ADHD Weekly -- Doing Too Much At Once Is Less Productive

[KarenADHDWeekly]

Can you really multitask? Many adults with ADHD claim they can, but researchers are not so sure it’s possible. Find out why at bit.ly/NRCStopMultitasking

[Gettingittogether]

Here's how well I multitask. A few years back, I kept locking my keys (corrected from "knees") in the trunk of my car after shopping for groceries. Well, I noticed that the problem occurred when I tried to carry all the bags into the house (or onto the porch) at once. This was in the days of those flexible-stretchy plastic bags. Well I'd wrap bags around various fingers and carry them in--one trip, I said!

Couldn't do it. Couldn't carry all those bags and keep track of my keys.

So I stopped trying to do it. I would take multiple trips with just a few bags. When carrying a couple of bags, my working memory could focus on the keys as well. Problem solved.

Now when I go into a bank or somewhere where I pull my wallet out (I don't go to the bank nearly as much as I used to since I can do stuff online), I really try to keep things simple. If I take my wallet out to pull out a check I need to sign, that's danger for me. I start signing the check and writing my account # on the back of the check and just those few steps are enough for me to lose track of my wallet, even though it's only inches away.

I hadn't heard that people with ADHD claim they can multi-task well. I begin to multi-task and some key tasks (often the most important task) will be lost among the "multi" ....

[Mamamichl]

sometimes when I multitask, things get lost or done poorly. I learned not to play video games and cook dinner, for example. However, I can dance and cook. In an emergency situation, I multitask quite well. The adhd brain seems to process and overprocess many things (but can process other things when idle, making us not able to focus on the right things sometimes). In an emergency situation, people need to be able to process how extensive an injury is, call 911, treat the injury and keep themselves safe, among other things. I work in education, so training with cpr/first aid is fun for me, and I was surprised how well I did, with my aversion to healthcare in the sense of a career (I can’t stand hurting people, even if it’s for medical benefit).

[NorKoln]

Before my mid-30's absolutely, I could pivot and return to a project (data analysis) in an instant 3 minutes, 3 hours or 3 days later as if I never stopped.

Now that I'm older and I don't have the superstar memory I used to have.. it's been a struggle the past few years to adapt to a different way of working... I'm still learning, because it's still getting worse as the memory continues aging...

[Gettingittogether in reply to NorKoln]

Say it NorKoln. I'm 61 and I'm just starting to accept that the memory don't work like it used to. I'm taking more and more notes on things even like conversations with friends (long ones) so I don't repeat myself so much.

But I definitely have more common sense now ... and more ADHD awareness sense. I will use any helping aide shamelessly ... I try to stay out of denial about my ADHD.