Why ADHD Brains Overcomplicate Things (and How to Stop It) | ADHD Task Initiation

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Ever start with a simple task and somehow turn it into a 27-step project? 🤯 If you have ADHD, you may find yourself adding steps, options, research, or a little extra pizzazz…only to make the task harder to actually start.

In this episode we discuss how there isn't one single reason ADHD brains may overcomplicate or “complexify” tasks and projects. Executive function challenges can make decision-making and prioritizing difficult, while perfectionism and a need for stimulation can also lead us to add unnecessary complexity.

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What is the simplest means to an end? This is something I say frequently to my clients and myself because us ADHDers have a tendency to complexify things.

We love to complicate tasks and projects by adding details, steps, or pizzazz. And in doing so, we make that task or project much more difficult to start.

I would venture to guess that many of you ADHD mamas like me have complexified a task or two or twelve-hundred in your lifetime.

Which is why I wanted to spend a little time today discussing why we feel the need to complexify things and three simple strategies we can take to stop the spin cycle and make progress.

And just a simple introduction before we dive in today, my name is Christy Lingo, aka the ADHD mompreneur.

Why Do ADHD Brains Overcomplicate Things

So why is it us ADHDers like to make things more complicated than they need to be?

Well, there probably isn't one single reason we do this. The answer may be as vast and complicated as all the different versions of ADHD themselves.

Sometimes we have trouble deciding which option is best.

Other times we may struggle to prioritize which pieces actually matter.

And there’s a chance our perfectionism tells us that if we're going to do something, we'd better do it exactly right.

It may also be that ADHD brains like problem solving and need stimulation.

If something is easy, it could be seen as boring. And boring can make it difficult for an ADHD brain to stay engaged. So maybe we make it more complex so we can stimulate dopamine through interest, novelty, and excitement.

And seeing as dopamine plays a significant role in motivation and attention, it makes sense that our ADHD brains may seek out things like novelty, interest, and excitement to help us engage.

Sometimes, adding complexity may simply make a boring task feel more stimulating, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if adding interest to a task or project that you need to tackle helps to motivate you to get started or keep going, as a coach, I would probably say “Great! Whatever gets you moving.”

But there will be times when stalling to complexify could cost us time, energy, effort, progress, and in the case of our business, money.

Complexifying can also lead to overwhelm, especially in the case of complex systems that our ADHD consistency may struggle to maintain.

So let’s discuss some strategies to help you uncomplicate when you’re complexifying tasks or projects that don’t need that complexity or that you don’t have time to complicate.

How to Uncomplicate Tasks and Get Started with ADHD

1. Set a timer

When that ADHD hyperfocus takes hold, it can be hard to shake it. Minutes and hours can fly by while you’re analyzing all the options for scheduling your social media posts or deciding to alphabetize your sock drawer by color or by style.

Which is why having something external say, “Hey there, you’ve been going down this rabbit hole for a while. Just checking to see if it might be time to move on.” can be helpful to pull you out of your hyperfocus hole.

Timers can also help set a limit on the amount of refining or reworking you do. Chances are good that after a draft or two, your plan is adequate. It will be enough for you to call a task or project done. Which, in reality, is what we’re aiming for, right?

And if you struggle with the “done is better than perfect” philosophy, you can incorporate my next strategy

2. Build Confidence in OK

Our ADHD brains are often like speeding trains. We just zoom down the tracks passing station after station without stopping to recognize how far we’ve come or what we’ve done.

And I would bet there have been times when you've completed a task or project to the “good enough” phase. I would also guess that getting it done, even if it wasn’t to your specifications, was just fine.

But we might have moved on so fast from the victory (and yes, I’m calling it a victory because following through and getting something done as an ADHDer should always be celebrated) that we miss recognizing that when we did only what we needed to do to simply finish, we survived just fine.

If we can acknowledge the times when OK was OK, we can start to build confidence in simplifying where and when we can.

We're essentially collecting evidence. ‘I did the simpler version. Nothing terrible happened. It worked. Maybe I can trust myself to choose the simpler version again.’

We may also find times when we complexified things and there really wasn’t a benefit. In fact, it may have caused us to feel stressed and overwhelmed without a return on the investment.

This doesn’t mean we have to make everything basic. But it does mean we can have confidence in letting go of perfection or complexity in every task and project on our to-do list.

And if there are still items on your to-do list that you feel like you want to complicate, you can also try to…

3. Find Simultaneous Stimulation

Instead of making the task or project more complex in order to make it stimulating, look for something stimulating you can do while you're taking action.

Think things like:

• Listening to a playlist of your favorite music while you work

• Creating a time limit and trying to beat the clock

• Moving to a different location either within or outside of your usual workspace

• Inviting a friend or family member to help or body double alongside you

If you can create stimulation while you're working on the task or project, you might be able to keep your brain engaged without overcomplicating something that doesn't need it.

And if you're sitting there thinking, ‘Okay, but what actually stimulates my brain?’ I have an entire episode about how to create a Dopamine Menu plus a free template to help you make your own.

So the next time you find yourself spiraling into a complex swirl instead of making headway, you might be able to stop the spin by:

1. Setting a timer to limit the time you spend creating your plan or working on your project

2. Recognizing times in the past when you’ve just done OK and it’s been OK or times when you’ve complexified only to realize it wasn’t necessary

3. Finding simultaneous stimulation by giving your brain something engaging while you work instead of making the task itself more complicated.

Be sure to ask yourself, “What is the simplest means to an end?” if you catch yourself complexifying.

And if after all this you still don’t feel like you can find the simplest means to an end, that’s what I’m here for. Click below to book your free, no-obligation call with me to discuss your goals, your challenges, and how I can help support you past your challenges to reach your goals.