Everyone loses track of time but for those of us who have dyslexia, that "spacing out" can be caused by something called Time Blindness. We have written a pretty extensive (and dyslexic-friendly) blog.
Today we thought we would tackle how time blindness affects your relationships, ranging from kids to coworkers. We also are offering some helpful advice to minimize the struggle.
You are always late for everything
Time blindness does not care if your kid has soccer at 5 pm or if you have a meeting at 7 am. So often, our dyslexic brains get absorbed in the work we are doing (or the challenge were trying to overcome) that we lose track of the actual time.
Why this affects others:
Pretty straightforward. Being late for events makes others feel like they are not worthy of your time. Being late also makes others view you in a negative light "she is a mess, she's never on time," making them less likely to utilize you and your skill set to the fullest.
Helpful Tip:
Alarms, Alarms, Alarms! Set 3 alarms, one for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes before you need to leave. Put them to three different alert tones and make the 5-minute alarm a sound you can not ignore. You might not be on time, but you will be less late.
Never knowing how long something will take
How often have you sat down thinking an email will take 5 minutes, and in reality, it takes 30? Not knowing how long a task will take instinctively is 100% because of time blindness.
The number of times my kid has come to me with a last-minute project, and I have said we can do this in an hour only to find myself up at 2 am is just plain crazy.
Why this affects others:
When we cannot communicate how quickly or slowly a task will take us, it can be frustrating for our partners (and coworkers). Task-based time blindness also changes how others see us. Typically we underestimate how long a task will take, and those around us stop relying on us.
Helpful Tip:
Collect data on how long tasks take (especially repeat tasks). Write it down or keep a mental log; it does not matter! After you have enough data, you will be able to find the average amount of time things take. For example, after lots of testing, I know a 500-word blog will take about 1 hour to write. Without that data, I would have said 500 words would take 20 minutes.
Not knowing when things happened
Time blindness causes dyslexics to struggle with remembering how long ago in the past something happened. While you can probably remember vivid details about the event, knowing exactly when it happened in time is a bit harder.
Why this affects others:
I don't know about you, but I have a stubborn streak the size of Texas, and I have caused many arguments because I was dead set on when something happened (I am usually wrong). Miss remembering past events might not seem like a big deal, but little things like 6-month checkups or date nights can cause you strife and added anxiety.
Helpful Tip:
Twofold tip here. First- keep a journal or planner where you retroactively write things down. Every night when I journal, I write about the day's events, "I had a date with John today," "I went for my annual medical checkup." This allows me to have a place to return to if I ever need a reference. Second- try and plan ahead. Before you leave the doctor's office, schedule your 6-month follow-up and put it in your calendar (and set the alarm for 1 week and 1 day before)
There are so many other ways that time blindness can affect you and those around you! If we didn't cover something, drop us a comment!