Time blindness

Online Learning

What is time blindness?

Time blindness refers to losing track of time and misjudging how long tasks take to complete.¹

Other signs of time blindness²

You may become hyper focused on the task and miss or be late to appointments.
You’re unable to get things done while you wait for an appointment that may be later in the day.
Difficulty sticking to a schedule.

How to manage time blindness

Learning more about how time blindness affects you will help you determine strategies that will be most effective for you.

Determine your time wasters. Have you noticed that you become hyper focused on certain activities and lose track of time? Identifying these activities and creating rules around them may help you be more aware of your time.⁴
- Example: You love playing video games. If you sit down and start playing a game, you lose track of time and end up playing for three hours. Make a rule about the days you can and cannot play games. If you have an appointment to go or have an important study task, you can avoid playing video games on that day.
Set alarms or reminders. Alarms and reminders can help you transition from one task to another. You can use multiple alarms to help you within one larger task – just make sure the alarms are labeled so you know what it’s for.³ Consider changing up the sounds of your alarms to help signal they are for different tasks or transitions.⁴
- Example: You need to meet your study group at the library at 11:00 am. You could set the reminders in the following way.
  - 10:00 am: Get ready and pack your bag.
  - 10:20 am: Drive to the library.
  - 10:40 am: Stop to get coffee and walk to the library.
  - 10:55 am: Meet your study group.
Break a task into smaller parts. It can feel overwhelming to complete a large project. Help yourself by breaking a larger task into smaller pieces.³
- Example: You have a 5 page research paper due in your history class. Your paper must have 3 sources. Breaking up this assignment can look something like this:
  - Review the instructions.
  - Read the required chapter for the essay.
  - Ask your instructor any questions you have.
  - Start researching your sources.
  - Complete the research and review your sources.
  - Outline your essay.
  - Begin writing.
  - Complete writing and work on your first revisions.
  - Use the Writing Center to refine your paper and complete final revisions.
  - Turn in your essay.
  - For more detailed information on how to break up your assignment and create milestones for each task, check out our guide on how to create a backwards calendar.
Utilize other time management strategies.
- Pomodoro technique – allows you to work on a task for 25 minute bursts, followed by a 5 minute break. The goal is to create focused blocks of time with a short break so you don’t feel overwhelmed.⁵
- Time blocking can help by breaking your day into blocks of time. Each block of time is assigned to specific tasks. This strategy can help you create structure to help you stay focused on your tasks.⁶
- Track your time to help you figure out what you’re spending your time on and how you can use your time more effectively.
Stay on track with schedule anchors. Anchors are fixed daily events which are either existing routines like mealtimes or habits you establish, like a midday review. Scheduling your study sessions alongside these stable points keeps your schedule consistent and easy to follow.³

Need more support?

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