Time blindness, the inability to determine how long a task will take or conceptualize how much time has passed, is a well-documented characteristic of many people with ADHD and autism. Russell Barkley, a retired clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Massachusetts, is often credited with linking time impairment to ADHD. In 1997, he called it “temporal myopia.” The condition relates to executive function that occurs in the frontal lobes of the brain.
Alice Lovatt, a musician and group-home worker in Liverpool, England, was always getting in trouble for being late as a child. She said, “I just don’t seem to have that clock that ticks by in my head.” She wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until age 22, when she learned she was experiencing a symptom sometimes called “time blindness.” However, a recent social media debate has questioned where the line is between a genuine condition and someone who is disorganized or simply being rude.
Is It a Disorder or Behavior?
Stephanie Sarkis, a psychotherapist in Tampa Bay, Florida, noted that anyone can have issues running late, but with ADHD there’s functional impairment. “It impacts family life and social life. It impacts work, money management, all areas of life,” Sarkis said. She noted that stimulant medication prescribed for other ADHD symptoms such as inattention or restlessness is also effective at treating time blindness. However, not everyone who is chronically late has ADHD or a built-in excuse.
Jeffrey Meltzer, a therapist in Bradenton, Florida, counsels people to examine the core issue behind their lateness. Some people who hate small talk fear arriving early, which could point to anxiety as the underlying issue. Others may feel they don’t have much control over their lives, so they try to reclaim a few minutes from responsibilities. “It’s the same psychology concept behind revenge bedtime procrastination,” he said.
Whether a person has ADHD or not, they’re still responsible for their actions, according to Sarkis. She suggested using a smart watch to set alerts, breaking tasks down into checklists of smaller parts, and resisting the urge to cram too many activities into one day. Lovatt learned to give herself much more time than she thought she needed and uses Forest, a time management app, along with other apps to lock herself out of distracting phone features. She also created granular lists of how long things take, discovering that getting out the door in the morning took 45 minutes rather than the 20 minutes she estimated. “It doesn’t work, like, 100% of the time. But generally, I am a lot more reliable now.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.reporterherald.com/2026/01/05/time-blindness/