Q: “My 14-year-old daughter’s time management is awful. I’ve provided watches, timers, calendars, planners, and alarms, but she still doesn’t wake up for school on her own. She forgets about homework, or she takes an insanely long time to do it. What should I do?”

Executive function skills, like time management, develop unpredictably in kids who have ADHD. Your daughter may be 14, but her time-management skills are probably more like those of an 11-year-old. To gauge her skill level, ask: What is her experience of time? How does she feel time? How does she regulate herself around time?

You’re offering great tools, but they’re not sticking. What is it about these tools that doesn’t resonate with your daughter?

[Webinar replay: “Beat The Clock: Time Estimation and Management Help for Students with ADHD” ]

The ADHD brain often resists waking up in the morning, and that has to do with issues related to norepinephrine and, sometimes, sleep disorders. It’s just remarkably hard to get up and out of bed.

If she has an alarm next to her, and an alarm across the room, and she is still in bed snoozing, it’s time to step in and say, “Okay, let’s work on this together.”

Effective time management requires seeing the time horizon and accurately answering the question, “How long is this actually going to take?” If something is not due immediately, and there isn’t pressure, the ADHD brain tends to think: “That is so far away. I don’t need to take care of that now.” This leads to procrastination, and then last-minute rushing.

I would want to know: Is there an area where your daughter manages time successfully? Is she slow to get up, but knows how long it takes to walk to a friend’s house? What are the conditions contributing to that, and how can you apply those to other areas of life?

[Self-Test: Could You Have an Executive Function Deficit?]

Faulty or inconsistent time management may lead to shame and wondering: Why can other people do this and I can’t? It’s important to remember that, if your daughter could do better, she would. She just doesn’t know how to — yet.

Keep offering her supports because they will stick with repetition, experience, and development. Be patient and consistent as you collaborate with her on improving one aspect of this struggle at a time — together.

How to Wake Yourself Up: Next Steps

• Download: Free Sample Schedules for Reliable Routines
• Read: Sleep Problems in Teens with ADHD: Causes and Solutions
• Read: When Time Turns Upside Down: How to Teach Kids Time Management
• Q: My Tween Fights Waking Up Every Single Morning

Sharon Saline, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life (#CommissionsEarned).

ADDITUDE IS HUMAN
Artificial intelligence does not create or edit any written content published by ADDitude. Our editorial team is 100% human, and our mission is simple: listen to and serve our readers with hand-crafted, expert-informed resources. To support ADDitude, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our commitment possible. Thank you.