60. ADHD #9 Executive Functioning-Filure to Adapt When the Situation Changes

You had a plan. You had worked on it for weeks and evaluated every possible solution and now you have the perfect plan. BUT. some thing changes. The client changes the color palette for the ads, the teacher changes the test date,  somebody got sick and the meeting date has to be changed. ADHDers will frequently have difficulty adapting to the change. They get stuck. They get irritated. They fight for the old plan.

This is a lack of cognitive flexibility, the executive function that lets you adapt and adjust when  things change. ADHD brains often fall in love with their plan and when the plan gets disrupted, shifting to a new one isn't a quick swap. It requires disengaging from the old plan  before a new plan can be considered and employed.

ADHDers tend tend to over identify with their plans and problem solutions. GThey are frequently seen as the whiz kid problems solvers in the class or the business. Remember, ADHDers get a tremendous amount of criticism during their lifes, so they’re more sensitive then most to anything that disrupts their plans.

What helps, in general is to build in some emotional distance between the plan and the ADHDer’s self worth:

1. Build "if-then" plans before you need them.  Consider some of the most likely last minute changes and how you’d adapt and adjust

2. Give yourself a time buffer, don’t  try to instantly pivot. Five minutes to mentally close the old plan before opening the new one. Trying to switch instantly is what creates the stuck feeling — a short buffer often resolves it faster than forcing immediate adjustment.

3. Hold plans loosely on purpose. Frame plans as "current best option" rather than fixed commitments. This small reframe reduces how much disengagement is required when change hits, because there's less to let go of.

4. Take the time to identify and name the cognitive shift you’re having  trouble making.  This is a basic technique of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Just identifying an naming   the difficulty you’re having allows you to distance yourself from the problem and think about it logically. This works if you just do it silently to yourself or tell others.

I see this in physicians and executives whose days are unpredictable by design, yet who still get thrown by the third schedule change of the morning. It's not a flaw in someone whose job requires adaptability. It's a specific, fixable gap between the plan they built and the plan they now need.

If changing plans throws you harder than it should, that's workable. Let's talk about building more give into how you plan. Schedule a discovery call at terrygingrasphd.com.