What people think this means “I’ll use this as an excuse to do whatever I want all day instead of committing to other things that need to be done”
What it actually means “I’ll be obsessively checking the clock all day because I’m constantly worried I’ll be late if I don’t. I also worry that if I commit to doing anything else important that day it’ll distract me from the time and I’ll miss the appointment. This will be a day filled with anxiety and in no way relaxing until the appointment is over with"
The autism version of this is “I know I can only handle so much Stimuli and Being In An Environment I Cannot Control in one day, so I must conserve my energy so I don’t have a very bad evening.” Also “The mental preparation for the thing at 4pm is itself an activity that cannot be done during other activities, and it will distract me from the other activities even if I do it.”
