Stanford
Center for Teaching and Learning

Managing Time Blindness

What is Time Blindness?

Time blindness is used to describe difficulties with accurately perceiving and managing time. Time blindness can look like:

  • Challenges with estimating how long an activity will take
  • Problems creating or adhering to schedules
  • Frequently running late or missing appointments/meetings
  • Getting hyper-focused on a task and losing track of time

Time blindness is a common challenge for neurodiverse students, especially those with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and/or executive functioning difficulties.

Given the many responsibilities that students balance in college (e.g., coursework, social life, extra-curricular activities), challenges with time blindness can result in missed deadlines and responsibilities, last-minute cramming, and academic burnout.

With the right strategies, you can learn how to be more aware of your time and have time work with you instead of against you.

Strategies for Managing Time Blindness

If you tend to lose track of time or run late to meetings/appointments, try…

  • Externalizing Time: Use external tools to help turn the invisible concept of time into something you can see, helping your brain stay on track.
  • Clocks: Wall clocks, desk clocks, or even watches can be helpful to include in your line of sight. Setting up a digital clock widget on your phone or laptop home screen can be a helpful reminder of the current time, without requiring you to move away form your current task.
  • Visual Timers: Look for visual timers, analog timers, or digital timer apps  that represent time passing/running out as a shrinking wedge. This can be particularly useful for tasks like studying, cleaning, or transitioning between activities.
  • Alarms and Reminders: Alarms and reminders can act as external nudges to bring your attention back to time-related tasks, so you don’t rely solely on memory or internal cues.
    • Set alarms not only for waking up, but also to signal key transitions (e.g., when to start/stop studying, leave for class, take medication, wind down at night).
    • Use multiple alarms for a single event when needed. For example, you may want to set a “get ready” alarm 15 to 30 minutes before a class or meeting, and another alarm for the time you need to start biking to the activity. This gives you time to shift focus as well as mentally and physically prepare for the next activity.
    • Use clear labels for your alarms. Instead of vague alarm names like “reminder,” try being more specific to reduce decision fatigue (e.g., “Pack bag and start walking to class,” “Log into Zoom office hours,” “Start 25-minute study session”).
    • Utilize technology (e.g., smart devices or watches) to schedule hands-free alarms or gentle, vibrating reminders if you are sensitive to noise or tend to ignore phone notifications.
    • You may also benefit from redundancy and layering reminders. For example, you could use a calendar notification, alarm sound, and a visual reminder on your laptop to prompt you when you need to go to office hours. It is harder to miss important tasks when you have multiple types of cues to prompt you.
  • Wall Calendars and Whiteboards: Wall calendars and whiteboards provide a big-picture view of your schedule and deadlines. Be sure to place your calendar or whiteboard somewhere you can actually see it. You can include upcoming deadlines and events (e.g., midterms, final projects, interviews).
    • Check out our quarter-at-a-glance tool as one option to map out your quarter. This tool helps you create an overall timeline, anticipate busy periods, and plan accordingly. The quarter-at-a-glance already includes important dates, such as the add/drop deadline, holiday breaks, and final exam period.
  • Music: Listening to a song or playlist can help you keep track of how much time you have spent on a task. For example, if you have 20 minutes each morning to get ready before heading to class, you can have a playlist of four songs that last approximately 5 minutes each. As each song passes, you can start to recognize that another 5 minutes has passed.

If you tend to get hyper-focused on tasks, try…

  • Breaking Time Into Chunks: Chunking helps with planning tasks more realistically and also builds in rest and recovery.
  • Pomodoro Technique: The basic cycle looks like: 1) pick a task to focus on, 2) set a timer for 25 minutes, 3) work on the task until the timer rings, 4) take a 5-minute break, 5) after four work/break cycles, take a longer break (15 to 30 minutes).
    • You can adjust the timing to fit your brain; you might prefer 20-minute work cycles or 45-minute work cycles.
    • Use breaks intentionally and try to engage in activities that are recharging/restorative (e.g., moving your body, using a fidget, listening to music).
  • Buffer Time: With time blindness, it can be easy to underestimate how long things will take, overbook your schedule, or forget that your brain and body need time to transition between tasks. Buffer time gives you space to breathe, reset, and move from one activity to the next with less stress.
    • For example, you can give yourself 10 to 20 minutes of buffer time between studying and transitioning to another task. Think about it as recovery time for your brain.

If you struggle to adhere to a routine, try…

  • Creating Anchors and Consistency: Neurodiverse brains tend to benefit from cues and consistency.
  • Daily Anchors: Daily anchors are predictable activities or routines that ground your day and give your brain reference points in time. They are consistent moments or habits that happen around the same time each day.
    • They can be natural (e.g., class or meal) or ones that you create on purpose (e.g., morning check-in or bedtime routine).
    • It may be helpful to start with 2-3 key times per day and then identify anchors.
    • A morning anchor could look like brushing your teeth, checking your calendar, and having a cup of tea.
    • A midday anchor could look like having lunch after class, taking a walk, and then going to the library to start studying.
  • Keep your morning and evening routines as consistent as possible: Morning and evening routines don’t have to be perfect, but the familiarity of consistent mornings and evenings can help you feel more grounded, prepared, and in control of your time.

If you have difficulty estimating how long tasks will take, try…

  • Tracking Time and Chunking Tasks: Tracking time and chunking tasks into smaller pieces can make estimating how long tasks will take feel more manageable.
  • Time Auditing: With time blindness, it can feel like your day just disappears. You might not realize where your day went, how long something actually took, or why you keep running out of time for assignments/deadlines.
    • Time auditing helps you track how you are spending your time, so you can see where your time actually goes instead of where you think it goes.
    • See additional suggestions for how you can audit your time and create a more realistic routine.
  • Chunking Tasks: Breaking down assignments and projects into smaller chunks can make it easier to estimate how long tasks will take. For example, if you tell yourself to “start writing a research paper,” that could take endless amounts of time. Instead, you might chunk your paper into specific tasks and time estimates:
    • Review final research paper guidelines (30 minutes)
    • Read 1 article related to research area and jot down 3 ideas/questions (1 hour)
    • Brainstorm possible research question (20 minutes)
    • Email professor and request feedback on research paper idea (20 minutes)

Managing time blindness can help improve your academic performance. Try out different strategies and see what works best for you. Remember that change takes time – be patient and persistent as you work on these skills.

If you would like additional support or want to brainstorm individualized strategies for managing time blindness, you are welcome to schedule an appointment with one of our neurodiversity-focused academic coaches.

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Managing Time Blindness

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