Guidance for: I have to leave soon and I keep getting derailed

Freeze the environment

"I've got time for one small thing" is the trap, every time. The small thing has no edges and your sense of how long it takes is unreliable in exactly this moment.

Then, if you have room for it

• Stage everything at the door before you do anything else.
• Start nothing new. Not the dishes, not the email, not the quick tidy.
• Alarm at leave-by minus ten, then treat leave-by as non-negotiable.
• If you're early, that's the win condition — waiting somewhere is cheaper than arriving late.

Watch

• How to (actually) get out the door on timeHow to ADHD · 9 minSpecifically about the invisible steps that make you late, not time management generally.(opens in a new tab)
• ADHD tools that help with time blindnessHow to ADHD · 1 minUnder a minute — the concrete tools, no explanation of the theory.(opens in a new tab)

Read

• Punctuality and time blindness: help being on timeADDitudeStrategies from 1,859 surveyed adults on actually arriving when you said you would.(opens in a new tab)
• Losing track of time? How to manage time blindnessADDitudeAnalogue clocks, visual timers, alarms as transition warnings, estimation practice.(opens in a new tab)