Getting Interrupted: Why Does This Feel So Hard?

Why can a small interruption feel so disproportionately frustrating? If you have ADHD, autism, or other executive functioning differences, being pulled away from a task can involve much more than simply shifting your attention. In this short, we'll explore the neuropsychology of interruptions, including working memory, task switching, attention residue, cognitive flexibility, and the effort it can take to reconstruct your focus afterward. You’ll learn why interruptions can feel especially disruptive when you’ve worked hard to get into a focused state, and why that reaction isn’t necessarily about impatience or irritability. Sometimes your brain is trying to hold onto an entire mental workspace that suddenly gets disrupted. You’ll also learn one simple strategy for creating an easier “re-entry” into a task after an interruption. Part of the Why Does This Feel So Hard? series, exploring the brain science behind everyday experiences that can feel much harder than they “should.”