Sim takes FOREVER to finish tasks

@SheriWillJW28 and @sharonlynette  Have you tried repairing the game in Origin?  Open your game library, right-click on the Sims 4 icon, and select Repair.

If that doesn't help, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

@sharonlynette  At least part of what you've described is likely due to various neighborhood action plans, for example the creative arts plan inspires sims to pull a lump of clay out of thin air and start playing with it.  There's not much you can do about this behavior in existing saves, unless you want to use mods.