How To Fix Time Management Challenges
DESCRIPTION:
Learn how to mitigate your time management challenges.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Time management is often a difficult skill for adults with ADHD, but you can change that.
(00:07):
You’ve tuned into Scattered Focused, Done – Remagining productivity with A DHD, a podcast for ADHD, adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to be able to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired. I’m Marla Cummins and I’m glad you decided to join me today on this journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD. So you can get what is important to you done without trying to do it like everybody else.
(00:41):
I know you’ve likely made some of the following ADHD time management mistakes. Do any of these following phrases sound like ones you’ve used recently? I’m sorry I’m late. I lost track of time. The time just disappeared. I’m not sure what happened.
(01:00):
It’s so frustrating. Oh no, I should have left already. I’m going to be late. I can’t believe I spent all day working on that. I have no idea how long this is going to take.
(01:16):
If you find yourself uttering variations of the phrases I just shared, like many adults with ADHD, time can be an elusive concept for you. More often than not, your orientation is in the here and now. That is your tendency is to think of time as now and not now. Well, sometime later. One of your challenges can be that time feels endless. Like you have all the time in the world. And, as a result, you have a hard time working consistently on long-term projects. There are two primary factors that can contribute to this challenge. One is that you have a difficult time estimating time and may often think you have plenty of time and can do the task well later.
(02:08):
The other factor is that you may rely on urgency, over rely, on urgency. In fact, that adrenaline rush you get when you are backed into a corner at the last minute and then you’re motivated. And you may even tell yourself, that is how I work best, get stuff done. In spite of the potential cost to you, which is your health and wellbeing, your relationships and the quality of your work, because of your difficulty with estimating time and relying on urgency, you tell yourself, I can do that later. “And in the moment you focus on something, anything in your immediate environment that is more intrinsically interesting or seemingly urgent. The challenge of not getting started because you feel you have plenty of time. Above all adopt strategies to motivate yourself to work in a more sustainable way so you can rely less on urgency, less on adrenaline as your primary means of motivation.
(03:18):
This might look like, for instance, if you look at the Dopamenu, ways to raise your dopamine in order to feel more motivated, which is what’s getting in your way right now. Also, get support to help you estimate the time needed to tackle projects in a sustainable way. And also learn how to estimate time better on your own. And I’ll talk more about that in just a second.
(03:46):
Using the above workarounds can make it easier to choose to work on a task now, rather than waiting until later when you have no other choice. A heads up, though, while these methods that I’m going to share with you can definitely help you improve your sense of time, they do need time and may seem even tedious. I know in the long run though, getting a better sense of time will help you save time, really.
(04:16):
First to get a better sense of time and better sense of where you spend your time, track everything you do for two weeks. You can do this by setting a timer for one to two hours and then when the timer goes off writing down what you were doing. I bet you’ll be surprised at what you discover. In order to get better at estimating time, use the method I’m going to share with you in a minute to track various tasks for two weeks.
(04:45):
One, write the name of the activity. Then estimate the time you think it will take you to accomplish that activity. Then look at the clock at the start and at the end of the activity or use a timer and record the time it actually took you to accomplish the activity. Note how you were feeling while you were working. By doing this, you’ll get a better idea of what factors impact how long it takes you to complete a task. And then add comments about how you can change your approach in order to work more effectively.
(05:23):
Here’s an example. Let’s say the activity is prepping for a staff meeting. You estimate that it’s going to take 30 minutes. But it actually takes an hour. And you’re feeling stressed, distracted by incoming emails and other work. And then you decide you can turn off email notifications and work at a table in your office.
(05:49):
Here’s another one. Let’s say driving to work is the task you estimate takes 20 minutes. It actually takes 32 minutes. And in terms of your feeling and mood, it’s fine. But what you can say is that you left later than usual. So more traffic and that you need to actually lead by seven. Let’s just do one more.
(06:15):
Let’s say you need to read the yearly report again. You’d think it’s going to take 30 minutes. And you haven’t finished it yet and you’re feeling bored and tired. So what you decide is that it’s better to read in the beginning of the day than at the end of the day. Which is what you did this last time.
(06:35):
If you want track the same activity under different conditions, for instance, in the example I shared with you. Bob could prep for the staff meeting first thing in the morning away from distractions. And see how long it takes him. Yes, you can definitely get better at estimating time under different conditions. But, if you are like most people, though, you don’t have total control over your time.
(07:04):
Things are going to unexpectedly pop up during the day that you need to attend to. And because transitions, starting stopping and task switching are so hard for adults with ADHD, these surprises probably really throw you off. Well, of course, you can’t anticipate the exact nature of these surprises. If it regularly happens, it might be time to expect the unexpected. One way to account for the unexpected is to add buffers throughout your day so you can more easily recover and switch gears.
(07:42):
For example, if throughout your day you typically get an hour and a half of interruptions, then you can account for that as you plan your day. Over time, you really will feel less overwhelmed when you have more spaciousness in your schedule. Of course, no matter how much buffer you include in your day, time can disappear easily if you hyperfocus on a task for longer than you intended. No doubt. There are definitely times when focusing intently on one task and tuning out all other tasks and distractions can be really helpful. But hyperfocusing of course, is also problematic. When doing so leads you to ignore your other commitments or go down one rabbit hole or another, here’s a few things you can try to mitigate this and be more intentional with your time. One, have a clear plan for your day. So you have a reason to stop. If you are not clear on what you are moving on to next, you may just go down one rabbit hole after another.
(08:55):
Also decide in advance how much time you are going to spend on a task and set a timer. And, if you’re in hyper-focused mode, though, you may ignore the timer. So get up and stretch or take a short walk when the timer goes off. Physical movement can help you get out of hyperfocus after the timer goes off. You may want to change your environment by moving to a different location to work.
(09:24):
If you know it will be hard to stop working on a task because it is particularly captivating, do it only after finishing your less interesting work frst. Last, don’t start, really, if you know will be hard to stop and you don’t have enough time to engage in the task the way you really want to. Don’t start it. Do it when you have more time. The bottom line is to leverage your hyperfocus. But don’t let it get in your way.
(09:59):
Try using time timer, a visual timer, to get a better sense of how much time you’re spending on a task. It’s not uncommon for new clients to tell me when we first start working together that they’re good at multitasking. What we usually uncover though is that they’re not working effectively or efficiently when they’re switching between tasks frequently. You may also try to multitask when you are feeling overwhelmed. It can seem like you don’t have a choice and everything needs to be done right now. I know. Though you also know there are costs to switching frequently between tasks, such as forgetting where you left off, needing to spend time ramping up and reengaging in the task each time.
(10:50):
You also need to start again, not doing your best work. Because when you are frequently switching, you don’t have enough time to be creative and thoughtful, not doing your best work because you are not totally engaged in one task. As you are constantly switching when you are working, losing time to distractions. Because as you transition back and forth, it is more difficult to tune them out, making more mistakes and spending time fixing those mistakes and last becoming overwhelmed.
(11:27):
But when you start to drop balls operating this way, you may see this as evidence you need to work more and faster. That is, multitask. I know it makes sense. The antidote to this cycle is to trust that slowing down and doing one thing at a time for a sufficient amount of time will save you time in the long run. You can do this by setting a timer to work on one task at a time.
(11:55):
And remind yourself when you are tempted to jump around, I’m doing this and not that, I’m doing this and not that. One of my favorite mantras. And last, writing down thoughts of other tasks as they occur. Rather than jumping to work on those tasks. As Dr. Ned Hollowell notes in his book, Crazy Busy, multitasking is a mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks multi simultaneously.
(12:31):
So, which of the tips that I’ve shared are you going to use today?
(12:36):
That’s it for now. I’m really glad you joined me and stayed until the very end. If you’re interested in learning more about my work with adults with ADHD, check out my website marlacummins.com. Of course, if you’ve learned a thing or two from today’s podcast, which I hope you have, please pass along the link to anyone else in your circles you think might benefit. And, until next time, this has been Scattered, Focus, Done. And I’m Marla Cummins, wishing you all the very best on your journey to reimagining productivity with ADHD.
