It’s 7:30 am. We have to be in the car to drive carpool in twenty minutes. Our 8-year-old son is still in his pajamas. This happens every morning. I wonder if I should dress him myself or force him to go to school in his pajamas. I know one thing; this is a problem that needs to be solved.

Our kids’ brains are still developing. They rely on parents and other caregiving adults to manage their time and teach them to manage their time as they mature.

Without time management skills it is difficult to manage the prioritization and completion of tasks, arrive on time to appointments and keep commitments that we make.

Adults who work in structured jobs lean on external expectations to get things done. Self-employed, homemakers and retirees need to structure our own time for productivity.

All of us need time awareness and management skills to achieve balance in life.

Time in the Brain

Time management requires both time perception as well as time estimation. These parts of the brain are needed:

Milliseconds and the motor system are managed in the cerebellum.

Hours and days are perceived via the circadian rhythms, which rely on the suprachiasmatic nuclei.

Seconds and minutes for counting and estimating time rely on the prefrontal cortex.

Our brains need the neurotransmitter Dopamine to process time. Low Dopamine can distort our sense of time.

Emotions and Time

Our emotions can affect our ability to manage time. Fear and fearful events make time last longer. Depression makes time appear to move more slowly. When we’re happy, time appears to fly by.

Why am I struggling with time?

There are many reasons why you may have difficulty with time:

• Overscheduling
• ADHD
• Trauma
• Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety
• In transition such as new baby, job, self-employed, retirement
• Loss such as recent divorce or loss of someone significant

How is your sense of time?

• Do I have difficulty arriving on time for appointments?
• How often do I hyperfocus and lose track of time?
• Do I estimate accurately how long it will take to do a task?
• Do my difficulties with time management affect my kids?

Next blog post: How might I improve my awareness and management of time?

References

Cerebellum.gif. (2009, September 8). From Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cerebellum.gif

Circadian Rhythms. (2017, August). From NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences: https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/pages/factsheet_circadianrhythms.aspx

Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2016). Sticking to the Schedule Time Management. In P. Dawson, & R. Guare, Smart But Scattered Guide to Success (pp. 200-201). New York: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. (2010). Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom. New York: Guilford Press.

Prefrontal Cortex (left). (2014, May 1). From Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prefrontal_cortex_(left)<_lateral_view.png

Tuckman, A. (2012). Chapter 10 Self-Activation: Starting Then Finishing. In A. Tuckman, Understand Your Brain, Get More done The ADHD Executive Functions Workbook (pp. 119-140). Plantation, FL: Specialty Press.