That's me, too! It's like as soon as my brain switches into "I have to be at the doctors at 4pm" mode, I can do nothing else except get ready and go. If I try to distract myself with like, five minutes of email checking because I'm ready way too early, I'll literally start sweating with the fear of getting sucked into my email and forgetting to leave for the appointment. So... I'm always early!
The essential part of time keeping for me now is to explain how I am and WHY to my friends & family! Because I spent my whole life apologising! Until now!
Interestingly, I could organise my kids and all their activities, who looked after them in the school hols, etc. And get them everywhere on time! I prided myself on my organisational skills!! 😂🤷♀️ BUT, I suffered from chronic depression and severe anxiety for 40 years!!!
I hear you! I run my household and the lives of my kids very precisely but the cost of doing that is a lot 🤯 I’m only just realising the fear that’s behind it all.
This is me. I have to force myself to not leave work WAY earlier than necessary to get to appointments & then freak thinking I’m gonna be late the then still be early & have to actively shove down an anxiety attack while coming off an adrenaline rush so I don’t barf in the waiting room. Good times.
You're getting a lot of "me too," but I have to join in. Being late drives me nuts, and so I tend to arrive early just to relieve the pressure. My time blindness may be a bit odd. Something that happened five years ago and something that happened last month "feel" about the same. I have to consult calendar notes to have an accurate idea of that sort of span. And I constantly set alarms on my phone to remind me when to leave for an appointment, etc., because I can get so absorbed in something that I don't notice time passing. But in my career as a speaker I have always had a good solid sense of how long I was speaking. Like, if it was supposed to be a 45-minute keynote, I can biologically clock that. (I also use a timer just to be sure, but I seldom need it.) Want a 5- to 7-minute speech? I can structure for that and come in on time. I don't know why that doesn't translate to other sorts of "time awareness," but it doesn't.
When I used to work in London city I would commute by train.
I walk ot the train station (20is min) and had timed things in such a way that when I stepped onto the platform, the train was just coming in. To me that was constitutes "on time" 🤭
My husband (I late dx ADHDer at 39 like me) would be like 😯😯😯😯😯 he is always 20-40 min early to anything, he says the anxiety of being late is worst than the anxiety of being early
That's me, too! It's like as soon as my brain switches into "I have to be at the doctors at 4pm" mode, I can do nothing else except get ready and go. If I try to distract myself with like, five minutes of email checking because I'm ready way too early, I'll literally start sweating with the fear of getting sucked into my email and forgetting to leave for the appointment. So... I'm always early!
Same here. I spend some much time in my car waiting!
Yes! I often take a book to read but can’t focus on it! 🤦♀️
I end up coordinating my diary so I dont double book myself 🤣
The essential part of time keeping for me now is to explain how I am and WHY to my friends & family! Because I spent my whole life apologising! Until now!
Interestingly, I could organise my kids and all their activities, who looked after them in the school hols, etc. And get them everywhere on time! I prided myself on my organisational skills!! 😂🤷♀️ BUT, I suffered from chronic depression and severe anxiety for 40 years!!!
I hear you! I run my household and the lives of my kids very precisely but the cost of doing that is a lot 🤯 I’m only just realising the fear that’s behind it all.
This is me. I have to force myself to not leave work WAY earlier than necessary to get to appointments & then freak thinking I’m gonna be late the then still be early & have to actively shove down an anxiety attack while coming off an adrenaline rush so I don’t barf in the waiting room. Good times.
You're getting a lot of "me too," but I have to join in. Being late drives me nuts, and so I tend to arrive early just to relieve the pressure. My time blindness may be a bit odd. Something that happened five years ago and something that happened last month "feel" about the same. I have to consult calendar notes to have an accurate idea of that sort of span. And I constantly set alarms on my phone to remind me when to leave for an appointment, etc., because I can get so absorbed in something that I don't notice time passing. But in my career as a speaker I have always had a good solid sense of how long I was speaking. Like, if it was supposed to be a 45-minute keynote, I can biologically clock that. (I also use a timer just to be sure, but I seldom need it.) Want a 5- to 7-minute speech? I can structure for that and come in on time. I don't know why that doesn't translate to other sorts of "time awareness," but it doesn't.
When I used to work in London city I would commute by train.
I walk ot the train station (20is min) and had timed things in such a way that when I stepped onto the platform, the train was just coming in. To me that was constitutes "on time" 🤭
My husband (I late dx ADHDer at 39 like me) would be like 😯😯😯😯😯 he is always 20-40 min early to anything, he says the anxiety of being late is worst than the anxiety of being early
Thanks for the perspective.
I’m one of the time-blind chronically late, so it’s good to know some folks can be early.
I’ve booked a doctor’s appointment tomorrow 45 mins later than the time it will take me to get there, you know, just in case 🤦🏼♀️ Highly relatable!!
🙋🏻 me!!!!! Every word of this. Thank you for expressing my experience so eloquently ❤️
Love this! 💕
Such an important lens.