Time Blindness

Time blindness means having a weak or unreliable sense of how much time is passing — or how long things actually take.

It’s a common experience for people with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence, and it can affect:

• Getting places on time
• Starting or stopping tasks
• Estimating how long something will take
• Noticing how much time has already gone by

What it looks like

• “I thought I had loads of time — now I’m late again”
• “I started something quick and it somehow took three hours”
• “I know I should start now, but it doesn’t feel urgent yet”

For some people, time feels abstract — like it’s not real until it’s right now or already too late.

It’s not a moral failing

Time blindness isn’t about being careless or rude. It’s about how your brain experiences time — and how it does or doesn’t create urgency.

It’s closely linked to:

• Executive dysfunction
• Low dopamine
• Difficulty with transitions
• Hyperfocus or task paralysis

What helps

While there’s no instant fix, people often find support through:

• Timers and alarms
• Visible clocks and schedules
• Anchoring tasks to routines or external cues
• Compassion — from others and yourself

You’re not broken. You’re just wired differently — and once you know how your clock ticks, you can work with it, not against it.