The Time Timer
Time is Different for People with ADHD
There is no debate that time exists differently for people with ADHD. Melissa Orlov, an ADHD marriage consultant describes it as “now and not-now”. A recent ADDitude article identified various different ADHD states of time such as “Zero Time” where you envision if you are really super efficient your task won’t take any time at all and “Nonexistent Time” where you have all the time in the world until suddenly you don’t.
Temporal Myopia, sometimes referred to (somewhat controversially) as Time Blindness, is the generalized term for this nonlinear relationship with time that is a struggle for many people with ADHD (see my previous blog about that here). There are many strategies to address it, today we are looking at the Time Timer.
What is the Time Timer?
The Time Timer has been helping individuals with ADHD for the last 25 years. It consists of your typical timer clock face which you set for your desired time. Whatever you set it for, that chunk of the clock face pie red. Then, as time passes the red decreases, visually showing you the passing of time. The timer is silent so there is no ticking time bomb, high pressure feeling with this timer, but rather the visual reminder of passing time feels like just the right amount of pressure for the clients I have that use this timer.
How to Use the Time Timer
“This is when the Time Timer seems to be most effective, creating a clear time window to work on a project, helping both by allowing the client to track time but also creating a clear finite window to work on a project.”
The common use of the timer is to set it for a specific task: going through emails, cleaning one’s room, working on a project, and so on. Keep the timer where you can see it as you work and let the timer remind you that time is passing, the amount of time you have for a project is gradually decreasing. Many of my clients will follow this defined work period with a break, where they will again use the Time Timer to track their break so it doesn’t become an endless detour. Then when it’s time to return to work, they set it again. It’s rare that a client will you use the Time Timer every day or continuously throughout the day, instead they tend to have it in their armory for those days they are struggling to motivate, or when there is a specific task they are dreading. This is when the Time Timer seems to be most effective, creating a clear time window to work on a project, helping both by allowing the client to track time but also creating a clear finite window to work on a project. When time is as amorphous as it can be for some people with ADHD, it is helpful to have a Time Timer not just to help you track time, but also to assure you that you won’t be doing the task for forever.
Time Timers come in three different sizes AND there is a free app. If Temporal Myopia is an issue for you, I encourage you to try it out and let me know how it goes!