens, from the torrent of emails, from being tethered to meetings, breaks also provide mental nourishment.

Time for processing and taking a step back allows us to gain a sense of perspective. In the same way that we gain new outlooks on life whenever we travel or go on holiday, we get a chance to look at ourselves, our daily routines and habits ( if we have any!) from a different viewpoint.

For many, not having those opportunities was one of the aspects of the lockdowns which had a huge impact on wellbeing. Being stuck at home, with only those daily exercise breaks to look forward to meant we couldn’t get away from our lives and see another viewpoint. There was no variety. There was no upcoming holiday to look forward to and that felt heavy. 

Planning future breaks to look forward to can fill us with positive anticipation, even when the present situation may be challenging.

Breaks provide us with self-care

Breaks also give us the certain knowledge that we are taking care of ourselves. Moving our bodies has a host of benefits including increasing learning, having a positive effect on our heart health, breathing and oxygen levels. Listen to this podcast episode from Dr. Michael Mosley to find out how taking micro breaks from sitting can help lower our blood sugar and even increase our life expectancy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0011405

Breaks offer the chance to deepen relationships

Another benefit of breaks from working is the opportunity they give us to connect with others for personal not just work-related reasons.  Building and maintaining relationships takes time, and there are many ways we can help this along. 

Here are a few ideas:

Start a class in something that interests you, and you will meet like-minded people to relate to. 

Share a common interest with a friend and take a weekend workshop.

Call up a friend and go for a walk in nature together. 

See a film with friends or family and discuss it with them.

The benefits of taking breaks both big and small are many. They have the potential to support our brain health and productivity, maintain or boost physical and mental well-being, and deepen our relationships with others. 

So what are you waiting for? How many ways can you find to take a life-affirming break?

 

If you would be interested in working with a seasoned coach to enhance your own productivity, you can contact Coach Anna here to book an initial consultation.

Too Many Commitments? Here’s How to Start Letting Go.

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Too Many Commitments? Here’s How to Start Letting Go.

Are you overloaded with obligations, tasks or activities that take up all your time and energy but don’t pay the bills or provide for your family? That was my situation some years ago.

At that time I yearned to build a new career for myself, yet I just could not see how to make it happen.

My life was already jam-packed.

I had a life full of activities that interested me. I was committed to all sorts of meetings, to my daughter & school, various groups, and volunteering. There were my art classes, which were a social occasion as well as for creating. I wanted to continue my part-time job, the upkeep of various websites I had taken on, and regular committee meetings that involved organizing exhibitions. I just could not see how to progress.

 My time and energy, and the sheer numbers of hours in the day and days in the week were all used up.

If I stayed the way I was, I was well and truly stuck.

How did this come about?

Some of it came from others making requests of me, some I believe was led by interest and wanting to be a part of something, to belong. Opportunities would come up in my life, and I would say YES, just because I was interested, and if the truth were known, a little flattered to have been asked. Equally, I think I needed to prove myself somehow – like I can take all this stuff on and do an excellent job of it. I did want to find ways to contribute and to feel I was helping others by doing so. Some commitments were led by a love of learning and gave me a sense of moving forwards in my personal development. I increased my knowledge and built what I considered valuable transferable skills.

Yet however fascinating these were, they were not going to bring me the level of satisfaction I believed I would gain from pursuing a potential new career. I needed to find or create time for this somehow.

Talking to a coach was my turning point.

It took speaking to a coach who asked me what I could do without, to realize that I had to take something away to begin the new and shiny thing I wanted in my life, which mattered so much to me.

What happened? At first, I resisted and fought against the idea of letting anything go. I desperately wanted there to be a magical way to have it all. But then she coached me to put everything down on a piece of paper, every single commitment I had, and just look at it.

“I understand you’re enjoying all of these, and also that you are gaining something from each of them. If there was one that you could do without, which would it be?” She asked me.

I began to see the bigger picture.

As I looked at those words on the page, I plainly saw the amount of time each commitment took up, and where each might take me. The muddy water seemed to be clearing, and a pattern began to appear.

I knew building a new life for myself would require pulling back from giving so much time to others, and using that time to re-train for a new, rewarding career. I could continue living overcommitted and underpaid, or I could start saying no to others in the short term, so I could say yes to myself longer term.

I started to make changes.

I began to find ways to discontinue the activities which took all my time and attention, one by one, honourably, and over a period. By gradually reducing my obligations, I created the space for something new. A new career beckoned on the horizon. I took the invitation, and to date, I haven’t looked back.

If you’re overwhelmed by too many commitments to others, here’s what to do:

  • Recognise that if you keep on saying YES to everything that comes along, you will reach a point when you cannot take on any more.
  • Determine what or who you can say NO to, so you can say YES to yourself.
  • Write down every commitment you have on one piece of paper, so you can see the big picture more clearly.
  • Begin by choosing just one commitment to let go of. Then as you build up your “letting go“ muscle, see if you can find other commitments that would benefit you by being brought to a conclusion.

Finally, allow yourself to let go of what isn’t going to serve you long-term and create the space for what’s really important to you now.

Anna Schlapp, AACC, ACC, is a certified ADHD coach who specialises in creative solutions to triumph over the hurdles of ADHD. Anna helps those with challenges like over-commitment and overwhelm to understand what’s holding them back, and then co-create personalised blueprints for leading more amazing lives. Read more of Anna’s strategies for empowered productivity on her blog. To find out how Anna’s unique system can help you maximise your potential, ask about a complimentary coaching session.