Hyperfocus is when you become totally engrossed in a project or task and everything around you seems to disappear. Hyperfocus can have many advantages, allowing you to get a great deal of work done in a shorter amount of time. It also has it’s disadvantages as you can lose track of what is going around you or causing you to forget other obligations or responsibilities.
One way to help you keep track of time is to keep a kitchen timer in each room in your house. Whenever you have a set amount of time to complete a task, set your timer for a few minutes less. For example, if you have 20 minutes until it is time to leave to pick up your children from school, but would like to get some housework completed, set your timer for 15 minutes and it will be a reminder for you to stop what you are doing and move on to the next obligation.
In addition to kitchen timers, most cell phones have alarm settings you can use or there are watches that will let you set numerous alarms per day or you can set them to beep to let you keep track of passing time.
Poor Time Management Skills
Time management skills require organization, planning and follow through. These skills are the very problems that plague most people with ADD/ADHD. Many adults with ADD/ADHD complain that they cannot seem to follow a schedule. They either take too much time on one task or do not leave enough time for additional activities or they just completely forget their schedule and become distracted doing something totally different.
In order for any of these to work, you first need to know how you spend your time. Take one week to write down everything you do and how long it takes to complete. (A daunting task itself, but essential if you want time management to work properly.) Make a list of what tasks are repeated each day, such as going to work, children’s music lessons, and making dinner. Using a weekly planner, write in all of the repeated tasks first. Add in “down” time to allow yourself to unwind each day. Hang the calendar in a place you can easily refer to it, such as on the front of the refrigerator. This way, as unscheduled commitments and events come up, you can quickly check your schedule to determine if you have time to commit.
