When 20 minutes becomes an hour

Have you ever looked at the clock and wondered where the last hour went?

Time management is something that comes up regularly in my coaching sessions with people with ADHD.

It can be easy to think of time management as simply being organised: make a list, prioritise your tasks and stick to the plan.

But ADHD can make this much more complicated.

You might find it difficult to estimate how long something will take, work out what to prioritise, get started on a task or switch from one activity to another. You might have every intention of starting something early, but find that you only really get going when the deadline is approaching.

And these challenges aren't necessarily about a lack of motivation or not caring about getting things done.

So, what can help?

Make time visible

Rather than relying on your internal sense of time, try using external cues. A visual timer, calendar reminders, alarms or time-blocking can help make time more tangible.

For managers, it can help to make deadlines, priorities and expectations clear rather than assuming that everyone will organise their workload in the same way.

Break tasks down

“Write the report” can feel like a huge and overwhelming task. Breaking it into smaller steps – such as opening the document, creating the headings and drafting the introduction – can make it much easier to get started.

Managers can support this by agreeing clear milestones or interim deadlines for larger pieces of work.

Allow for the fact that time estimates aren't always accurate

If you regularly underestimate how long tasks will take, adding some buffer time can help. It can also be useful to notice when you work best and, where possible, schedule more demanding tasks for those periods.

Managers can help by focusing on the outcome rather than expecting everyone to follow exactly the same working pattern.

These are just a few examples. There isn't one time-management strategy that works for everyone with ADHD. It’s about finding approaches that fit the individual, their role and their working environment.