ADHD: Welcome to My Pinball Machine
When your brain has a hundred things going on — but only some of them have your attention.
Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you went there? Started looking something up on your phone and, twenty minutes later, found yourself researching something completely unrelated? Or sat down to do one straightforward task and somehow ended up doing seventeen other things?
Welcome to my pinball machine.
Ding! An idea!
Ping! Ooh, another idea!
Bong! Oh shit, I haven't done that!
Ding-ding! Hang on, what was I doing?
Ping-ping-ping! Ooh, this is interesting!
BONG! SHIT! I was supposed to be somewhere ten minutes ago!
Ding-ding-ding! Never mind. I've just had a BRILLIANT idea!
BONG! BONG! Oh bollocks. Nothing for dinner. Forgot to go to the supermarket.
PING! Ooh, I wonder what we could make with a tin of chickpeas and some frozen peas?
And somewhere in the background is the original task. Still waiting. Possibly surrounded by three cups of tea and a collection of dirty plates because I still haven't emptied the dishwasher. Despite having walked over to it several times, each time with every intention of emptying it, only to get distracted by something else before I've even opened the door.
But here's the interesting part. Give me something that genuinely captures my imagination, and suddenly concentration isn't the problem.
Stopping is.
When I'm on a mission, stand back!
Or, as Queen famously sang, “Don't Stop Me Now”.
When an idea captures my interest, I don't necessarily become a bit interested. I can become completely and utterly consumed by it.
My brain starts firing in every direction. Ideas lead to more ideas. I research, plan, create, make connections and imagine what something could become. And I don't particularly want to stop.
I'm on a mission. I can be extraordinarily driven, enthusiastic and productive when something really grabs me. Hours disappear. I'm buzzing. I'm completely in the zone.
And here's the funny thing. It doesn't even have to be something particularly exciting. I can become just as absorbed in researching a health condition, comparing household appliances or deciding which dishwasher to buy.
What starts as a straightforward task becomes an enormous research project. I'll compare specifications, read reviews, discover another model, read more reviews and eventually find a discussion forum raising an issue I hadn't even considered.
Three hours later, I could probably give a convincing presentation on dishwasher filtration systems.
But have I actually bought a dishwasher? Of course not. Welcome to review hell.
This intense absorption is sometimes called hyperfocus. It can be wonderfully productive, but it can also make switching attention difficult. Hyperfocus isn't an official diagnostic criterion for ADHD, nor is it exclusive to ADHD, but some people with the condition describe it as a familiar experience.
Spectacularly productive. Spectacularly unproductive.
I might spend six hours developing an idea while forgetting to reply to an important email. Or tax my car. Or even put fuel in it — resulting in me driving around on fumes, desperately searching for a petrol station before I run out.
I might become so immersed in something that I'm late collecting my child from school. And even when I arrive on time, or occasionally early, the effort involved can leave me completely frazzled because I've underestimated how long everything takes. Again.
And then there's the washing. I can leave wet washing in the machine for a couple of days. By which point, I know perfectly well it probably won't smell particularly lovely if I put it straight into the tumble dryer.
But do I try anyway? Of course I do. Believe me, I've conducted this experiment many times.
So not only have I wasted electricity running the dryer, but I then have to wash the whole lot again. A spectacularly inefficient approach to laundry. And yet, apparently, one I'm quite committed to.
And sometimes I don't notice somebody speaking to me, or I hear their voice without taking in a single word. Until they suddenly ask, "So, do you agree?"
At which point I can either embarrassingly admit that I haven't heard a word and ask them to repeat themselves, or nod enthusiastically and hope I've got away with it. Not a strategy I'd recommend, but one I suspect I'm not alone in having employed.
The irony is that I can be simultaneously incredibly productive and spectacularly unproductive. It rather depends on who's judging — and what they were hoping I'd get done.
So what's actually happening psychologically?
ADHD isn't simply an inability to concentrate. It's a neurodevelopmental condition involving difficulties with attention regulation and, depending on the person, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
For some people with ADHD, interest, novelty, challenge and urgency can have a particularly strong influence on attention. This is sometimes described informally as interest-driven attention.
You might spend hours on something fascinating but struggle to start fifteen minutes of routine paperwork. Not because you don't understand its importance, but because knowing what needs doing and actually doing it are different things.
This relates partly to executive functioning — the mental processes involved in planning, organising, starting tasks, remembering information and managing attention.
Then there's procrastination. Sometimes we avoid a task because it's boring, overwhelming or uncomfortable. As the deadline approaches, urgency finally provides the push to get started. A job avoided for three weeks gets completed in two frantic hours.
And then we convince ourselves we work best under pressure. Perhaps we sometimes do — but needing that pressure can be exhausting.
There's also time blindness, an informal term for difficulties estimating or keeping track of time. I seem to have an extraordinary ability to convince myself I can fit far more into a particular period than is remotely realistic.
I'll just finish this. Quickly reply to that. Do one more thing.
And suddenly I'm running late. Or arriving early, but only after a frantic rush that leaves me feeling as though I've completed an obstacle course.
It's not that I don't care about being punctual. Quite the opposite. But caring about being on time and accurately judging how much time you need are two rather different things.
But what about everyone else?
While the pinball machine can be an exciting place to live, it isn't necessarily an easy place for everybody else to visit.
Imagine living or working with somebody who can spend hours researching something obscure but forgets a simple job they've been asked to do. Someone bursting with ideas who doesn't always finish them. Someone who remembers extraordinary details about something fascinating but forgets a conversation you had yesterday.
From the outside, it can be baffling. And frustrating. Particularly if your own brain operates very differently.
Perhaps you're naturally organised and methodical. You make a list, work through it and finish what you started. You might reasonably wonder:
"If you can put that much effort into something you enjoy, why can't you put a fraction of it into something that actually needs doing?"
It's an understandable question. But attention doesn't always respond to importance in the way we might expect. Knowing something matters doesn't necessarily make it easier to begin, and becoming absorbed in one activity doesn't mean you're deliberately ignoring everything else.
However, understanding why something happens doesn't make its impact on other people disappear. Forgotten commitments can be upsetting. Unfinished jobs can create extra work. And feeling that somebody else's interests always take priority can leave people feeling unimportant.
Both perspectives matter.
Understanding ADHD can help explain behaviour. It doesn't remove the need for consideration, communication or responsibility. Equally, recognising its impact on others doesn't mean someone with ADHD should spend their life feeling guilty about how their brain works.
The aim is greater understanding and practical adjustments on both sides.
Creativity, emotions and the other side of the story
Sometimes that wonderful burst of creativity is followed by the less enjoyable discovery of unanswered messages, forgotten jobs and somebody who's irritated because you weren't listening. Suddenly the excitement is replaced by frustration or guilt.
Some adults with ADHD also experience difficulties regulating emotions. Criticism may feel particularly painful, frustration can arrive quickly and shifting out of an emotional state can be difficult. These experiences vary, but repeated criticism can affect confidence and self-esteem.
Yet focusing entirely on the difficulties wouldn't tell the whole story.
Some people with ADHD describe tremendous curiosity, creativity, enthusiasm, spontaneity and energy. They may enjoy exploring possibilities, making unexpected connections and becoming deeply engaged in subjects that interest them.
These aren't universal ADHD traits, and ADHD can cause significant difficulties. It shouldn't automatically be romanticised as a superpower.
But equally, people shouldn't be defined entirely by what they struggle with.
You can be disorganised and highly capable. Easily distracted and wonderfully imaginative. Brilliant at generating ideas and less comfortable with the routine work required to finish them.
A difficulty in one area doesn't erase your strengths in another.
Working with the pinball machine
Perhaps the answer isn't trying to become a completely different person, but understanding your patterns and finding practical ways to manage them.
Make starting easier. Break tasks into small first steps rather than waiting for motivation.
Make time visible. Use alarms, reminders and realistic time estimates, with extra time for transitions.
Keep systems simple. The best organisational system is the one you'll actually use.
Give exciting projects a stopping point. Set reminders to pause, eat, rest or check other priorities.
Use accountability. Working alongside somebody or arranging check-ins can provide useful structure.
Notice your patterns. What captures your attention? What drains it? What helps you switch tasks?
These strategies can be useful but don't replace appropriate ADHD assessment or treatment.
A little self-reflection
When you're completely absorbed in something, what are you getting from it? Is it excitement, curiosity, satisfaction, a sense of achievement or perhaps an escape from something less appealing?
What happens when you disappear down a rabbit hole? Is it always genuine interest, or could it sometimes be a way of putting off something difficult, boring or uncomfortable?
What does being busy mean to you? Do you sometimes confuse being busy with being productive? How do you know the difference?
How do you talk to yourself when things fall through the cracks? Are you understanding and constructive, or does your inner critic take over?
What would you like the people closest to you to understand about how your mind works? And what might they wish you understood about their experience?
If you could keep all your enthusiasm, creativity and curiosity but change one thing about how you manage everyday life, what would it be?
A final thought
Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about ADHD isn't always the difficulty concentrating.
It's knowing that you can concentrate extraordinarily well — just not necessarily when you need to.
You can have brilliant ideas, enormous enthusiasm, a head full of possibilities and the ability to become completely absorbed in something fascinating. Yet still struggle with the ordinary tasks that keep life running smoothly.
And for the people around you, that contradiction can be just as difficult to understand.
Perhaps the answer isn't to spend your life criticising yourself for the way your attention works, or expecting everybody else simply to put up with the consequences.
Perhaps it's about understanding your strengths, recognising your difficulties and finding ways to work with both.
Because sometimes the challenge isn't getting your brain to do more. It's helping your attention go where you need it — not simply where it most wants to go.
And perhaps learning to appreciate the occasional spectacular game of pinball along the way.
The psychology behind this sheet
American Psychiatric Association (2022). DSM-5-TR. — ADHD diagnostic framework.
Faraone, S. V., et al. (2021). The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 128, 789–818.
Hupfeld, K. E., Abagis, T. R., & Shah, P. (2019). Living 'in the zone': Hyperfocus in adult ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11, 191–208.
Shaw, P., Stringaris, A., Nigg, J., & Leibenluft, E. (2014). Emotion dysregulation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 276–293.
NICE Guideline NG87. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Diagnosis and management.
A note about ADHD & Disclaimer
ADHD experiences vary considerably. Difficulties with attention, organisation and motivation can also arise from stress, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, hormonal changes and other factors. Recognising yourself in this sheet doesn't establish that you have ADHD.
If these difficulties significantly affect your life, an appropriately qualified healthcare professional can advise on assessment and support. Coaching can help with reflection, routines and practical strategies, but doesn't diagnose or treat ADHD.
Disclaimer: This handout is intended for general information, education and self-reflection only. It is not intended to diagnose ADHD or replace professional medical or psychological advice, assessment or treatment. The personal experiences described are illustrative and will not apply to everyone. If you have concerns about ADHD or difficulties affecting your daily life, please consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Fusion Fit coaching provides support with self-awareness, goals and behaviour change, but does not offer clinical diagnosis or treatment.
FUSION FIT — MOVE WELL • EAT WELL • LIVE WELL