What the EF? How to Support Time Management
When someone consistently struggles with time management, the outside world often interprets it as laziness, irresponsibility, lack of effort, or “not caring enough.” If perceived in this way, it leads to frustration, disappointment, and hurt for others and shame for the ADHDer. In reality, many of these challenges stem from ADHD-related differences in executive functioning, including time awareness, time estimation, attention regulation, task initiation, working memory, and energy management.
Support becomes much more effective when we stop assuming that the issue is a lack of planning ahead, and we actually break down and consider what cognitive skills and information is necessary to effectively time manage.
Let’s talk about what actually helps.
What the EF: Understanding Time Management
When most people hear “time management,” they think of planners, calendars, and color-coded schedules. But that’s only the surface. At its core, “good” time management requires being able to accurately estimate how long each task will take, and for many ADHDers, that’s where things start to get complicated.
Time isn’t something we can see or hold. It’s abstract. And when your brain already has difficulty regulating attention, motivation, and emotion, time can feel slippery and elusive.
Let’s break it down.
A Guide to Finding a Neurodiversity-Affirming Assessor
You’ve probably been here before. Typing “autism assessment near me” or “ADHD evaluation for adults” into Google… and immediately feeling a mix of hope, dread, and please don’t let this be another person who doesn’t get it. Maybe you’ve been dismissed before. Maybe you’ve been told you’re “just anxious.” Maybe you’ve gotten really good at explaining yourself in a way that makes other people comfortable—but leaves you feeling wildly misunderstood. Maybe you’ve spent years in therapy trying to fix something that never quite made sense in the first place. And now you’re here wondering if this could be the missing piece… while also bracing yourself for the possibility that it won’t be.
What the EF? How to Support Working Memory
A guide for parents, partners, relatives, friends and professionals supporting ADHDers. Part of the What the EF? Executive functioning blog series. /blog/tag/What+the+EF%3F
https://www.embracethemuchness.com/blog/understanding-working-memory
Before we begin, if you haven’t already read our companion blog, What the EF? Understanding Working Memory, we recommend reading that first and then returning.
If you’re a parent, partner, relative, friend, colleague, or professional supporting an ADHDer with working memory challenges, you’ve likely felt frustrated at times.
You might notice things like:
Important items getting lost
Needed items being forgotten when leaving the house
Tasks not being completed
Bills not being paid on time
Birthdays or anniversaries being ignored
Commitments not followed through on
Conversations not being remembered later
What the EF? Understanding Working Memory
Working memory…what does that even mean? For many ADHDers it feels like our memory is certainly not working! The term “working memory” refers to the cognitive skill of being able to temporarily store and manipulate information. Working memory is considered one of the executive functioning skills.
What Working Memory Actually Is
Think of working memory like a post it note in your brain. It tends to hold information temporarily until it’s needed.
Why Can’t I Get Anything Done? Living and Functioning in Overwhelming Times
There are moments when the question “Why can’t I get anything done?” feels less like frustration and more like genuine confusion. You might know what needs to be done. You might even want to do it. And yet, it feels harder than usual to stay focused, harder to start, and harder to see things through until they’re finished.
Sometimes though, it’s not you. It’s that you’re having a completely normal reaction to a world that feels like it’s burning all around you.
Whether it’s political and social justice activity, major weather events or natural disasters, infectious disease spread, or something else entirely, the common thread in all of these situations is a threat to our sense of safety AND feelings of uncertainty/instability.
What the EF? Understanding Executive Functioning Skills and ADHD
When people talk about ADHD, the conversation often centers on focus, attention, and impulsivity. As an ADHDer, a parent of ADHD children, and a professional who supports many ADHDers, I see executive functioning skills as the area where challenges show up most. These are the cognitive processes that help us “execute” tasks. Think of them like the executive of a business for your brain: they support goal setting, monitoring progress, following through, analyzing, and adjusting.
For search clarity: you may also see these challenges called “executive dysfunction” online. I use more affirming language here.
This article is an introduction to executive functioning and the eight core skills. It also kicks off a series where I will take a closer look at each skill and share strategies for people who experience challenges in that area.
Navigating Transitions with ADHD
Transitions, whether big or small, can be particularly challenging for both children and adults with ADHD. From starting a new school year to dealing with last-minute changes in your day, these shifts can disrupt your focus, organization, plan and overall sense of stability. With the right strategies, you can navigate these changes with a bit more ease. Let’s explore how to manage both major life transitions and everyday disruptions.
A Guide to Becoming a Neurodiversity-Affirming Helping Professional
Learn the fundamentals of becoming a neurodiversity-affirming helping professional. Free download.
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