How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It)

by Jessica McCabe

Note on Extra Time When planning workflows, ADHDers are often advised to estimate how long we think a task will take and then double—or even triple—it to make sure we give ourselves enough time to do it. This can backfire sometimes. Having more time to do something might mean that we make less progress than we otherwise would have because now we have time! Having extra time doesn’t make us any better at managing it. And oftentimes, it can take away the sense of urgency we need to get started and stay focused. To find the right balance, it helps to play around with the amount of time that you dedicate to a task. You can also try these alternatives to simply giving yourself extra time: Create buffer time. Only give yourself the amount of time you think you need, while making sure the next activity is something you can cut into if needed. (Bonus points if it’s something you don’t want to infringe on, like video game time!) Schedule it twice. Only give yourself the amount of time you think you need, but schedule a “safety” block for the same amount of time on another day, in case you run into issues.