Can someone give me some examples of what struggling with executive functions looks like for an adult with adhd?

@cuckoolodger

That's me exactly!

Thinking you really need to do something (like make an important appointment/order medication) then forgetting for days on end.

Putting your keys/glasses/phone down for a moment, then completely forgetting where and searching for hours.

Getting so absorbed in a task (not necessarily an important or productive task) that you miss mealtimes or appointments.

Being unable to function usefully without a detailed diary kept up-to-date and checked daily.

I have ADHD but I don't struggle with driving (other than being nervous but I think that's age rather than ability) or showering. However I can procrastinate for Britain when given a deadline, will delay doing things that really need doing (for some reason I expect the hole in my roof to just heal itself up, rather than getting a man in to fix it).

I can't watch a film or anything that lasts longer than about 30 minutes before I get bored. Going to new places scares me in case I go wrong somewhere or do something wrong, I hate not knowing where I am going to be able to park for instance. I fixate on something that interests me and will talk about it to the exclusion of all else (although I can read cues when people want me to stop, but only after learning how to do this).

But I don't know how much of this is ADHD, how much is just what everyone experiences and how much is just 'me' and I would have done it anyway, with or without ADHD.

I am Autistic. I am fairly certain I am AuDhd.

For me I think struggling with executive function would be my inability to just concentrate on the task in hand. I start to do something and then get distracted because I'm thinking about something else and I go off and start doing another task whilst leaving the first one unfinished and then i ll get distracted again and start something else so I end up with a few things on the go and go back and forth between them all.

For example if I start the washing up I will suddenly think the plants need watering and I'll start doing that leaving the washing up part way through. Then while I m wayering the plants I'll see some dust and get the duster out and deal with that. Then go back to the washing up leaving the plants only partly watered. Then I'll suddenly think.i must take the recycling and food waste out . So im doing so many things at once rather than finishing one and starting another.

For me it’s like my “to do” list is a spaghetti tangle that I can’t figure out. I see the dish washer needs to be done so I’ll start scraping pans out but the bin is full. So I empty the bin and then spot the washing on the line. I get the washing in and dump the basket and the divining room table is full of stuff so I can’t fold it. So I start to clear the table and then take a craft project to the spare room where I find another unfinished project and it piques my interests. So I craft for 30 minutes for the domaine hit bit it turns into 6 hours and before I know it I haven’t eaten, and not a single one of the jobs I had the very best of intentions to do, has been done. It’s like hearing 5 I distinct different radio stations but you have to try to tune into just one to hear what it is, but the knob is broken and you are blindfolded. Everything requires more effort for less results UNLESS you are invested in the thing you are doing or it’s a competition or pattern recognition task.

It can vary hugely in people with ADHD as can presentation of ADHD which involves a lot more difficulties than executive functioning.

You can do a simple internet search to research for yourself so why are you starting a thread on one trait and yes who are all these people overly invested?

Who are all these people who keep telling you that you have adhd ?