The Hidden Variable That Impacts Transition Time

One challenge ADHDers have in planning our days is estimating transition time we will need between activities.

Predicting how much transition time you need can feel trying to catch a fish in your hands. Even with activities we do often, it can be hard to predict how much transition time we will need. One day you need 25 minutes, and another day you need an hour to transition between the same exact activities.

I’ve discovered that part of this variability is due to shifting recovery needs.

Transition Time vs Recovery Time

Transition Time and Recovery Time often blend together in our day-to-day lived experience, but they are distinct concepts:

Transition Time is the time your system needs to “shift gears” when switching from one task to the next. Like a car going from forward to reverse, it takes a moment to pause and shift direction. Transition time is about the brain’s “gears.”

Recovery Time is the time your system needs to replenish and recover from a task. It is independent of “transition time,” but often baked into the same block. In fact, Recovery Time is a distinct biological and physiological process from Transition Time. It is a function of nervous system regulation and physiological state in addition to your cognitive capacit.

The Variability of Recovery Time

When we need longer to “transition” from one task to the next, its generally because we need more time to recover from the previous task.

For example, studies show that after being in a high-stimulus environment, neurotypical brains typically need about 30 minutes of recovery, while ADHD brains need 2–3 hours of recovery time.

This amount recovery time isn’t universal. It can vary based on numerous factors, including the length of time you were exposed to the high-stimulus environment.

Generally, recovery time increases in proportion to the intensity and duration of the stimulus. You’ll need more recovery time after a full day of high activity in crowds than you will after a 30 minute meeting.

The Missing Piece in Planning Your Day

Even if you’ve planned for Transition Time, the variability of Recovery Time is often the piece that throws off your day. You cannot transition to the next task until you’ve recovered from the previous task.

Here’s the practical impact:

When you’re in recovery mode, your physiological and cognitive systems are not yet ready to perform. It doesn’t matter if you set a timer for 25 minutes or do all the “best practices” activities to optimize your transition time.

This is important because from the outside looking in, it might appear that you are lazy, or lacking motivation or discipline because you aren’t “taking action” and “getting things done.”

But it doesn’t matter how motivated you are. Your inability to take action is simply the mind, body, and nervous system needing time to recover from the previous task.

Trying to force yourself into action when you’re in recovery mode is like trying to use your phone while it’s rebooting after a software update.

There’s no amount of willpower or discipline that can override a system that is still in recovery.

To plan adequate transition time, you must account for adequate recovery time. The good news is that you can strategize this. I’ll share a case study to illustrate this in the next installment.