Switch smoothly between rules and tasks.
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift your thinking or approach when the situation, rule, or goal changes — mentally changing lanes without stalling.
It shows up whenever plans change last-minute, when a task requires switching between two different ways of thinking, or when you need to update an old assumption with new information.
Switching costs (the brief mental effort needed to change tracks) can feel more pronounced with ADHD — sometimes showing up as getting "stuck" on the previous approach, or conversely as feeling pulled to switch too often and losing the thread of the original task.
Being deep into one task, then having to immediately pivot to an unrelated urgent request, and needing a moment to fully leave the first task behind.