How people with ADHD experience time differently

Stretchy like chewing gum, compressible like gas: People with ADHD often perceive time very differently than neurotypical people – and therefore usually have difficulty estimating and planning. Examples, reasons, and possible strategies.

Staying with it for another 10 minutes because it's interesting. Then looking at the clock and realizing: The bus left 15 minutes ago because you were on your computer or smartphone for an entire hour. For people with ADHD, " time blindness ," or at least a very poor sense of time, is a common occurrence.

Not exactly an easy lot in a society that schedules its work, mobility, and often even leisure time down to the minute. The opposite is downright torturous: Routine tasks that don't require mental effort are perceived by those with ADHD as a kind of "silent death by installments." An hour of this can feel like half a day; inner nervousness rises, frustration and anger spread, and willful concentration becomes even more difficult.

Why are people with ADHD often “ time blind ”?

Researchers have been trying to solve the mystery of time perception for decades – but so far, the results have been relatively modest. There doesn't seem to be a single central clock in the brain, but rather multiple systems that control different aspects of time perception. Emotional experiences, such as the first kiss or moving into one's first apartment, are deeply etched in our memory and also influence our retrospective perception of time. As we age and have fewer new experiences, the years seem to pass more and more quickly – because not much new is happening anymore.

The key to momentary time perception appears to lie in dopamine , the neurotransmitter (messenger substance) that is made available in the form of medication for ADHD. Drugs that affect the dopaminergic system (cocaine, amphetamine) can also speed up our internal clock. Research in mice has also shown that dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, a deep brain region, directly control time perception.

Parkinson's patients in whom these nerve cells die often have an impaired perception of time. One thing is certain: emotions and attention can change the number of registered impulses, which in turn influences our internal clock. This can be easily seen with another example. Films in the cinema run at 30, maybe 60 frames per second. The only reason we watch a film is because we cannot process so many images one after the other as individuals. If we were to go to the cinema with the eyes of a bee, the film would be an extremely lengthy, never-ending slide show. Bees can see up to 200 images per second .

In summary, our perception of time is a complex interplay of brain regions and neurotransmitters, with dopamine playing a central role. In people with ADHD, whose dopamine metabolism is disrupted, this leads to an altered perception of time almost daily.

How does time blindness in ADHD manifest itself in everyday life?

Lateness: People with ADHD and time blindness often struggle with punctuality. The reason? A distorted estimation of time during preparation and task duration. Furthermore, the complete ignoring of other topics when hyperfocus sets in.

Procrastination: People with ADHD time blindness often procrastinate until the last second. Their main motivator, which works well, is stress. Due to executive dysfunction , their willpower often doesn't function well. The result: overwhelm in many areas of life.

Time management problems: Effective time management is a challenge. Difficulty setting priorities and creating schedules leads to frustration—both for yourself and for others.

Uneven work performance: Work experiences ups and downs. Sometimes people with ADHD are high performers, other times progress stalls. Time constraints play a key role here.

Preference for immediate gratification: People with ADHD often struggle with delaying gratification . They live much more in the present moment and are passionate about immediate results. A project isn't due for another three months? For someone with ADHD, it's "out of sight, out of mind." They can only imagine committing to it if they regularly see partial results from their work.

Seeing time, feeling the future: Time management with ADHD

The following time management strategies can help people with ADHD to manage their attention, detach themselves more from the present, and broaden their time horizon – “to also feel the future”:

Reduce temptations: With ADHD, every interruption of attention is like a roll of the dice—you never know if you'll get back on track. Sheer willpower is too unreliable to resist time-wasting distractions like a smartphone and social media. Put it away, lock it up.

Keep track of the passing time at all times: Don't rely on your internal clock. Use analog clocks nearby to see the time. Even better, especially for short time periods (up to 60 minutes), are visual timers that visually indicate the passing of time in color. Set reminders on your phone or even a simple kitchen timer for when you're ready to leave.

Feel the future: Construct consequences. How will it feel if I have to complete three weeks of work in one week? If not so good: What could I do with my project today that would actually give me a good feeling of completion by the evening?

Break tactics: Regular breaks structure your day and sharpen your focus on what's important. Use your breaks for exercise, if possible. Concentration is proven to be easier after exercise.

Urgent tasks first (not exciting ones): What's urgent, what can wait? A clear list sorted by urgency helps you structure your day efficiently. Feel free to use colors, icons, or anything that stands out from the boring screen or white paper. People with ADHD are often very visual, and "markers" focus our willpower.

Break projects down: Break down large challenges into smaller steps without hesitation. Break them down as much as it still makes sense. This makes progress visible and scheduling more realistic. Achieving something every day? That's the kind of horizon that feels satisfying with ADHD.

Addendum: You read the article to the end, even though you're "neurotypical," meaning you don't have ADHD. Congratulations. But something's really bothering you. Because you're also familiar with this altered perception of time. The day with your friend was so short, the three hours spent working on the Excel spreadsheet felt so long. Yes, of course. Now imagine a slider from 1 to 5 for this effect. For you, it might be set to 1 or 2. With ADHD, it's almost permanently set to 4 or 5. Just like with inattention or impulsivity , it's not about "normal" people not experiencing this . It's about how strong the effect is—and how severely it can therefore impact our lives.

Product:

Visual timer with analog and digital display