Guest Post by Stephen Martin
Stephen Martin is a leading voice in the adult dyslexia and ADHD space, best known as the host of The Truth About Dyslexia podcast — a raw, real, and relatable show that’s reached over 1 million downloads. Diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, Stephen now uses his lived experience and deep curiosity to empower neurodivergent adults through coaching, storytelling, and practical tools that actually work. He’s the founder of Truth About Dyslexia Coaching, where he helps adults shift from confusion to clarity using strategies tailored to the dyslexic mind.
Because if you don’t get time right, everything else starts falling apart.
I’m not just talking about being late to a meeting or missing a birthday. I’m talking about the way time can feel bent, malleable, or straight-up invisible when you’re dyslexic.
If you’ve lived with dyslexia or worked with adults who have, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Time is one of those invisible concepts we’re supposed to just get. But many of us don’t. And no one ever taught us how.
For most people, time moves in a straight line. 10:00 am leads to 11:00 am leads to 12:00 pm. It’s structured, segmented, and measurable.
But for the neurodiverse brain? It’s not that simple.
I remember catching up with a friend recently. I could have sworn I’d seen her just a couple of weeks ago. She laughed and said, “Stephen, it’s been six months.”
And I believed her. But it still felt like two weeks in my head.
I’ve had business projects I thought would take six months, and 18 months later, I’m still knee-deep in them. I wasn’t being lazy. I wasn’t overpromising. I genuinely thought I’d nailed the timeline.
And that’s the challenge. Our brains can see the finished picture — vivid, clear, exciting — but that mental image doesn’t come with a realistic sense of how long it takes to build in the real world.
We see the vision. But we skip the ruler.
If you’ve been told all your life that time management is a “basic skill,” and you can’t seem to nail it, you start to feel broken. You start saying things like:
• “I’m terrible with time.”
• “I’m just not organised.”
• “Why do I always underestimate everything?”
But what if it’s not that you’re broken… What if your concept of time was never properly developed?
That’s what I learnt when I did the Davis® Concepts for Life program. (Which, let’s be honest, should really be called the Davis Life Concepts for Humans — because it’s powerful for anyone neurodiverse.)
This was the first time someone had taken the abstract idea of “time” and actually helped me build it in 3D.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve read plenty of books about managing time. Some were helpful. Most weren’t. I’d remember one or two tips — maybe something like “use a timer” or “break tasks into chunks” — but the rest? Gone.
What Davis did differently was this: they didn’t just tell me about time… they made me experience it.
In the course, we looked at time not as a clock, but as a concept. A structure. A ruler for life.
Through the clay work and exercises, I wasn’t just learning time — I was building it, piece by piece, in a way that made sense to my dyslexic brain.
Suddenly, time wasn’t abstract anymore. It had form. It had weight. It had meaning.
And that meant I could use it.
Most of us didn’t learn this stuff as kids. We just got told off for being late or unrealistic or “away with the fairies.”
But Davis doesn’t shame you. It shows you.
And here’s the kicker. Once you “get” time — not just as a word or number but as a functioning life tool — your whole life starts to shift.
• You stop overcommitting
• You stop underestimating
• You start finishing things you start
• You feel less guilty and more grounded
It doesn’t mean you suddenly become super rigid or perfectly punctual. I still work with my natural rhythms. But it gives you the structure to make real choices about how you spend your energy.
Let’s be real. Time isn’t just about “getting stuff done.”
When you don’t understand time, you don’t understand rest either.
You might lie on the couch for three hours scrolling TikTok and then wonder why you still feel fried.
Understanding time helps you recover, not just schedule. It helps you regulate. It helps you get your needs met, especially if you’re juggling dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, or the cocktail of neurodiverse companions many of us carry.
Time is not just a ticking clock. It’s a container for your life. And if that container is cracked or fuzzy or invisible… everything leaks.
If you’re a Davis facilitator then thank you. Honestly. You’re doing the work most people don’t even realise is needed.
If you’re working with adults especially, don’t skip the concept of time. It can be a game-changer. It’s not just for people with time blindness. It’s for anyone who struggles to bring their internal visions into external reality.
Time is the bridge between the picture in your head and the life you want to live.
And the way Davis teaches it? It sticks. It lands. It lasts. 🙌
Stephen Martin runs The Truth About Dyslexia, one of the top adult dyslexia podcasts in the world, with over 1 million downloads and counting.
If you’re looking for honest stories, neurodiverse hacks, and the kind of truth they never taught you in school, it’s worth a listen.
🎧 Listen here: Dyslexia Podcast
Or search The Truth About Dyslexia wherever you get your podcasts.
He’s also created a support space for dyslexic and ADHD adults called the Right Brain Reset. It’s a private community for people who want to make progress without burning out.
🧠 Learn more about ther Right Brain Reset Here
If you’re dyslexic and tired of doing it all alone, this might be the space you’ve been missing.
Find a Licensed Davis® Facilitator in your area or learn more about the program here. If you are unsure whether the Davis Concepts for Life program is right for you or someone you support, fill out the form below for a free Discovery Call – one of our team will speak with you about your specific needs.