Cooking with Chaos: A Recipe for Success

How to Harness ADHD's Non-Linear Superpower

I've known I had ADHD for only two weeks, but I've been living with it forever and one of the things that I find so difficult is to stay focused on a task.

Putting a Label on it

In an ideal world I would flit about like a magpie from shiny object to shiny object, picking up what interested me and discarding the duds. But inconveniently enough life isn't so accepting and workplaces, even less so. Bosses have the nerve to actually give you tasks and expect them to be completed, before a deadline, earlier if possible. Who do they think they are? The worst thing, if you don’t do the tasks, you don’t even get paid!

They get the big bucks, I suppose, so we do as we are told, but that’s usually easier said than done, especially if you get bored or distracted easily and are constantly wondering if the grass is greener on task B, before you have ticked off task A. Oh and Task D involves photographs or video, that's going to be interesting!

Welcome to a small part of my life. I want to do everything, but only for a little bit.

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The Problem With Linear Expectations

Britain loves a good, orderly queue: everything done in sequence, neatly completed one task at a time. But for those of us with ADHD, that expectation can feel like trying to paint a straight line on a road in a windstorm, whilst drunk, blindfolded, and instead of a paintbrush, all you have is an old pair of socks, a wooden spoon, and an elastic band.

"Improvise, adapt, overcome." - Clint Eastwood’s character in Heartbreak Ridge (or the Bear Grylls meme)

From an early age, we’re told to focus on one thing and finish it, and then move on.

When our brains don’t work like that, we internalise it as failure:

• We’re lazy.

• Disorganised.

• Inefficient.

Or at least, that’s what we’re led to believe.

Our ADHD brains aren’t broken; they’re different. Trying to force them into a linear model is like trying to fit a square peg into a teapot. A teapot that’s busy hosting a tea party for sentient biscuits.

• It's not laziness, it's biology.

• It's not disorganisation, it's creative prioritisation.

• It’s not inefficiency, it’s dynamic multitasking.

  

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A Lightbulb Moment in the Kitchen

After reading a post on ADHD tips by my friend

Nolan barrie

, a comment by

Amy Kurland

produced a spark that lit the gas burners in my brain.

I'll preview Nolan's post at the end but Amy’s comment, about her ADHD brain and multitasking, made me feel like a chef discovering the Colonels secret bland of 11 herbs and spices. (Spot the typo in the previous sentence.)

She described how, instead of fighting her brain’s tendency to jump between tasks, she leaned into it, and the results were liberating. As I read on, a metaphor simmered in my mind: life with ADHD is like cooking a multi-course meal.

You’ve got things baking, boiling, and broiling¹ all at once. You’re dashing between the oven, the steaming pans on the hob, and knives at the chopping board, while timers beep, your Alexa alarm won’t shut up and ingredients threaten to burn. It’s messy, chaotic and it all has to be ready at the same time: Dinner time. But when everything is laid out on the table and it's time to eat, it's all worth it.

Amy's approach was my lightbulb moment: Why fight it? If our brains are wired for "kitchen chaos," maybe it’s time to stop forcing ourselves to follow someone else’s recipe for life.

So Chef's are you ready to cook?

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Recipe: Cooking with Chaos

Here’s your ADHD friendly recipe for embracing and thriving in a non-linear world. No need for perfection, just grab your apron, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to cook up some success.

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Ingredients:

• 1 ADHD brain, brimming with ideas

• A dash of self-compassion

• 1–15 timers (kitchen, app-based, Alexa or otherwise)

• A handful of high priority tasks (your “big pans”)

• A pinch of quick wins (your “small pans”)

• Something to write on (sticky notes, notebook, the back of your hand, or digital weapon of choice)

• Optional: A trusted sous-chef (accountability partner)

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Instructions: The ADHD Kitchen Method

Step 1: Preheat Your Mind (Warm Up Tasks)

Start small. Like preheating an oven, you need to ease your brain into action. Choose a quick, satisfying task to get your mental juices flowing. Tick one thing off the list, and let that momentum carry you into the day.

This could just be to tidy or organise your workspace.

Step 2: Get Your Big Pans on the Hob

Identify your high priority tasks, the main courses of your day. These are your “big pans,” the things that need the most time and focus. Put them on the hob, set a timer, and let them simmer. Break them down if needs be, work on the most important thing, but as soon as you've stirred it enough, it's time to check another pan!

Step 3: Add Your Small Pans

While your big pans are bubbling away, tackle smaller, quicker tasks, the side dishes of your life. These could be anything from sending a quick email to folding a basket of laundry. These “small pans” keep your brain engaged, your hands busy and can be quick wins you get to tick off your to do list.

Step 4: Stir, Taste, and Adjust

Don’t just set things then forget them. Our ADHD brains thrive on movement and novelty, so keep stirring! Check in on your big pans, taste test your progress, and adjust the heat if needed. If something’s not working, switch tasks for a while, it’s all part of the process. And once you tick a task off your list you get to take that pan off the hob and taste some of that sweet, sweet dopamine.

Step 5: Check the Fridge (Revisit Unfinished Tasks)

Maybe you have some “leftovers” from yesterday? No problem. Pull those unfinished tasks out of the fridge, give them a little reheating, and mix them into today’s workflow. ADHD productivity isn’t about finishing everything at once, it’s about keeping the process moving.

Step 6: Turn Up the Heat (When Hyperfocus Hits)

When hyperfocus strikes, lean into it. This is like cranking up the oven to finish a dish that needs extra attention. Use this energy to knock out one of your big pans or dive deep into something you’re passionate about. We don't always get to choose what we focus on, but when you get into the flow zone, take advantage!

Step 7: Plate and Serve

At the end of the day, focus on what you’ve accomplished rather than what’s left undone. Celebrate the finished dishes and recognise that even the unfinished ones are steps toward tomorrow’s success. Serve what has been completed and whack what hasn't in the fridge for tomorrow.

Step 8: Be Ready for Last Minute Walk Ins

How rude. Those guys who walk in five minutes before the kitchen closes and absolutely must have the most complex dish on the menu. Do they not know we are cleaning up! If you can guarantee a big tip, it might be worth finishing an extra meal.

We can't have it all our own way and so you need to be prepared for a last minute rush to finish the tasks with the looming deadlines. If you're anything like me the threat of that deadline induces hyperfocus allowing you to push on and get that dish plated. "Hands! I need Hands here!"²

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Cooking Tips for ADHD Chefs

1. Timers Are Your Best Friend: Just like in a busy kitchen, timers help you stay on top of what’s cooking. Use them to remind you to switch tasks, check progress, or take a break. Give yourself a limited time on your small pans so you don’t spend all day adjusting the colour of your excel spreadsheets.

2. Organise Your Ingredients: Visual aids, like Kanban boards, whiteboards or sticky notes, are like laying out your mise en place. They help you see what’s ready, what’s in progress, what still needs attention, and what you haven't even started cooking.

3. Don’t Overcook Anything: Perfectionism is the enemy. If something’s not done perfectly, it’s still progress. Leave room for “good enough” and move on. Unless the restaurant critic is eating today, good enough will get you there.

4. Taste as You Go: Reflect throughout the day on what’s working and what’s not. Adjust your approach as needed, it’s your kitchen, after all. Unless it isn't, but even then you're the head chef, you know how your kitchen works best.

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Why Not Use a Slow Cooker³

Why go to all of the effort of multiple pots and pans? Why not stick it all in the slow cooker and leave it to simmer?

The benefits of task switching for an ADHD'er are in maintaining some measure of excitement and busyness, alleviating boredom. It might be a productivity sin, but it's our brain’s way of staying engaged. It might look chaotic to your colleagues, but there’s a method to the madness:

• We stay energised by moving between tasks.

• We make surprising connections between unrelated ideas. Inspiration cakes anyone?

• We build momentum through progress, even if it is non-linear. (My partner sometimes adds tasks to her to do list after she has done them so she can tick them off and feel the progress!)

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The Myth of the Perfect Meal

No kitchen I've ever been in is ever perfectly clean, and no meal is ever flawless. The same goes for life with ADHD. You’re going to burn some food, you’ll have a messy counter, and a few dishes you cook even the dog would send back. It’s not the end of the world, nobody died, unless maybe you're a doctor or a pilot.

By embracing your natural rhythm, you’ll realise that what looks chaotic to others is actually your unique recipe for success. Tasks left unfinished aren’t failures, they’re just meal prep for tomorrow, wrap them up and store them in the fridge. Unless they have passed their use by date, they'll still be fresh by then.

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Conclusion: From Chaos to Culinary Mastery

Life with ADHD is like cooking a feast with every burner going at once. It’s loud, messy, hot and unpredictable, but it’s also creative, rewarding, and it’s yours. Stop fighting the chaos, embrace it. Let your brain do what it does best, and you’ll find that even the most random ingredients can come together to create something extraordinary.

I wrote this recipe for myself, I’ve used it for a day and allowed myself the flexibility to fail spectacularly, I didn’t. I only found I needed to switch out a big pan for a little pan once. I really think that just taking away the pressure to finish a task before starting the next allowed me the freedom to just get on with it. I wasn’t raised up on the shoulders of my colleagues as a productivity guru, nobody even noticed, but when I got bored and started staring out of the window, I went and made myself a brew and then came back and started on the next thing.

I’ll keep going with it. If you want to try this recipe for yourself, add your own spin, swap out some ingredients and call it your own. Every ADHD brain is different, so take this advice with a pinch of salt.

Now, who’s ready to cook up some success?

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¹I knew broiling was a cooking term but I had to google it, we don't really have it in the UK, we use a grill, but I like alliteration.

²It means that you need a server to come and collect a finished plate. I never encountered this in the kitchen but I do love the TV show The Bear. "Corner"

³Maybe you know this as a Crockpot?

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I promised you Nolan's ADHD tips post at the beginning of this post, you can find mine and Amy's conversation in the comments.

Are ADHD Tips Only For Those With ADHD? ... No