Why 1 minute feels like 1 hour

“I’ve been working on this forever!" Checks clock. It’s been 93 seconds.

"I’ll just be a minute." Checks clock. It’s been 93 minutes.

This is one of the daily experiences of ADHD life. Time is malleable depending on interest level and how onerous the action is determined to be.

There’s a name for this: time blindness.

It’s a quirk of the ADHD brain, part of the package of a deficit in executive functioning that comes with lower levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.

When working on something that requires sitting and concentrating, something you know you need to do but maybe isn’t pressing or is more of a chore, time slows to a crawl. One minute feels like forever.

When chasing dopamine hits through scrolling through social media or pursuing something you are super interested in, an hour feels like a minute.

It’s a weird sort of time warp. While most people underestimate the time required for a task, ADHD brains really turn this up to eleven. We have really no clue how long anything takes.

With so many ideas flowing through our brains, and no sense of how long any of them take to pull off, ADHD brains are constantly over packing their calendars and creating impossible deadlines.

The consequence is always feeling behind which leads to always being in some level of overwhelm. One new thing dropping onto your plate can tip you right over into extreme overwhelm. It can be an exhausting way to experience life.

The help for time blindness is to work to time versus working to task.

Working to time not only makes it easier for ADHD brains to get started on the important stuff, it also helps us hone our sense of time. When a 25-minute counting down is constantly in view, we can see how long the thing we are currently working on is actually taking.

Do it consistently and you’ll be better able to manage your calendar so you don’t have to feel always behind and overwhelmed.

Some free resources for you:

"Are You an ADHD Entrepreneur?" Quiz

ADHD Weekly Dashboard

My online course created specifically for ADHD Entrepreneurs:

The Focus Formula Course - In 30 days to get out of overwhelm, claim your focus and start working to your potential. Get the system, tools and support to 2X your progress every day.

I’m sharing my journey with ADHD, how it especially impacts entrepreneurs, and why it often goes hand in hand with depression. I'll also be sharing what's working for me and what isn't. If you'd like to follow my journey, DM me and I'll put you my ADHD email list (or just follow this newsletter)

#adhd #entrepreneur #solopreneur #founder