The executive functions (EF) are essentially like the CEO of a company. They consist of regulating attention and focus, making decisions, initiating actions, managing time effectively, stopping unnecessary impulses, as well as organizing and prioritizing.
One of the most important fundamental strategies for improving executive functions is to create habits and routines that put executive functions into practice. Here are some essential tips for each of these aspects of the executive functions:
Adopt the right attitude
- Making changes can be challenging, so be patient with yourself
- Don’t try to make too many changes at once
- Focus on what changes are realistic and important (e.g., strategize using the Eisenhower Matrix below)
- Practice self-compassion
Initiating tasks
- Recognize procrastination behaviours (see below)
- Break tasks down into small achievable steps
- “Cope-ahead” (anticipate and address potential problems)
- Focus on bite-sized information and tasks
Overcome procrastination
- Understand and recognize that procrastination comes in many forms:
- Avoidance: these are behaviours that are essentially “escapes”
- Perfectionism: involves too-high expectations that can get in the way of starting or getting things done
- Productivity: are activities that are unnecessary or unimportant “busy-work” (e.g., cleaning the house when you have a deadline and should be working to meet the deadline)
- Practice “doing the opposite” of the procrastination impulse
Managing time
- Make time physical through lots of clocks or visible timers around the house (to compensate for losing track of time)
- Increase your estimation skills
- Use a backward design (think about an end goal and work your way backwards in identifying relevant steps for accomplishment)
- Make use of apps (e.g., calendars, alarms, timers, reminders)
- Create habits and routines
Sustaining attention
- Identify possible distractions and eliminate these as best as you can
- Use shorter work periods
- Create order of doing tasks (see prioritizing above)
- Define achievable goals
- Reduce notifications on devices
- Collaborate with a buddy who can keep you accountable
- Use cuing apps
Inhibiting impulses
- Know your impulses (e.g., watch yourself and then write down your top 10 impulses)
- Recognize the feeling of an impulse (e.g., to act on a whim, give in to an urge, speak without thinking)
- Ask a friend/family member what they notice in terms of your most common (problematic) impulses
Organizing and prioritizing
- Consider urgency (time) and importance (value) using the Eisenhower Matrix (see below). Ask yourself “In which category does (what I am about to do) fall?”
| Not urgent | Urgent | |
| Important | Goals and long-term planning Healthy living choices and behaviours Maintaining relationships Professional/ personal goals and development Recreation and hobbies | Do this now! Crises and emergencies Deadlines Last-minute tasks |
| Not important | Distractions and time-wasters Least important things Web surfing and doomscrolling Trivial things (e.g., things that are time-fillers) Organizing emails rather than getting back to people | Interruptions and short-term goals These feel productive but may not be the most important things They offer immediate gratification but are not as important Getting back to the next message Following internal pressure to check off tasks on lists without being organized |
Evaluate what you are doing frequently
- Get in the habit of asking yourself the following questions (keep these questions handy)
- “What am I doing right now?”
- “Is what I am doing right now important and/or urgent?”
- “What is most important and/or urgent right now?”
References
These resources are primarily based on Saline, S. & O’Brien, S. (n.d.) Extended adolescence: When 25 looks more like 18. PESI.
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