I was in the middle of something in another room and it occurred to me that this familiar expression could be adapted for ADHD: A watched pot never catches fire. Good reminder to exercise a little extra caution in the everyday tasks that get boring but are still dangerous if you get complacent. Driving, cooking, poking around in a running computer with screwdriver even though you know you should shut it off, that sort of thing.
Now if you'll excuse me, I should get back to cooking breakfast before the "food is done" alarms start going off throughout the building.
"A watched pot never boils ... over". Everyone omits the last word. Because if you have the pot on sufficient heat, it doesn't matter if you watch it, physics gonna physics.
I see some results for that and, as it turns out, a similar version that I've probably heard before but forgotten: "A watched pot never boils but an unwatched pot boils over".
I don't think "A watched pot never boils" was ever meant to be taken literally. The way I see it its more in the sense that if you just stand there looking at it the time it takes to boil will feel like forever.
If you have an instant pot, you can make rice in that. I've ignored it for like 40 minutes before, and the worst thing that happens is that it gets a little dry, which you can then fix by microwaving it in a bowl with a splash of water.