I Tried The TikTok ADHD Visual Timer For A Month

Here’s what it did for my creativity

My “for you page” on TikTok is a mix of videos about puppy training, interior decorating, and now ADHD hacks. The rabbit hole that got me to ADHD TikTok started with general anxiety and mental health TikTok videos. I both work in the mental health space and live with my own mental health realities, so I’m not surprised I got there.

I was surprised though at how helpful the tips have been. I live with anxiety and bouts of depression, a history of disordered eating, and a penchant for perfectionism, but never diagnosed with ADHD. I have yet to approach my therapist for an official diagnosis because I feel like the conversation starting with, “So, I think TikTok just taught me that I have ADHD…” may lead to more questions than answers. She’ll laugh. I’ll laugh. Then the seriousness of how to dissect another layer of my mental health will settle in.

Finding myself on ADHD TikTok has allowed me to work in reverse for once. I don’t care as much about the label for now, I’m more aligned with testing out the tips and seeing if they help me manage my high functioning anxiety, scattered brain, and easily overstimulated being.

This is why I ended up buying a visual timer at 1am on a Tuesday night.

The writer on the other end of the video explained that “seeing” time helped her stay on task better and more importantly helped her hold onto the concept of time as a whole. The visual timer’s website cited research on how effective the product has been in teaching both kids and adults about the passage of time.

To Manage Time, You Have To Understand Its Value

I was sold. I have always been a productive and on task person, but I can linger and time slips away easily for me. I can admit this. I know that getting through my to-do list is a given for me, but it’d be nice to find a way to not have it take triple the time.

If a timer could help me learn to really see time pass then $20 bucks felt like a worthy investment.

I also found this article published by the Indiana Institute of Disability and Community that elaborated more on the power of a visual timer: