Where Did the Time Go? Time Management and Executive Functioning
Time management is another executive functioning skill that we use all day, every day.
It is not just about being able to tell the time.
It is about understanding time, feeling time passing, knowing how long something takes, planning ahead, and being able to use time in a way that gets us where we need to be.
For some children, young people and adults with ADHD, autism or executive functioning difficulties, time can feel really difficult to manage.
They may know they need to leave the house.
They may know they have school, work, an appointment, or a bus to catch.
But their brain may not fully register how much time they have, how long the task will take, or when they need to start moving.
That is where things start to go wrong.
Time Management Is More Than Telling the Time
A child might be able to read a clock and still struggle with time management.
Because time management is not just knowing that it is 8:15.
It is understanding what 8:15 means.
It is knowing:
how long they have before they need to leave
how long it takes to get dressed
how long it takes to eat breakfast
how long it takes to find their shoes
how long it takes to get to school
whether they have enough time to start something else
That is a lot of thinking.
So when a child is always running late, it is not always because they do not care.
Their brain may be struggling to work out the distance of time.
The Distance of Time
One of the things I talk about is understanding the distance of time.
Someone may think they have only been sitting there for two minutes, but really 20 minutes have passed.
They may think they have loads of time left, but they should have left five minutes ago.
They may get so focused on something that time disappears.
This is often called time blindness.
It can mean the person does not feel time passing in the same way.
So they may say:
“I’ll do it in a minute.”
“I’ve got time.”
“I won’t be long.”
“I’m nearly ready.”
But their idea of time and the actual time may be completely different.
Getting Ready Uses Lots of Skills
Think about something simple like getting ready for school or work.
You have to:
wake up
get out of bed
get washed
get dressed
eat breakfast
pack your bag
find what you need
know what time you need to leave
work out how long each step will take
stop doing anything that is distracting you
leave the house on time
That is not one task.
That is lots of tasks.
And all of them need executive functioning skills.
Working memory to remember what you need
Planning to know the order
Organisation to find your things
Task initiation to get started
Inhibitory control to stop scrolling, playing, talking or doing something else
Flexible thinking if something goes wrong
Problem solving if you cannot find something
Emotional regulation if you start to panic
So when someone struggles with time management, it is often because lots of executive functioning skills are being used at once.
When Time Feels Too Far Away
Time management also links to future thinking.
Some children and adults struggle to feel the future.
Something might be happening next week, next month, or later in the day, but it does not feel real yet.
So.....
They may not prepare.
They may not revise.
They may not pack their bag.
They may not start the project.
They may leave everything until the last minute.
This is not always because they are being careless.
It may be because the future does not feel close enough for their brain to act on it.
Then, when the deadline is suddenly right in front of them, the pressure hits.
And now they are overwhelmed.
Time and Hyperfocus
Time management can also be hard when someone gets deeply focused on something.
This can happen a lot with ADHD and autism.
They might be gaming, reading, researching, drawing, watching videos, building something, or doing something they are really interested in.
Then time disappears.
They may genuinely not realise how long they have been doing it.
So when an adult says, “You’ve been on that for two hours,” they may be shocked.
To them, it may feel like 10 minutes.
This is why time management is not just about refusing to stop.
Sometimes their brain has lost track of time.
Telling the Time Can Still Be Difficult
Some children can also struggle with the language of time.
They may find it hard when people say:
quarter to nine
half past three
ten to four
five past
in 20 minutes
later
soon
after dinner
These phrases sound simple, but they require flexible thinking.
You have to understand that time can be said in different ways.
You have to hold the information in your mind and connect it to what it means.
So a child may understand digital time better than analogue time.
Or they may need time explained more clearly.
This is not about intelligence.
It is about how the brain processes time.
What Time Management Difficulties Can Look Like
A child, young person or adult may:
often be late
miss the bus
underestimate how long things take
take too long getting ready
lose track of time
get stuck in an activity
say “in a minute” but not move
leave everything until the last minute
panic when they realise they are running late
struggle with deadlines
find it hard to plan ahead
struggle to understand future time
think they have more time than they do
become overwhelmed when rushed
forget appointments or plans
This can be misunderstood.
People may say they are lazy, careless, rude, disorganised or not bothered.
But really, their brain may be struggling with time as an executive functioning skill.
Time Management Is a Skill
Time management is a skill.
It is not just about clocks and watches.
It is about planning, starting, stopping, remembering, organising, estimating, prioritising and thinking ahead.
That is a lot for one brain to do.
So when a child struggles with time, we need to look at the skill underneath.
Are they struggling to feel time passing?
Are they struggling to work out how long things take?
Are they struggling to stop one task and move to another?
Are they struggling to think about the future?
Are they overwhelmed by all the steps involved?
When we understand time management as an executive functioning skill, we stop seeing lateness as simply not caring.
We start to see how much brain work is involved in getting somewhere on time.
