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Have you ever opened your eyes in the morning and immediately felt behind?
Before your feet even hit the floor, your brain is already racing. There’s a low-level panic humming in the background. You’re not sure what you’re late for, but you’re definitely late for something. Welcome to time anxiety.
Until recently, I didn’t even know that was a thing. Someone asked me if I had any content on it, and I had to admit I’d never heard the term. But as soon as I looked into it, I thought: oh… this explains everything.
🧠 What Is Time Anxiety?
Time anxiety is the chronic, often irrational fear of wasting time, being late, or not doing enough with the time you have. It’s not just a scheduling issue — it’s a nervous system issue. It’s that constant, gnawing feeling that you’re always falling behind, even when you’re technically not.
There’s even a clinical version called chronophobia, which is most common in people facing serious illness or aging-related fears — but the version I’m talking about? It’s more micro. More subtle. And way more common than you think.
If you’re an adult with ADHD like I am, this hits even harder. We’re often wired for urgency, hyper-awareness, and a deep discomfort with unstructured time. And that can lead to some seriously anxious loops.
🌀 What Time Anxiety Feels Like
Here’s what it looks like in real life:
- You’re either chronically late or chronically early, but never relaxed about time
- You can’t sit still and do nothing without feeling guilty
- Even on weekends, you’re mentally calculating how to be more productive
- You feel a near-constant pressure to get more done, faster
- Relaxation feels unsafe — like you’re missing something important
Personally, I struggle with all of the above. I’m almost always early (because being late feels like death), but that just means I spend a lot of extra time waiting… and spiraling. Even when there’s no reason to rush, I feel like I should be rushing. I’ve actually had mornings where I wake up in a panic, convinced I’m late — only to realize I have nothing on the calendar for days.
And don’t even get me started on how hard it is for me to “relax productively.” (That’s not a thing, by the way — but my brain sure thinks it should be.)
🎯 What Causes Time Anxiety?
Time anxiety often comes from a deeper need for control. If we can control our time, we think we can control our outcomes. Our relationships. Our success. Our worth. If I’m early, I’m prepared. If I’m productive, I’m valuable. If I’m always doing something, I’m not wasting my life… right?
But that line of thinking can trap us in an endless sprint — where we’re not even sure what we’re sprinting toward.
This is especially common in ADHD brains, where time blindness, task switching, and emotional dysregulation can make the passage of time feel slippery and scary. Add a few decades of shame or unrealistic expectations to the mix, and it’s no wonder we feel like we’re always playing catch-up.
🛠️ How to Deal With Time Anxiety (What’s Helped Me)
Let’s be real: I don’t have a 5-step miracle cure. But here’s what has helped me reduce the grip that time anxiety has on my life:
1. Awareness First
Start by noticing when and how your time anxiety shows up. Is it in the mornings? Before meetings? On weekends? For me, the moment I realized I was mimicking the hustle pace of people around me — without even knowing it — everything changed. Whose timeline am I actually on?
2. Use a Grounding Mantra
During a particularly hard season in my life, I started saying:
“Nobody’s got cancer. Nobody’s going to jail.”
It’s silly, but it works. It reminds me that what I’m stressing about isn’t life-threatening. It pulls me back into the moment.
3. Reduce Appointments
One of the best decisions I’ve ever made is designing my life around not having lots of appointments. I batch my annual checkups. I keep my calendar spacious. My ADHD Business Hub members get me inside our community, but most of my coaching isn’t live. That freedom is everything.
4. Detox from Hustle Influence
Be careful who you follow. I’m in mastermind groups with some wildly productive people — and while I admire them, I’ve also noticed that their pace can trigger my own anxiety. I have to check in and remind myself: I don’t want to be the fastest-growing ADHD coach on the internet. I want to be the most grounded, sustainable, and fulfilled. That requires a different tempo.
5. Define Your Own Timeline
If you’re constantly comparing yourself to others — people who launched faster, earned more, or “got their life together” quicker — it’s time to zoom out. Ask: What do I actually want? What’s a good pace for me? Time is made up. Nobody’s checking your progress but you.
6. Plan Your Week
I can’t begin to explain how important having a weekly planning routine is for managing your life. When you plan your week in advance, you live your life twice – once on paper, and again in real time. The difference is that when you plan in advance, you have the ability to control more of what happens (but obviously not everything).
📚 Want to Go Deeper?
Two books I recommend:
- The Rushing Woman’s Syndrome by Dr. Libby Weaver (hits hard if you’re always “on”)
- Time Anxiety by Chris Guillebeau (brand new and beautifully written)
I hope this helps!
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