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Guidance for: I can't tell how long anything will take

Estimate, then measure, then multiply

How much runway do you have?

HoursA day or twoA week or more

Start here

Write your guess for the current task, start a timer, and compare when you finish. That's the whole experiment.

Duration estimation is one of the most consistently affected executive functions in ADHD. You won't fix it by trying harder — but the error is usually stable, which means it can be corrected with arithmetic.

Then, if you have room for it

Write the guess before you start. Guessing afterwards doesn't work.
Time the real thing. Keep both numbers.
After a week you'll have a multiplier. Most people land somewhere between 1.5× and 3×.
Budget switching time separately. Almost nobody counts it, and it's usually where the missing hour went.

Watch

How to master time management: ADHD skills part 1Dr. Tracey Marks, psychiatrist · 12 minExternalising time — clocks, timers, and estimating how long things take.(opens in a new tab)

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