In order to do something, you need to know how much time you have to do it and how long it will take. You use this platform of time as a parameter to pace yourself. Whenever you decide to embark on a task it helps you to prioritise, organise as well as stay on course. People with ADHD do not perceive the passage of time well and as such fail to use it as others can. They can tell the time and hate being late, but they don’t feel time and as such the use of it eludes them.
If something is boring, it feels like an eternity to them and if something is enjoyable, they feel like they have spent less time doing it. We see this in children who complain about homework taking forever yet a day on the beach or time on their phone / ipad feels so short. We see this in adults who are impatient if they have to wait 10 minutes yet are the last to leave a party. They typically don’t have enough time to do a task now yet feel they have plenty time in the future. This inevitably results in procrastination which is a hallmark of the disorder.
What those with ADHD have realised though is that they are able to concentrate better on a task when running out of time, hence the last-minute studying and assignment completion. This is because running out of time gives purpose to the task which will then no longer need to rely on its intrinsic interest value to capture their attention.
Those with ADHD arguably see time the way it should be seen. They are vaguely aware of the future in the distance but won’t let it rob them of the present.
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