ADHD, Executive Dysfunction and the Simple Task That Became Six Side Quests

ADHD is deciding to make one simple healthy smoothie because you’re “getting back on your reset”… and somehow turning it into a full event. Not just making a smoothie. A full event involving flaxseed, cacao powder, a dog, a dustpan and brush, dancing, several forgotten tasks, an abandoned drink and a spoon inside a blender.

The funny thing is, this is not unusual for me. It is one tiny example of the hundreds of moments like this that happen during an average week.

It started with good intentions. I had decided I was going to make myself a healthy smoothie. Nice and simple. Get some nutrients in, feel a bit more organised and generally give myself that familiar feeling of, “Right, I’m getting back on track now.”

So I went into the kitchen and opened the flaxseed packet. Except I wasn’t fully paying attention while opening it, and flaxseed went everywhere. All over the worktop and all over the floor.

Naturally, the dog immediately decided that the kitchen floor had transformed into an all-you-can-eat buffet, so I then had to move him out of the way while simultaneously trying to find the dustpan and brush. I tripped over him trying to get to it, but eventually flaxseed crisis number one was dealt with.

Fine. Back to the smoothie.

Then I opened a brand-new packet of cacao powder. You would think that, having just thrown flaxseed across the kitchen, I might have approached the next packet with a little more care. Apparently not.

Cacao powder went everywhere.

Except this time I had the added panic of knowing that chocolate and dogs are not a good combination. So now I am trying to get the dog out of the kitchen, grabbing the dustpan and brush for the second time, trying not to spread cacao powder further across the floor and questioning how we have reached this point when all I wanted was a smoothie.

Then I sweep the cacao powder too aggressively and somehow manage to get it all over my white T-shirt. Of course.

At this point, a good song comes on through my headphones, so obviously I start dancing. The smoothie temporarily ceases to exist. I wander off, start talking to my partner and, some time later, remember that I was actually in the middle of making something and head back to the kitchen.

I continue making the smoothie, finally get everything into the blender and turn it on with the spoon still inside. Thankfully, no major disaster, but another excellent reminder that my brain had moved several steps ahead without checking whether the previous one was actually finished.

Eventually, somehow, I manage to make the smoothie. Success.

Except I do not drink it.

I notice something that needs cleaning, so I go off to deal with that instead. The smoothie is forgotten again. About half an hour later, I walk back into the kitchen and find it sitting there untouched, with the milk still out on the side and evidence of several previous disasters scattered around the room.

All from one “simple” task.

When a simple task isn’t actually simple

This kind of experience can look funny from the outside, and sometimes it is funny. I genuinely do laugh at myself because some of the situations my ADHD brain manages to create are ridiculous.

But there is also a more serious side to it. For someone with ADHD, a task that appears straightforward can actually involve a surprisingly large number of executive functioning demands.

Making a smoothie sounds like one task, but the brain is actually being asked to remember the original goal, gather the ingredients, open and use them in the right order, avoid becoming distracted by other things in the environment, manage interruptions, remember which steps have already been completed, return to the task after distraction, resist starting another unrelated task, finish the smoothie, remember to drink it and put everything away afterwards.

That is a lot of cognitive organisation packed into one supposedly easy activity.

Executive functioning is an umbrella term for a range of mental processes that help us plan, organise, remember, prioritise, regulate attention and complete tasks. ADHD can affect many of these processes, which is why something that appears simple can sometimes take far more mental effort than expected.

Working memory

Working memory is often described as the brain’s temporary mental notepad. It helps us hold information in mind long enough to use it, such as remembering that the spoon is still in the blender, that you were making a smoothie before you walked into another room, or that the milk needs to go back in the fridge.

When working memory is inconsistent, information can disappear remarkably quickly once attention moves elsewhere. It is not necessarily that the person does not know what they are supposed to be doing. The information simply stops being active in their mind.

That is how I can genuinely walk away from a nearly finished smoothie and forget that it exists.

Sequencing

Sequencing is the ability to carry out steps in the appropriate order. For many people with ADHD, this can become harder when there are distractions, competing thoughts, sensory input or multiple things happening at once.

You might start task A, become interrupted by task B, notice task C, remember task D and then suddenly find yourself doing something entirely different without really knowing how you got there.

This is where the famous ADHD “side quests” come in. You start cleaning the kitchen, notice a letter that needs posting, go upstairs to find an envelope, see washing that needs putting away and start putting that away instead. Twenty minutes later, the kitchen is still messy and the letter has not been posted.

The brain has been active the entire time. It just has not stayed connected to the original sequence.

Task initiation and task completion

People sometimes assume that ADHD difficulties are mainly about getting started. Task initiation absolutely can be difficult, but so can finishing.

Starting something does not necessarily mean the brain will stay engaged until completion. Novelty, urgency, interest and stimulation can strongly influence attention. The beginning of a task may feel interesting enough to start, but somewhere halfway through, the brain spots something more stimulating and attention shifts.

The unfinished task may then completely disappear from awareness. That can be incredibly frustrating, particularly when it happens repeatedly throughout the day.

Attention regulation rather than simply a lack of attention

One of the biggest misconceptions about ADHD is that it simply means someone cannot concentrate. For many people, it is more accurate to describe ADHD as difficulty regulating attention.

I can sometimes focus intensely for hours on something that genuinely interests me. Business ideas, creating resources, designing training materials or writing can hold my attention so strongly that I lose track of time completely. Yet another task that seems far simpler may be surprisingly difficult to stay with.

The issue is not always whether attention exists. It is whether the brain can direct that attention where it needs to go, hold it there and shift it appropriately.

Why “just try harder” rarely helps

When executive functioning difficulties are misunderstood, people with ADHD can end up carrying a lot of shame. Thoughts like “Why did I forget again?”, “Why didn’t I just finish it?”, “Why am I so messy?” or “Why does everything take me longer?” can quickly become harsh internal messages.

Lazy. Disorganised. Careless. Chaotic. Not trying hard enough.

But executive functioning difficulties are not a moral failing.

Understanding that has made a huge difference for me. It does not mean I stop taking responsibility when things go wrong. It means I try to respond with curiosity rather than immediate criticism.

I might ask myself what distracted me, whether I was tired, whether there was too much sensory input or whether I was trying to hold too much information in my head. Sometimes it might help to keep something visible, use a checklist, simplify a task or reduce the number of steps.

Sometimes the answer is a practical strategy. Sometimes the answer is simply accepting that my brain took a scenic route that day.

Compassion and humour are strategies too

One of the most helpful things I have learned is that self-compassion is not the same as letting myself off the hook. It is a way of reducing the extra layer of emotional distress that can come from constantly criticising myself.

I could stand in the kitchen surrounded by flaxseed and cacao powder thinking, “What is wrong with me?” Or I can think, “Well, this has escalated dramatically,” clean it up and carry on.

Humour helps me interrupt the shame spiral. It gives me enough distance from the situation to recognise that something went wrong without turning it into evidence that I am failing as a person.

That difference matters, because if every forgotten drink, misplaced item, unfinished task or distraction becomes another reason to attack ourselves, everyday life becomes exhausting.

Many neurodivergent people are already spending huge amounts of energy trying to navigate environments that demand constant planning, organisation, switching, memory and self-regulation. We do not always need more pressure. Sometimes we need more understanding.

Working with an ADHD brain rather than against it

For me, living with ADHD has become less about trying to force myself to function exactly like somebody without ADHD and more about understanding the conditions my brain works best in.

That might mean reducing distractions, keeping important items visible, breaking tasks into smaller steps, using reminders, writing things down instead of relying on working memory, doing one part of a task immediately before attention shifts or creating more external structure.

Perhaps most importantly, it means recognising that inconsistency does not mean I am incapable.

I can be highly competent, creative, motivated and knowledgeable while still forgetting the smoothie I made ten minutes ago. Both things can be true.

Neurodivergent brains are rarely summed up neatly by one behaviour. There can be real strengths alongside genuine difficulties: creativity alongside forgetfulness, hyperfocus alongside distractibility, big-picture thinking alongside difficulty sequencing small steps, and passion alongside exhaustion.

That complexity deserves more than judgement. It deserves understanding.

So yes, making one smoothie somehow became multiple side quests, two kitchen clean-ups, one outfit casualty, a dance break and a spoon-blender incident. But eventually the smoothie existed, and I even remembered to drink some of it.

For me, that is often what living with an ADHD brain looks like. Not perfect, not always efficient, frequently chaotic, sometimes very funny, and increasingly met with much more compassion than criticism.

If this kind of ADHD or AuDHD chaos feels familiar, AuDHD and Then Some is a space created for adults navigating the very real everyday experience of autistic and ADHD brains, including overwhelm, executive dysfunction, regulation, people-pleasing, burnout and all the “how did I end up doing this?” side quests in between.

We share practical resources, relatable support and tools designed to help you understand your brain with more compassion and work with it rather than constantly trying to force yourself into systems that do not fit.

Join the AuDHD and Then Some membership for £1 a month at www.audhdandthensome.com. 💜🩷❤️