Blog — guest blog

The ADHD Brain Works From Home- Time Timer to The Rescue
Today we have a guest post from Franki Bagdade. Franki provides academic and behavioral consulting, and workshops for educators, therapists, parents, and camp staff. Franki shares how she uses Time Timer visual timers to stay on track while working from home as an individual with ADHD. Read her 5 tips.
Managing Time as a Nurse With ADHD
There are many things about ADHD that contribute to being a wonderful nurse. For example, individuals with ADHD are likely to have high levels of empathy, they are spontaneous, high levels of courage, the ability to hyper-focus on a task, and amazing attention to detail. Unfortunately, there are also struggles that come with being a nurse with ADHD such as lack of general focus, inattention, and poor time management. As a nurse one of my biggest struggles has been time management. When I was hired into the ICU as a new nurse I was required to work for three months on a medical surgical floor first. I laugh when I recall crying in the storage closet every day feeling completely overwhelmed with feelings of inefficiency trying to manage all the tasks. All eight of my patients needed things at the same time that they felt were most important ranging from pain medicine, medication for high blood pressure, a walk, a bed bath, a turn, fresh water, ordering lunch, and countless others.
Fast forward nine months and I began a job in a nationally ranked Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. This position was vastly different than the 10 bed Medical ICU in the small town I had been working in. The struggle with time management only became more intense. Whereas in the medical ICU it was required to assess the patient every four hours, input and output every two hours, and medication management, the Neurological/Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit had a much more regimented set of monitoring which included hourly neurological assessments, the amount of fluid they received as well as the amount the patients put out (through surgical drains, urine, etc) every hour, drawing labs at a certain time, changing the rate of continuous infusions to keep patients alive, charting, updating and educating families, changing surgical dressings, monitoring the pressure inside the head hourly, and many more important tasks.
All the tasks on my “to do” list felt like trying to paint a multidimensional piece of art with the same color grey. Having timed tasks that coincided with urgent tasks starts from the moment I clock in. Trying to organize the mountain of tasks heightened my anxiety and I found I would lose track of time as I was focused on a particular task at hand.
Once the tasks were (somehow) complete as a nurse I must take time to chart the information for doctors to see on the computer so they can recall it at any point. Charting has always been my bane of nursing because there is always something else I could be doing that (to me) felt more important.
All nurses have what they call “a brain” which is a sheet of paper that they take notes about the patient that they deem important. I developed a report sheet that worked perfectly for my ADHD mind. Not only did it have defined boxes for each body system, but it has a table at the bottom to put tasks, when those tasks are due as well as the important numbers that needed to be documented throughout the shift (Input/output, intracranial pressure, increase rate of tube feeds, and other similar notations). Once I began using the sheet I created I gained the ability to see the tasks in a more organized way of priority. Not to mention the way it was written on this sheet gave me the ability to use recall that “something” was due at a certain time.
There have been other things I have learned through the years to help with my time as a nurse. I have learned to set alarms if something needs to be reassessed like pain and blood sugar. Not only do I use alarms as reminders to do a task, but I’ve also found it helpful to set them to remind me to move on from a task. We have the ability to become hyperfocused and get lost in doing something without realizing the amount of time that has passed, so setting an alarm to notify us five minutes before we need to move on to something new is very useful for ADHD Nurse brains. I’ve also started using the Time Timer Watch for things such as IV push medication that I have to administer over a certain period of time like tPA and Lasix. It is easy to second guess exactly what second you began your 60 second countdown, or the exact minute for the four minute IV push. I love having the ability to set the exact time and visually see the time changing. There are many things to overcome as a nurse with ADHD, especially considering our natural struggles with time. Thinking outside the box and utilizing methods and devices that work for us can be empowering as we start to become nothing short of incredible in our field.
About the Author:
Jami Fregeau is a Registered Nurse who creates educational and supportive content for neurodivergent individuals through her podcast, The Neurodivergent Nurse and lnstagram account. Jami knows personally the difficulties of living and thriving with ADHD. Her diagnosis came in December 2020 at the age of 36. She spent most of her life struggling with social anxiety, lack of self-esteem, and self doubt unknowing much of it was due to being neurodivergent with undiagnosed ADHD. This became a catalyst in creating a safe and welcoming community for individuals to ask questions and find likeness in shared experiences. Jami is nationally certified as a Critical Care Registered Nurse and been awarded North Carolina's Great 100 Nurses. She facilitates diversity education through her local hospital educating Physicians, Nurses, and other staff the importance of recognizing inherent biases and inclusion in professional and day-to-day practices.

ADHD & Decision Making
Today we have a guest post from Bri Plyler who is an ICF certified life coach serving women and men with ADHD. Decision making can be especially difficult for individuals with ADHD. Bri shares tips on how to break through the hurdle of making decisions. Read more.
Early Indicators of Dyslexia in Young Children
Today we have a guest post from Anita Long. Anita is a Montessori educator who has been working with Dyslexic students for over 15 years. She shares information about Dyslexia and some early signs of Dyslexia in young children.
Encouraging Your Child's Special Interests
Today we have a guest blog post from Amy Lanston. Amy is an autism advocate who was was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at age ten. Today Amy shares how to support and encourage your child’s special interest.
Mealtime Tips for Children on the Autism Spectrum
By: Brittyn Coleman. Today we have a guest blog post from Brittyn Coleman. Brittyn is a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Creator of the Autism Nutrition Library. She works with parents of children with autism to expand accepted foods for picky eaters and improve gut health. Today Brittyn shares her top 8 mealtime tips. Read below!
How to Help Kids Manage Time Without Causing More Anxiety
By: Emily W. King, Ph.D. Today we have a guest blog post from Dr. Emily W. King. Dr. Emily. W. King is a child psychologist, and former school psychologist, who has spent the last 20 years working with neurodivergent children and teens along with their families and teachers in schools and private practice. Today she shares ways to help manage time without causing more anxiety for neurodivergent children and teens.
Thoughtful Ways to Approach a Parent of a Child with Autism
By: Sam Palacio. Today we have a guest blog post from Sam. Sam is a mom of two neurodivergent kids with 12 years under her belt navigating the journey with Autism. She is a family photographer that specializes in serving our neurodiverse and differently abled community. Today Sam shares some insights on how to thoughtfully approach and support parents of neurodivergent children.
Tips From a Parenting Expert That Uses the Time Timer in Everyday Life
Allana Robinson is a Parenting Effectiveness Coach in Western Canada. As a parenting coach for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, and a previous Early Childhood Educator and Developmental Specialist, Allana talks about all the ways Time Timers have helped in her everyday life and the lives of her clients.
3 Ways to Have More Fun with Less Sugar on Halloween!

Time Timer ® spoke with Beth Robeson, The Picky Eater Coach, who offers 3 Ways to Have More Fun with Less Sugar this Halloween:
Interview with ADHD Expert Doug Diller
ADHD expert Doug Diller writes a wonderful ADHD blog about his life living with ADHD, raising three daughters and helping clients with ADHD create success plans. He uses the Time Timer daily and offered his suggestions for Time Timer fans.
1. Where did you first hear about the Time Timer?
My wife is a special ed teacher in Portland and she is the one who told me about it.
2. How did you introduce your daughter to the Time Timer?
She was 8 years old and getting very distracted when cleaning her room. After the Time Timer arrived I talked with her about how our brains sometimes lose track of time. I explained that it is common to get distracted especially when doing something you really don't enjoy. I told her that we were going to use the Timer to set short blocks of time where she could clean and then do something else. We started with 15 min and it really worked well.
3. Why do you think people with ADHD can often struggle so much with time?
ADHD people typically live in the "now" or "not now" world. Making that transition between the two is difficult. We are often fully engaged in the activity at hand and is therefore difficult to think about the next step.
4. What advice do you have for other ADHD Coaches who may begin using a Time Timer?
I would tell them to start with short 10-15 min chunks of time. Get people used to using the Time Timer. Additionally I would recommend that it be used when working on one specific task.
For example; it is more effective to set the Time Timer for 15 min and have student work on their math homework. Then reset it for 15 min and have them work on science. Rather then set it for 1 30 min and have them work on homework in general.
5. Do you pair the Time Timer with any other visual supports?
Not directly but in a way similar to the example I gave in question 4. I might set the Time Timer for 15 min and then tell my daughter to pick-up all the clothes on the floor. Then reset it and say now pick-up anything that is red.
Thanks Doug! Visit Doug's blog for ADHD tips.
Dr. DClutter and the Ten-Minute Tidy
Dr Darnita L. Payden, aka "Dr DClutter™," is a gifted Life Management Specialist.
You may have seen her on Hoarders, The Diane Rehm Show or Costco Connection Magazine.
With a PhD in counseling psychology, Dr Payden helps clients understand the "how" and "why" of their own unique organizational struggles as they begin to create sustainable change.
Read Dr. Payden's story and try her Ten-Minute Tidy™ with your Time Timer at home!
By Dr. Darnita L. Payden:
Say goodbye to stopwatches and kitchen timers -- and hello the Time Timer! What an awesome, deceptively simple time management tool. I've been using two different sizes ~ the 3" and the 12".
Because I always use a product before I ask my clients to trust me about its usefulness or effectiveness, I spent three months discovering how many ways I could use the Time Timer in my professional and personal daily life.
Professionally, I use the 3" and 12" Time Timer for:
- Timing my free telephone consultations with prospective clients.
- Helping me stay on track in meetings.
- Delivering presentations. It sure beats a sign held up in the back of the room with a minute countdown!
- It's great in helping manage my time on the computer, especially while checking and responding to emails and checking social media. Set it for 30 minutes and go!!