If your brain has ever felt like it was trying to function through oatmeal, congratulations—you’ve experienced task saturation.
Task saturation is what happens when your cognitive load exceeds your executive function capacity. You’re trying to manage too many deadlines, tabs, conversations, chores, and expectations all at once. The result? Shutdown, brain fog, and the deep desire to lay face down on the floor.
Task Saturation and the ADHD Brain
Neurodivergent people often live at the edge of their executive capacity. When every task requires conscious effort, even small demands can tip the scale into overload. It’s not just about too many things—it’s the processing cost of switching between them.
How to Cope With Task Saturation
- Do One Thing at a Time: Seriously. One host uses a digital whiteboard (boogie board) to write one task per screen. You can’t check things off. You can only finish or erase.
- Adjust Expectations: You only had 40% capacity today? Giving all 40% is still giving 100% of what you had. Respect that math.
- Don’t Shame the Shutdown: Rest is not a failure. Sometimes your nervous system needs more than your to-do list.
- Use Dopamine On-Ramps: Play a quick game. Take a walk. Talk to ChatGPT. (Yes, really.)
- Plan Low-Energy Days: On oatmeal-brain days, stick to research or background tasks. Save your creative output for when your tank isn’t empty.
Final Thoughts:
Task saturation isn’t about weakness. It’s about bandwidth. Stop blaming yourself for hitting your mental limit. Start working with it.