Time Blindness: When Time Slips Away

For many people, especially those with ADHD or other executive function challenges, time doesn’t always move the way it should. It doesn’t tick steadily forward. It jumps, blurs, disappears. This experience is called time blindness, and it’s more than just poor planning or a lack of discipline. It’s a real and often invisible difference in how the brain senses and measures time.

What Is Time Blindness?

Time blindness isn’t just “losing track of time.” It’s a deeper struggle to feel the passing of time. Many people who experience it describe living in a kind of fog, where the past and future feel distant or abstract. The brain tends to see only two states: now and not now.

If something isn’t happening in the present moment, it can seem almost unreal. That makes it easy to underestimate how long something will take or to get lost in an activity until hours quietly disappear. Even with the best intentions, plans can dissolve as time keeps moving on its own schedule, unseen and unanchored.

What Causes Time Blindness?

There isn’t one single cause, but several factors can play a part:

• Hyperfocus: Getting completely absorbed in one thing, until everything else fades away
• Executive Function Difficulties: Having trouble with planning, prioritizing, or switching between tasks
• Emotional Intensity: Strong emotions can warp our sense of time, making moments stretch out

What It Looks Like in Everyday Life

Time blindness can look like carelessness or procrastination, when in reality, it’s something much deeper. It might show up as:

• Running late without realizing how quickly time passed
• Struggling to follow a schedule
• Underestimating or overestimating how much you can get done
• Putting things off until the very last minute
• Making impulsive decisions because the future feels too far away

What Can Help

You can learn to work with your brain instead of fighting against it. A few strategies can help make time feel more real and manageable:

• Use actionable reminders: Set alarms that tell you what to do
• Try structured techniques: Time blocking or using the Pomodoro Technique can help create boundaries between tasks.
• Work alongside others: Having someone alongside you can help make your tasks easier. Some examples include online body-doubling groups and working alongside peers
• Reflect regularly: Track your time and check in with yourself at the end of the day or week.

Managing time isn’t always about control. Sometimes, it’s about connection

How ShareWell Supports People With Time Blindness

At ShareWell, we help people make time feel real again. Our virtual co-working sessions and peer accountability groups offer gentle structure and community support, something many people with time blindness find grounding.

In our Body Doubling Sessions, members work quietly side by side. Everyone focuses on their own tasks, yet shares the same calm sense of presence. There’s no judgment, no pressure, just mutual support and understanding.

Because managing time isn’t about being stricter or more disciplined. It’s about being seen, supported, and reminded that you’re not alone in how you experience time.

At ShareWell, we believe time doesn’t have to be a race. It can be something you walk beside, steady, supported, and finally, your own.

Want to try a session for time blindness? Join an online support group today.