What’s cognitive flexibility? Why is it hard for people with ADHD to multitask?
Phil Boissiere names low cognitive flexibility as a common challenge for people with ADHD. Cognitive flexibility is what enables you to move between different tasks, jump from old to new ideas, and engage with multiple concepts at the same time.
Below we’ll look at why people with ADHD struggle with cognitive flexibility and how to overcome this challenge.
Why People With ADHD Aren’t Cognitively Flexible
Shifting your attention from one complex task to another requires a lot of cognitive flexibility. ADHD makes it hard to achieve this, especially if someone is emotionally invested in the original task.
(Shortform note: Because of their issues with cognitive flexibility, people with ADHD may struggle to take breaks during the day. Breaks are an important way to cope with the demands of adult life, though, and people with ADHD can incorporate positive breaks into their day with the right constraints. Typically, a helpful break has boundaries that come from a set time limit or a set task. Boundaries prevent you from getting lost in the break-time task. For example, you may find it easier to switch from your break back to work if you set a timer at the start of your break. Or you might find it easier to return from a break that lasts the length of time it takes you to complete a short exercise, like a yoga video.)
To illustrate the challenge of low cognitive flexibility, let’s return to the scenario in the previous example: When your partner comes in, you’re working on a project for your job that’s due the same day. Doing well on this project could get your supervisor’s attention and set you up to take on more responsibility, which is what you’ve been working toward all year. You train all of your focus and attention on the task of finishing this project and your hopes for it. When your partner interrupts, they introduce a new task, whether they’re asking you to do something or they just want to talk. Your brain struggles to shift between your project and your partner’s task, and this struggle manifests as irritation.
Low cognitive flexibility can also make everyday problem-solving difficult. If you have ADHD, you may struggle to think of multiple solutions for a problem because your brain gets stuck on one idea.
(Shortform note: Because of low cognitive flexibility and difficulty with emotion regulation, people with ADHD often get easily frustrated or upset when faced with a problem. This heightened emotional state then makes it even more difficult to think of possible solutions. To get around this feeling, you must accept that finding solutions to problems is a complex process. Solutions may not come to you easily, and that’s all right. You can pause and come back to the problem when you’re less overwhelmed.)
Solve a Problem From Multiple Perspectives
According to Boissiere, one way to improve cognitive flexibility is by frequently considering ideas and problems from different points of view. To practice this, start by asking yourself a question that poses a simple problem. For example, “How can I crack an egg?” Then, come up with an answer. You might say, “Tap the egg on the side of a bowl.”
After you come up with your first answer, consider how another person would approach the same problem. Make the other points of view as specific and interesting as you like. For instance, how would a world-class chef crack an egg? How would an engineer? How would a magician? By considering alternatives to your first thought, you expand your brain’s ability to come up with multiple solutions in any situation.
(Shortform note: There are many additional exercises you can try to practice considering perspectives that are different from your own. For example, choose a photo every day of a person or animal in an unfamiliar situation and imagine what their day would look like. Or choose a topic you’re interested in with multiple sides and try to make an argument for the side you don’t agree with.)
