Way better than instant. Two parts water, one part oats. Boil the water, turn off the burner, add the oats. Sprinkle a bit of salt. Stir to make sure all the oats are wet, cover. Wait a few minutes.
While you’re waiting, put whatever you want into a bowl - butter, syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, bits of fruit, honey, peanut butter, jelly, etc. (Probably not all of those at once, but you do you.) Serve the oatmeal on top of the add-ons, mix.
If it’s coming out like paste, it’s getting over cooked with too much liquid. Which is very easy to do.
With some experimenting, you can find just the right amount of liquid, time and temp. I use the microwave, and a low setting over a longer time.