5 Reasons Why Time Blocking is So Effective for ADHD Productivity

Time blocking is a powerful productivity strategy that can help you get more done in a day. The structure it provides can be especially helpful for those of us with ADHD.

If your first thought is but I hate structure, you’re not alone. Those of us with ADHD generally don’t like structure, but it can be our most valuable strategy when employed well.

Even if you don’t have ADHD (or aren’t officially diagnosed), time blocking is still an important strategy to keep in your planning tool belt.

5 Reasons Time Blocking is So Effective For ADHD Productivity

Here are 5 reasons why time blocking — when done well — is so effective for people with ADHD:

(1) Time Blocking Eliminates Time Blindness

If you ever sat down to work on something and emerged several hours later unaware of how much time had passed, you have experienced “time blindness.” Time-blindness is a common issue for people with ADHD: we can easily lose track of time or get lost in time.

Although many people talk about “time blindness” as a defect, it’s really a natural response to a phenomenon that isn’t visible. Time is an abstract concept; it has no shape or structure to it. You can’t see time, so of course you’re blind to it.

A calendar creates a visual of time. When you time block your day by scheduling specific times for different activities, you can visually see how much time they will take up.

Time blocking brings time into concrete form, which allows you to “see” time in a way that makes it real.

(2) Time Blocking Boosts Self-Efficacy

In my coaching practice I work with high-achieving clients who often expect themselves to accomplish more in a day than is humanly possible. They feel under accomplished and “behind.” With enough days like this, they end up in a spiral of despair.

Consider how you feel at the end of the day when you check everything off your to-do list versus how you feel when you end the day with many things undone.

Now consider this: what if on each of those days you accomplished the same things? The only difference is the size of the “to-do list” that you started with. Success and efficacy are often a matter of context.

When we are unrealistic in our theory of what we can accomplish in a day, we often end the day feeling disappointed — no matter how much we accomplish. This can deplete our confidence and self-esteem.

Time blocking gives you a clear sense of your available time resources, which can help you plan your day more realistically. This leads to a greater feeling of accomplishment, which boosts self-esteem and self-efficacy and creates an upward spiral.

(3) Time Blocking Plays to ADHD Strengths

As much as we might struggle with time, many people with ADHD are exceptionally skilled at dealing with organizing physical space and big picture logistics.

Organizing physical spaces is like solving a puzzle; it engages a creative part of our brain. Figuring out how to make things fit in a space, or how to seat people around a table, is a challenge that can absorb me for hours.

When you pack clothes into a suitcase, you can visually see when you are running out of space. The constraints of the suitcase make very clear what will fit and what won’t fit. This forces you to either eliminate things or find ways to fit them in.

Time blocking serves the same function.

When you practice time blocking, you are working with what is concrete on the calendar. The constraints of the calendar make it clear what will fit and what won’t fit.

In this way, time blocking turns time into space — and turn a perceived weakness into a strength.

(4) Time Blocking Turns Boring Admin Into a Fun Game

Boring admin tasks like scheduling and planning are kryptonite for people with ADHD. They fail to give us our dopamine hits.

On the other hand, games and winnable challenges can give us the dopamine boost we are often seeking.

When I was growing up, I loved playing Tetris, the Nintendo game that challenged players to move fast-moving shapes of different sizes into a position that would create a solid line.

Time blocking is like playing Tetris: you’re taking shapes of different sizes — the time blocks you need for different segments of your work — and figuring out how to make them fit.

That’s a completely different vibe.

Start thinking of time blocking in this way and see how it changes your relationship with scheduling and planning.

(5) Time Blocking Helps Keep Your Nervous System Regulated

Thinking of time as a resource that we “use,”, can bring up fears of lack and scarcity. These fears can dysregulate our nervous system, triggering fight-flight-freeze mode. In this state, getting things done becomes an uphill battle.

On the other hand, thinking of time as a safe container in which we operate can help us stay regulated.

The boundaries of a time block can create a sense of safety. When you are within the embrace of the time block, you are protected. The time block becomes your invisible shield that keeps away intrusions.

For that defined period of time, you have permission to tune out everyone else and place your focus on one clear task.

Beyond Efficacy

Beyond these reasons why time blocking can be such an effective strategy, time blocking has many benefits that make it a valuable skill to learn how to do well.

We’ll explore these in a future part of this series.