‘Am I just an asshole?’ Time blindness can explain chronic lateness - some of the time
Dr Melissa Shepard has a problem with managing her time.She had always been a high achiever, making it through medical school to become a psychiatrist and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.But no matter how hard she worked, she struggled with one of life’s simplest expectations: being on time.“I really felt like I could just not crack the code,” Shepard said.“I worried: am I just an asshole? Is that why I’m always late? No matter how hard I wanted to be on time, it was a struggle.
”When Shepard learned about time blindness as a symptom of ADHD, which she has, it all clicked.Russell Barkley, a former clinical psychologist and expert on ADHD, coined the term in 1997 to describe what he calls “the serious problem people with ADHD have with governing their behavior relative to time intervals and the passage of time more generally”.Time blindness can be a symptom of ADHD or other conditions such as anxiety or autism spectrum disorder.Shepard now frequently talks about time blindness and other mental health struggles on TikTok, where she has 1.5m followers.
The term has become something of a buzzword in certain corners of the video-sharing app, with some pointing to its legitimacy as a symptom of a medically recognized disorder to explain why they can’t get out of the door in the morning.Others use it to vent about their “chronically late” friends.You know the type: you say “let’s have lunch at 1pm” but make the reservation closer to 2pm, because you’ve learned to factor in their perpetual tardiness.Everyone has their slow days, but some TikTokers argue that people who are habitually 30 or 45 minutes late are claiming time blindness when in reality they’re being inconsiderate.As one person posted in a video liked over 125,000 times: “I think that being chronically late is a character flaw, and I think that it’s disrespectful across the board … I know people are like, ‘time blindness’ – no, you need to figure out how to be on time for things.
”Some people are bad planners.But others, like Shepard, do live with time blindness.“We all sort of have this internal clock that we use to estimate how much time has passed,” Shepard said, “but people with ADHD tend to not have as good of an internal clock.”On social media, those who have time blindness share examples of their inability to gauge how long a task might take.For instance, one woman created a timetable for waiting for freshly brewed coffee to cool down, so she doesn’t burn herself.
(At 30 seconds: “very hot - ouch!” One minute: “Hot but could drink if urgent.” One minute 30 seconds: “Ideal drinking temp.”)Dr David W Goodman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, clarified that time blindness as a symptom of ADHD or other conditions refers to a difficulty with the perception of the passage of time.He said it is different than poor time management, or when someone can successfully perceive how long it takes to do something but fails to plan accordingly.(So-called “time optimists”, or people who constantly underestimate how long it takes to get somewhere or complete a task, fall into the latter category.
)The popularity of the phrase does seem to point to the proliferation of “therapy speak”, or how psychobabble has made its way into the mainstream to excuse poor behavior with fancy-sounding clinical explanations.Could “time blindness” be a get-out-of-jail-free card for anyone strolling into work 45 minutes late, toting an iced coffee?According to the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, it is possible for people with ADHD to receive disability accommodations at work via the Americans With Disabilities Act, provided they have proper documentation of their condition from a medical provider.Shepard also noted that the rise of remote or flexible work has eased the strain people with time blindness feel, since it eliminates the need for a traditional commute.Still, one TikTok user sparked a mini-meltdown on the app in 2023 after suggesting that employers should allow for disability accommodations for people with time blindness.“They exist actually!” one user commented.
“They’re called watches and clocks and alarms.”On Reddit, professors have voiced frustrations that more universities are allowing students extra time to get to class or submit assignments due to time blindness.“Any student, regardless of ability, who does not learn what they need to do to show up and turn work in, is not prepared for a job in most fields,” one wrote on r/Professors in 2022.“We are setting these students up for failure.”Shepard has written accommodation letters for people with time blindness, but she’ll also work with those patients on strategies to help them be more prompt.
Many are common-sense solutions, such as setting alarms in the morning to denote it’s time to start a new task (wake up, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast),Some are less obvious: Shepard said that people with time blindness do better working with old-fashioned, analog clocks that have hands, as it’s easier to physically see the passage of time that way,Goodman said it’s “cloudy” whether or not time blindness constitutes a disability for which someone should get accommodations at work or school,“You really do need to have a formal diagnosis in which that would fit,” he said,“Not just that you didn’t plan or anticipate.
You have to make a decision: is time blindness an explanation or an excuse?”
Seven of Labour’s newest MPs look back on a ‘relentless’ first year
Labour won hundreds of new MPs in the 2024 general election. One year later, how do they think the government is doing?Labour’s first year back in power has been marked by high stakes and harsh realities.Despite ambitious promises, the party has struggled to maintain the support of voters – reflected in low poll numbers and a near defeat on its big welfare legislation.For new MPs the challenge has been to push urgent reforms while navigating Westminster’s unforgiving terrain.Seven rising Labour voices speak about the year that has tested them all
Streeting sets out digital overhaul of NHS centred on ‘doctor in your pocket’ app
Wes Streeting has staked the future of the NHS on a digital overhaul in which a beefed-up NHS app and new hospital league tables are intended to give patients unprecedented control over their care.A dramatic expansion of the role of the NHS app will result in fewer staff than expected by 2035, with Streeting banking on digital efficiencies to reduce the number of frontline workers, a move described as a “large bet” by health experts.The digital tool will enable patients to self-refer when they need help, book appointments with clinicians, receive advice from an AI GP or see their medical records.“The NHS app will become a doctor in your pocket, bringing our health service into the 21st century,” the health secretary said as he launched the government’s much-trailed 10-year health plan.Highlighting that those who use private healthcare already get instant advice, remote consultations with a doctor and choice over their appointments, he promised that “our reforms will bring those services to every patient, regardless of their ability to pay”
The Starmtrooper rebellion: welfare bill showed Labour’s new MPs have minds of their own
As Labour officials sounded warnings to Downing Street last month about the scale of the rebellion against the government’s welfare bill, one concern was particularly stark: many of the supposedly loyal 2024 intake were among the rebels.Officials were told not to worry, however, sources have told the Guardian. Many of those MPs had been personally selected at the general election by Morgan McSweeney and other senior advisers to Keir Starmer.The “Starmtroopers”, as they had come to be known, could be talked down with a simple phone call.This week’s dramatic events in the Commons, when ministers had to gut their own bill less than two hours before a vote when confronted with a widespread and sustained rebellion, have proved the folly of making assumptions about the class of 2024
Anti-apartheid activists would have been called terrorists under logic banning Palestine Action, Peter Hain says – as it happened
The Labour peer Peter Hain, who was a leading anti-apartheid campaigner in the UK and who led the direct action protests that disrupted South African rugby and cricket tours in 1969 and 1970, told peers that he was “deeply ashamed” that his party was banning Palestine Action.If he was doing that today, he would be “stigmatised as a terrorist, rather than vilified, as indeed I then was”, he said. He went on:That militant action could have been blocked by this motion [the order banning Palestine Action] as could other anti-apartheid activity, including militant protests to stop Barclays Bank recruiting new students on university campuses, eventually forcing Barclays to withdraw from apartheid South Africa.Remember also that Nelson Mandela was labelled a “terrorist” by the apartheid government, by British prime minister Maragret Thatcher, by the United States and other Western governments during much of the Cold War.Mandela even remained on the US terrorism watchlist until 2008, many years after becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected president and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize
Welfare reform bill fiasco re-empowers parliament | Letters
The one upside that the government can draw from the welfare reform bill debacle is that it demonstrates the genuine tension between the different roles of parliament and government (Keir Starmer forced into dramatic climbdown to pass welfare reform bill, 1 July). It can be presented as chiming in with the view of many voters that politics today does not work and that all governments simply do what benefits themselves.The government’s failure to forge a constructive relationship with its backbench Labour MPs lies at the heart of its need for the last-minute revisions of its proposals, but a recharging of that relationship could well resonate with the electorate.For voters, it is the way that they see their representative that has the most significance. Each MP has the difficult task of balancing their responsibilities to their constituents, their party and their consciences
SMILE, it’s just a normal day for Labour’s happy family of Keir, Rachel and Wes | John Crace
The show must go on. Less than 48 hours after the government’s welfare bill was left in tatters and a day after Rachel Reeves breaking down in tears at prime minister’s questions had caused falls in the financial markets, Keir Starmer, his chancellor and the health secretary were keen to present a clean slate.Everything was totally normal. Couldn’t be more normal. This had been just another ordinary week in Westminster
How can I use leftover pickle brine in day-to-day cooking? | Kitchen aide
How to turn veg scraps into a delicious dip – recipe | Waste not
Frittata, ‘egg and chips’ and a bean feast: Sami Tamimi’s brunch recipes from Palestine
Jam tarts and summer pudding cake: Nicola Lamb’s recipes for baking with mixed berries
Georgina Hayden’s recipe for spiced crab egg fried rice
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for courgette linguine with trout, lemon and dill | Quick and easy