Ep 76: Executive Function Series #1 Managing Time & Awareness

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In this first deep-dive episode of our executive function series, we explore why traditional time management methods often fail ADHD brains and introduce three game-changing strategies to transform your relationship with time and build lasting awareness.

📌 Key Topics:

• Why ADHD brains experience time differently
• The truth about time blocking (and how to make it work for you)
• Breaking free from the "I'll find time later" myth
• How to build time awareness through visual cues
• The power of white space in your calendar
• Simple mindset shifts for better time management

🗣️ Featured Quote: "Time management was really, really difficult to tackle. Everything changed when I realized the problem wasn't me. It was my approach to time."

💡 Strategy Breakdown:

• Embrace time blocking with flexibility
• Shift from time scarcity to abundance mindset
• Build time awareness using visual cues and timers

🎯 Coming Up Next: Exploring Organization & Systems - learn how to create structures that actually stick and support your executive function growth.

🔑 Key Takeaway: You're not broken, and you can develop better time awareness. Small changes in how you approach time can create big transformations in your daily life.

🎓 Level Up: Visit www.learntothrivewithadhd.com for additional resources and support!

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#executivefunctions #adhd #timemanagement #timeblocking #adhdsupport #timeawareness #adhdcommunity #productivitytips

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Transcript

How do you manage your time? This is the question that I ask on almost every single consult, and the answer that I usually get back is I don't. So are you constantly running out of time? Are you feeling overwhelmed by your to do list or are you wondering where the day went? You're not alone. Today, I'll share three actionable strategies to master time management and improve your time awareness to make your ADHD life easier.

So not only will you get the tools that you can use right away, but you'll uncover what's been making time management so tough. So let's get into it.

though, another thing I hear from clients is I was busy all day, but I don't know what I did. Do you feel like that sometimes where you just get to the end of the day and you're like, I feel like I was doing things all day, but I didn't even make a dent in my to do list.

So for me, time management was really, really difficult to tackle. I'd miss appointments, I'd forget deadlines, I'd spend hours beating myself up for not being productive enough.

Does that sound familiar? Everything changed when I realized the problem wasn't me. It was my approach to time. So I had to rewire how I viewed time and build systems that actually worked for my brain.

And if I can fix this, so can you. So we're going to go over three points here. Number one, embrace time blocking. Now, I know what you're saying is I've tried time walking. I don't like it. I feel too boxed in. I am going to at some point share my personal time management system. And part of that is time blocking.

And part of that time blocking is making sure that there is white space in your calendar when I'm working with clients to manage their time. I am always making sure that they are leaving some time to do nothing. It's so important. So if you have time blocked in the past and you've filled up your calendar completely and you just were doing it wrong, that's okay.

Or or if you were, I'll tell a little bit more about like the problems that I had. But most people think that they need like a long, detailed to do list to stay on track. I do not. I teach people a now not now list, and that gives the amount of things that you have on your to do list.

Very small and you're always learning to prioritize with that. But here's the truth. Lists by themselves don't work. What we do with the things on that list is we have to give it a specific time. And that's what time blocking. Sorry. And that's why time blocking is a game changer. Instead of randomly listing tasks, divide your day into chunks and assign tasks to specific time slots.

For example, 9 to 10 a.m. emails, 10 to 11 focused work, 12 to 1 meetings. This gives your brain structure and prevents task overwhelm. Tools like Google Calendar are really helpful. We're sorry. Tools like Google Calendar are really helpful for this or time tree.

I know this seems simplistic and you've probably, like I said, tried it before, but here's what most people don't tell you.

It took me a year to learn to follow a calendar. I forgot to check it. I'd forget to put things on it and when I did put things on it, I would not do that. I would do anything but that thing. Or I would forget to put things on the calendar altogether. It was a process of trying, failing, getting coached, trying, failing, getting coached.

And if time blocking feels hard, that's because it is hard. But stick with it. And like I said, I'm going to in future share my personal time management system. The one that I was trying to

follow when I was learning to follow a calendar I felt was a little rigid. And so I feel like the time management video, it's basically about, you know, how to use your calendar that I put out a couple of years ago.

I've evolved since then, so I will be in future, like I said, sharing my personal system. So if you guys aren't subscribed, get subscribed. So for now, let's get started with these simple actionable steps. But number two, shift your mindset about time. So here's the big myth. I'll find time later. I'll do that later. The reality is time is finite and later doesn't always come.

I tell my clients all the time, you can't put what's important to you in the crux of of your time. And what I mean by that is when we're actually putting things on the calendar, you start to realize that the things that matter has to go on there. They have to get a space. And if you just try to the crux of what I mean by the crux of time, if you tried to do the things that matter to you in between the things you know, that you do is that you're trying to do every day.

It doesn't work. You're just like trying to borrow time to do the things that matter. But what you need to do is make the things that matter the most important things. And we can't do everything all the time.

Instead, start thinking of time as a resource that needs to be spent intentionally. Ask yourself, is this how I want to invest my time today? This small mindset shift makes a huge difference in prioritizing what actually matters. So another mindset trap is times scarcity. That feeling that there's never enough time. If you believe that there's enough time, you'll freeze and stay stuck and you'll make that true.

Because what's the point, right? If there's no time, then it's really like a disempowering way to think. And so what you want to do instead is instead of saying I don't have enough time is I have plenty of time for the things that matter to me. Your brain listens to what you tell it. So be careful what that is.

What if time wasn't the problem? What if it's just about choosing wisely? So point number three, build time awareness with visual cues. If you struggle to stay aware of time, visual timers are your best friends. Apps like Focus Keeper or physical timers like a time timer. You just search time timer on Amazon. You'll get all kinds of options and there's like big clocks and little clocks.

I have one right here for myself that I use all the time. What I love about my time timer is I will I will have a certain block of time. I'm working on something. For example, there's the 30 minute block that I put on my calendar to record this video for you. And if I'm working on, say, you know, some research or something like that, I'll set my timer for the amount of time and then I don't have to worry.

But another fun thing about timers, and especially visual timers is you can pair this with like micro deadlines, like set a 25 minute timer, which we're all familiar with Pomodoro, right? But I would even do 10 minutes. So this was my favorite game when I really didn't want to do something like cleaning, for example. Do you ever. It doesn't happen to me anymore.

And it's just because I have set in my time management. I have where I pick up my house every morning for like 30 minutes. And so it doesn't happen anymore. But it used to happen all the time. Where just the whole house was a disaster. Every room and and I would get that like kind of freeze feeling of like, where do I even begin?

And what I would do is set a timer. And it was before I had my visual timer. So the visual timer would have been even more effective, but I would set a timer for 10 minutes and I would just tackle like the kitchen. And what was so fun is it was shocking how much you can get done in a room in 10 minutes.

You can make a huge difference in a room in 10 minutes, but it gamified it to like race against the clock to see how fast I could get it done. So timers don't just boost your focus. They train your brain to track time better. Now, if I say I'm cooking something in the oven, I can guess within a minute to 2 minutes when that thing is going to be done now.

And that's a huge difference from like losing hours at a time in a day, just being unaware of the time. So you can read, train your brain.

So if you are like I used to be and you're losing hours, you're not broken, you just need to train your time, awareness, your brain can change and you can work on these things.

now it's your turn. Pick one strategy and try it today. Time. BLOCK your day. Reframe how you think about time.

Set up a timer for your next task. Drop a comment below. Which one are you trying first?

Or share your best time management hack.

I'm keeping this executive function series short, but if you want to go deeper, go to the website WW w learn to thrive with ADHD dot com The new website. So fun to look at and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube.

Hit the bell so that you get notified. Every time I release one of these

I'm going to be releasing two a month in the series

if you're listening on the podcast, I would love for you to go to iTunes and rate and review

that brings together all the wonderful ADHD brains so that we're all together in learning.

So I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed and feel out of control with time. But small changes like the ones that we talked about today can create big transformations. Imagine ending your day, feeling accomplished, and knowing exactly where the time went. You can definitely do this. Even if time management has felt impossible for every small step adds up.

So keep experimenting, keep adjusting, and most importantly, keep going. See you guys next week.