Time Blindness: A Comprehensive Guide to What It Is, Why It Happens, and How to Cope

Have you ever lost track of time so completely that hours vanish? Or struggled to estimate how long even simple tasks will take? This experience, often called "time blindness," is more than just occasional lateness. It's a real phenomenon that significantly impacts many people, especially those who are neurodivergent. As a mental health counselor specializing in executive function, ADHD, and autism, I frequently encounter time blindness in my practice, and it's important to understand its complexities.

Time Awareness: A Learned Skill

One key point to remember for anyone struggling with time blindness is that our ability to perceive and manage time isn't an inborn trait; it's an executive function – a set of cognitive skills – that develops over time. We learn time management through modeling, consistent schedules, and deliberate practice of time-related tasks. Therefore, if you didn't have consistent role models for effective time management growing up, or if mental health challenges like depression or anxiety interfered with your capacity to learn these skills, you might find yourself struggling with time blindness as an adult.

If you're neurodivergent, particularly ADHD or autistic, you may experience executive function differences, including challenges with time management. While navigating these differences can be an ongoing journey, please know that if they are significantly impacting your life, effective strategies and support are available through both long-term and short-term approaches.

Why Does Time Blindness Happen?

Time blindness can stem from various factors, and it's not unusual for several to overlap. Here are some of the most common reasons I see:

• The Allure of Flow: Remember those times when you get so absorbed in an activity that everything else fades away? That's "flow," a state of deep concentration where time seems to disappear. As the researcher who coined the term, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, defined it, flow is "a subjective state that people report when they are completely involved in something to the point of forgetting time, fatigue, and everything else but the activity itself." Flow is an incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable state, a truly awesome experience that immerses you completely in the task at hand. This powerful immersion, however, inherently involves a temporary loss of time awareness

  • This is particularly relevant for ADHDers. While ADHD is often associated with "attention deficit," I've observed that it's more accurate to say ADHDers have a different attentional style. They may struggle with tasks they find boring but become intensely focused on things that truly engage them. This can make them prone to entering flow states (sometimes called hyperfocusing) very easily. This also commonly happens for autistic people engaging with their special interests.

  • The potential problem? This can lead to a cycle of neglecting everyday tasks (like eating or showering) because they're so absorbed in something else. It also makes it hard to learn how long things actually take. If you're always in flow when you're painting, for example, you never really learn how long you spend painting!

• Escaping Unpleasant Emotions: Emotional avoidance can also be a significant factor in the development of time blindness – we may unconsciously use flow states to avoid difficult feelings. If you're feeling anxious or depressed, getting lost in a task can provide temporary relief. However, this can reinforce time blindness and make it even harder to transition back to facing those emotions.

• Avoiding Difficult Tasks: In a similar way, flow states can be a way to avoid tasks we dread. If you're avoiding writing a report, you might find yourself "accidentally" spending hours on a more enjoyable project. The discomfort of starting the report makes it harder to leave the flow state.

• Trauma's Impact on Time Perception: Trauma can significantly impact an individual's experience of time. For many individuals, especially those with a history of trauma (which is very common among neurodivergent people), the nervous system can become chronically activated in a fight-or-flight state. This chronic activation can significantly disrupt time perception on a daily basis. When in fight-or-flight, the brain prioritizes immediate survival, altering how it processes and encodes time. This altered time perception due to chronic fight-or-flight can manifest in several ways:

  • Time dilation: the feeling that time is slowing down

  • Time compression: the feeling that time is speeding up

  • A general disconnect from the present moment, making it difficult to track the passage of time in daily life.

• The Role of "Parts" in Time Blindness: Some therapeutic approaches, like Internal Family Systems (IFS), conceptualize the mind as composed of various "parts" – for instance, your "work self" versus your "romantic self."When an individual has experienced trauma, these parts can become more compartmentalized, meaning they operate more independently and with less communication between them and you. This increased compartmentalization can significantly contribute to time blindness, offering a deeper way to understand how trauma impacts an individual's perception of time.

  • If a less developmentally mature "part" is predominant, an individual may struggle with time management, as these skills are typically associated with more integrated and mature parts.

  • Different parts might seek to prolong flow states as a coping mechanism to avoid confronting challenging emotions or pending tasks (as talked about above).

Flow can feel like being swept away by a current of creativity and focus, where time seems to bend and fade

The Positive Side of Flow Experiences

It's important to note that flow states themselves are not inherently negative! They can be a source of great joy, productivity, and creativity. Many people, neurodivergent or not, actively seek out flow experiences. Flow states are often an indicator that we are engaging with activities that bring us deep fulfillment and make us feel vibrantly alive.

Flow states are often an indicator that we are engaging with activities that bring us deep fulfillment and make us feel vibrantly alive

The information in this post isn't meant to suggest that you should eliminate flow from your life. Rather, it's about gaining awareness and developing strategies if time blindness becomes a problem – if it's consistently interfering with your goals or well-being. You have the autonomy to decide how you want to manage your relationship with time

Strategies for Managing Time Blindness

The good news is that time blindness can be managed with the right strategies. Here's a breakdown of what I recommend to my clients (and do for myself!):

Long-Term Approaches for Time Blindness

• Trauma Therapy: If past trauma has impacted your time perception or your ability to learn time management, addressing that trauma through therapy (specifically trauma therapy, not just trauma-informed therapy) can be incredibly helpful.

  • I (Lila) do trauma therapy with my clients, and I'm also happy to provide you with referrals for neurodiversity-affirming trauma therapists.

• Time Tracking: To actively develop your time awareness, before starting a task, make a conscious effort to estimate how long it will take. Then, record the actual time. Compare the two and repeat this process consistently. Over time, you'll improve your ability to judge time.

Short-Term Tools for Time Management

• Identify Your Triggers: Pay attention to the types of activities that commonly cause you to lose track of time. This includes:

  • Activities that frequently induce flow states.

  • Activities you tend to avoid, as you might use other activities (and flow states) to procrastinate.

• Prepare Your Environment: Before starting those tasks:

  • To minimize potential negative effects if you become engrossed in a task (e.g., neglecting bodily needs), proactively gather all necessary supplies (water, food, etc.) before starting.

  • Set an alarm that you can’t ignore (if possible) and in a location that requires you to physically get up to deactivate it.

  • Use visual timers (like this one I use in my office) to see time passing.

  • Set screen time limits, and, most importantly, have a trusted person set the passcode so you can't bypass it!

• Break down tasks: This involves dividing larger activities into smaller, more manageable steps to make them less overwhelming. For example, instead of 'clean my room,' break it down into 'make bed,' 'pick up clothes,' 'vacuum floor,' and 'dust surfaces.'

• Use interval timers: Utilize a timer app (such as Insight Timer) to set regular, gentle audio cues (e.g., every 30 minutes) that provide external time cues and support time awareness.

• Establish Routines: Predictable daily and weekly schedules can help your brain internalize the flow of time.

• Get Support: Ask a friend, family member, or colleague to help you with task transitions or reminders. For example, I sometimes ask my partner to come check on me at a certain time I know I want to go to bed, but may not be able to without support.

Wrapping Up

While time blindness itself can feel overwhelming, it's important to recognize that the experiences associated with it aren't exclusively negative. For instance, the intense focus of flow states can bring great joy, creativity, and productivity. Indeed, flow states frequently provide a profound sense of purpose and energize us in a way that few other experiences can.

However, when time blindness consistently interferes with daily functioning and well-being, the information provided here can offer valuable insights and practical tools. Ultimately, you do have the power to transform your relationship with time, no matter how difficult it feels in this moment.

If you're seeking professional guidance to navigate these challenges, I invite you to reach out. We can connect to discuss current availability, and if I don't have immediate openings, I'd be happy to provide referrals to trusted colleagues who can support your journey towards a more positive relationship with time.

About Lila Low-Beinart 

Lila is the founder of Divergent Paths Counseling, where she offers neurodiversity-affirming therapy and training. She specializes in working with autistic, ADHDer, and gifted/2e girls/women and gender expansive folxs, using contemplative, parts-work, and somatic approaches to support clients experiencing depression, executive dysfunction, trauma, and relationship difficulties.

Her trainings for mental health providers go beyond professional development, challenging the 'trance of normal' to foster deeper compassion and more effective support for neurodivergent clients. She also provides tailored workshops and speaking engagements to help organizations create neurodivergent-friendly environments.

To learn more about Lila and her therapy offerings and trainings, visit her website at DivergentPathsCounseling.com.