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Romansky123
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19 Oct 2017, 6:18 pm

Does anyone have problems keeping track of time sometimes I sit down to do something for a minute at 2:00pm and then suddenly it's 5:30 does anyone else have this problem and if you do can you tell some tips on how to deal with it .


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Insania2016
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19 Oct 2017, 6:28 pm

Haha yeah lol

I sit down with Fallout 4 and the next thing I know it's friggn' 1am in the morning...

You could set timers with your smartphone or something like that.



thebelgradebelief
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19 Oct 2017, 6:37 pm

I relate to this a lot, and I'm still trying to figure out how in the world to fix my timeblindness. I would suggest setting notifications on your phone or even a smartwatch if you have one (unless you have sensory issues like me and hate wearing watches). I just try to be more aware of the clock if I have something important I need to do.


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sunshinescj
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21 Oct 2017, 10:30 am

Yep all the time!



BirdInFlight
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21 Oct 2017, 10:43 am

I have terrible time management skills when not in a structured situation like a work situation.

I can manage time in that situation, but on "my own time" I'm terrible. I lose track of time, get lost in an activity or even just lost in my own thoughts. When I'm anxious I also emotionally fixate on something that has upset me and I perseverate upon that thing, pacing around the room instead of continuing to get ready to go out or do something else.

I sometimes set an alarm on my tablet, giving myself an hour for something. But I'm not always disciplined about adhering to the hour when the alarm goes off, and I'm not always good at remembering to even set it in the first place.



shilohmm
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21 Oct 2017, 11:06 am

Romansky123 wrote:
does anyone else have this problem and if you do can you tell some tips on how to deal with it .


People on the spectrum are supposedly prone to perseverate, which could be what's going on for you. Although I personally have some difficulty understanding the difference between perseverate (which is usually considered a problem) and flow (which is usually considered a good thing. In both cases, someone gets "lost" in what they're doing; the difference, at least at the lower levels, is whether the thing they're lost in is considered worth doing. And artist who loses track of time doing a painting, or an accountant who loses track while pursuing the source of a financial problem, are both considered to be "lost in the flow," and it's a good thing, while someone who loses track of time while learning or perfecting their skill in a game, or while researching trivia, is considered to be perseverating, and it's a bad thing.

Mind you, there are times when perseverating is clearly a bad thing, like when someone sticks to a task to the point of self-injury or where they want to quit but can't, but not every article on the topic treats it that way. So maybe doing a search for "perseverate" and "autistic spectrum" or something would give you some tips.

Personally, I've learned not to do certain things if I know I don't have much time. Which sadly means that if I want to make my dentist appointment, I cannot start writing or reading or any number of other things I enjoy doing until I get back. I try to schedule appointments early in the day for this reason. I also set alarms, but if I'm really focused, I just turn off the alarm and go right back to what I was doing, so unless there's someone around who'll poke at me with "What was that alarm all about?" kind of things, not much help.

I've also got things like Leechblock, which will prevent me from accessing some websites certain hours of the day, or kick me off of others after ten minutes (which doesn't always work as advertised on some sites but is better than nothing). If you know you'll lose track of time on a particular electronic device, you could run part of it (the monitor or whatever) through one of those vacation timers and set it to turn off at a certain point. Although I don't think that would be a good approach if you've been trying for days to get past a certain point, because losing your visuals would be a complete disaster. :wink: But if you're replaying something or whatever, it could work.