Time Blindness
I am pretty overzealous showing up on time to places even when punctuality is not strictly expected. It can be annoying to folks who feel like they've done well enough if they are fashionably late. To them I am a stick in the mud.
According to this article, the line between chronic lateness and a clinical condition is often a matter of brain chemistry. for many people who struggle to arrive on time the issue is not a lack of respect or a desire for attention. They experience a phenomenon known as time blindness. This term describes an inability to accurately sense the passing of time or to estimate how long a specific task will take to complete. Some chronically and habitually late people in my life came to mind as soon as I read this. I think they also over-estimate their own efficiency and expect things will proceed exactly as planned; that they transportation or traffic conditions will not conspire against them.
Time blindness is frequently linked to conditions like ADHD and autism which affect the executive functions in the brain. For individuals with these diagnoses the internal clock that others rely on simply does not function in the same way. They might sit down to check an email and find that an hour has passed in what felt like five minutes. This can lead to significant stress and embarrassment as they repeatedly let down friends and colleagues despite their best intentions. Imagine this person had to get through twenty plus emails and that could be their whole work day. I used to know someone who struggled for years to just catch up with their work email and consequently missed most of their performance goals and was always a hair away from being fired. They were anything but lazy and few could match their level of effort.
Not every person who is late can point to a neurological cause. Therapists suggest that anxiety or a need for control can also play a role. Some people avoid arriving early because they feel uncomfortable with the prospect of small talk. Others may subconsciously reclaim personal time by stalling before a busy day. Lateness is a sign of entitlement where an individual feels their schedule is more important than the schedules of those waiting for them. Celebrities arriving late is fairly common and even expected.
According to this article, the line between chronic lateness and a clinical condition is often a matter of brain chemistry. for many people who struggle to arrive on time the issue is not a lack of respect or a desire for attention. They experience a phenomenon known as time blindness. This term describes an inability to accurately sense the passing of time or to estimate how long a specific task will take to complete. Some chronically and habitually late people in my life came to mind as soon as I read this. I think they also over-estimate their own efficiency and expect things will proceed exactly as planned; that they transportation or traffic conditions will not conspire against them.
Time blindness is frequently linked to conditions like ADHD and autism which affect the executive functions in the brain. For individuals with these diagnoses the internal clock that others rely on simply does not function in the same way. They might sit down to check an email and find that an hour has passed in what felt like five minutes. This can lead to significant stress and embarrassment as they repeatedly let down friends and colleagues despite their best intentions. Imagine this person had to get through twenty plus emails and that could be their whole work day. I used to know someone who struggled for years to just catch up with their work email and consequently missed most of their performance goals and was always a hair away from being fired. They were anything but lazy and few could match their level of effort.
Not every person who is late can point to a neurological cause. Therapists suggest that anxiety or a need for control can also play a role. Some people avoid arriving early because they feel uncomfortable with the prospect of small talk. Others may subconsciously reclaim personal time by stalling before a busy day. Lateness is a sign of entitlement where an individual feels their schedule is more important than the schedules of those waiting for them. Celebrities arriving late is fairly common and even expected.
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Reflections