From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.
  • Seeing Time ⏳

    As someone with time blindness I can very easily sink time into something without realizing.

    This year I’m experimenting with spreadsheets and time charts as tools to visualize time. Here is how 2025 has been looking (as of March 24.)


    January

    I had a lot of loops to close in January and it felt like a ton of admin. This was my first month tracking my time. The pie chart was a game changer. I started it mid month and the wedges for web & self publishing dominated the chart. It took conscious effort to put more time into personal projects to balance the chart out.

    Pie Chart shows Writing 31%, Web 32%, Entwined & Ember 20%, Artist Residency in Motherhood 15%.
    This chart visualizes how much time I spent on each creative project.

    Writing & Research (31.9%)

    Most of this was my fantasy novel Mawd.

    Web (32.9%)

    Mostly Substack – my own newsletter & wrapping up Neurokind.

    Entwined & Ember (20.1%)

    Admin for self publishing these books.

    ARIM (15.1%)

    This is time spent on my Artist’s Residency in Motherhood making visual art for My Brain on Motherhood.


    February

    This month my biggest wedge was redesigning my website. But seeing how big the blue wedge was motivated me to make time for other things.

    Pie chart. Web 59%, Zines 21%, Other 10-%, Mawd 4%, Picture book 3%.

    Web (59.0%)

    Redesigning my website and migrating my newsletter to Buttondown.

    Zines (21.1%)

    Making Not About TETRIS and working on illustrations for a zine about the spectrum of neurodivergence. My scanner died this month and created a lot of headaches.

    Other (10.3%)

    Designed two self inking stamps (folks with zine subs will see these soon) and sewing patches on a denim jacket.

    Mawd (4.4%)

    Work on my fiction novel. I’m in an ideation phase.

    Picture Book (3.6%)

    Admin for self publishing How it Feels to Me.

    March

    My website wedge is still the largest (although I have a few days to go) based on shop and subscription migration headaches. I hope to continue making this wedge smaller over time.

    Pie chart wedges in order of size: web, zines, Mawd, other, ARIM, garden.

    Web (38.9.0%)

    Moving zine subs from Big Cartel to Stripe, redoing various opt ins, migrating Neurokind to Beehiiv, archiving March blog posts, and writing for blog & newsletter.

    Zines (21.1%)

    Making I’m Fine zine and a few Wheel of Time mini zines.

    Mawd (12.9%)

    Work on my fiction novel. Still in an ideation phase.

    Other (10.1%)

    Sewing patches & picture book admin (maybe that should be separated.)

    ARIM (9.2%)

    Working on Bloom Where You’re Planted.

    Gardening (4.8%)

    I debated over logging this, but it is important self regulating work and part of my creative ecosystem.


    Reducing Admin Time

    I also did a bar chart showing the different parts of the process to see that balance.

    Here you see Admin & Prep decreasing and time to Create growing from January to March.

    I’m 90% sure this shift would not have happened without this visual tool. It’s too easy to get pulled into neverending admin and website tweaks. This makes me more aware.

    Bar chart showing admin going down and create time going up from Jan to March

    Top Tip

    I found tracking the time itself really hard until I started using the Tap When app. (Not a sponsor.) I tap when I start and tap when I finish. No math!


    P.S. My spreadsheets are in no condition to officially share as a resource, but if you’d like to see the imperfect version I’m working with I’m happy to share the template for you to make your own. Just drop me a line or respond to a newsletter.


    Image Credit: Prague Astronomical Clock via Wiki Commons

    Read more: Seeing Time ⏳
  • How it Feels to Be Time Blind ⏳

    Growing up I had no idea I was time blind.

    But I was already establishing coping mechanisms. Because I had no internal chronometer to distinguish between 5 minutes and 50 I would prepare for every outing far far in advance and find myself in a state of limbo unable to do anything but wait.

    This is effective, but is also a black hole for both energy and time.

    Doctor Who says "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."

    People with time blindness tend to be chronically early or chronically late.

    It’s funny that the same internal experience can result in two such seemingly different behaviors, but it makes sense. One approach to time is a rigid controlled white knuckling. A hyperfocus that saps both time and energy from your life. The other holds on with a looser grip and time slips away.

    You might construe the first stereotype as autism and the second as ADHD, but time blindness is an internal experience shared by both.

    White Rabbit from Disney's Alice in Wonderland hopping frantically with an oversized pocket watch

    Now that I’m a mother I simply don’t have bandwidth to white knuckle my way through the day hyperfocusing on time.

    I cannot wait in the car for an hour. I do not have an hour to spare.

    Not to mention the chaotic element of a small human who has all sorts of urgent needs that can’t always be anticipated.

    How do normal people know when to leave the house to arrive somewhere on time?

    I never realized I was working SO HARD at something most people find simple.

    I was obsessed with planners a few years ago. I never would have described myself as disorganized, but this was down to the fact that I relied on a series of complicated systems to keep track of the most basic things.

    Lorelai Gilmore sits at kitchen table with laptop and says "Tomorrow at 10:00 Roz darling?"

    Like what day of the week it is. (I’m not kidding.)

    When Davy was in his human goat phase I gave planners up. As a result I’ve been flying blind for 3.5 years now. During this time I have learned a few things:

    First, go gentle on people who show up late and forget things. They are doing their best.

    Second, I really thrive with structure and systems.

    It’s impossible to overstate how much having a plan helps me.

    Structure frees up my brain for other things in a way that I can only compare to breathing oxygen versus being waterboarded.

    I’ve been metaphorically drowning for actual years now.

    Alice in a bottle floating in a sea of her own tears

    At first I thought the lesson I was meant to be learning was how to “let go” and embrace fluidity.

    There is nothing less helpful you could suggest to a human whose brain needs structure.

    The last few months I have been experimenting with themed days. With one focus per day my nervous system has improved dramatically. It also seems to help Davy. (We are both the type of neurodivergent who likes to know what’s coming.)

    But we all need different things.

    If your brain needs freedom embrace that. Don’t let people shame you and push you into a rigid structure if that doesn’t work for you.

    When we’re forced to work in ways that run counter to our neurotype it’s important to recognize this is legitimately difficult for us.

    Life seems determined to deal out changed plans, external deadlines, and an ungodly amount of urgent paperwork.

    When this happens we should treat ourself like we’re doing something really hard (because we are.)

    Without a plan my brain feels like it is on high alert all the time just trying to get through the day. Imagine a tennis player bouncing with bent legs ready to sprint in any direction*. That’s how I feel without a plan. It’s exhausting. And I am far more likely to become overstimulated.

    Professional tennis players

    *I know nothing about sports. But we were told to stand this way in Improv class and I quit immediately. 😂

    When our nervous system is on high alert we can help ourselves by:

    • providing sensory support (comfortable clothes, fidgets, movement, regulating environments)
    • seeking comfort (a cozy blanket, a favorite book or tv show, a cup of tea)
    • asking for help
    • finding someone to work alongside us (sometimes this is called “body doubling”)
    • rewarding our own efforts (treat yo’self)

    I could say more, but I’ve run out of time. 😂😂😂

    Read more: How it Feels to Be Time Blind ⏳