Executive Functions

The Key Skills for Daily Success

In our daily lives, we are constantly faced with numerous tasks and challenges that require us to make decisions, plan ahead, and stay organised. These abilities are all part of what cognitive psychologists refer to as 'executive functions'.

Executive functions are a set of mental skills that help us manage and organise our thoughts, actions, and emotions in order to achieve our goals. Having strong executive functions is essential for success in both personal and professional life. People with well-developed executive skills tend to be more organised, efficient, and better able to handle stress. They are also more likely to reach their goals and succeed.

There are numerous executive functions, and everyone has a unique executive function footprint, but these can be grouped into 11 specific areas:

Cognitive Flexibility

The capacity to make changes to plans in response to challenges, failures, new information, or errors. It has to do with being able to adjust to shifting circumstances.

If this skill is challenging, you might find it hard adapting to changes in your plans, or trying new tactics after the first one doesn't work. You may not be able to produce more than one response to a question or have trouble solving problems.

Response Inhibition

The ability to consider actions before taking them. This capacity to control our impulses to speak or act gives us the time to consider a situation and the potential effects of our actions.

If this skill is challenging, you may experience intense emotional reactions. You may provide fast, thoughtless answers to questions, give up difficult tasks too soon, or respond to questions before they are even posed.

Working Memory

The capacity to retain knowledge while completing challenging tasks and to apply prior knowledge and experience to current or future situations. You can manage multiple priorities.

If this skill is challenging, you might have difficulty remembering instructions as you carry out tasks. You may lose your train of thought during tasks, and possibly have trouble switching from 'work mode' to 'home mode'.

Planning/Prioritising

The capacity to decide what should be prioritised, as well as to develop a plan to accomplish a task or reach a goal. Avoiding distractions and concentrating on the most crucial tasks.

If this skill is challenging, you might struggle to divide tasks into manageable steps and come up with a plan to finish them. You may devote too much time to just one aspect of a task and not complete all necessary tasks.

Goal-Directed Persistence

The ability to focus on a task and see it through to completion without being sidetracked by conflicting interests, persevering until the goal is accomplished.

If this skill is challenging, you may find it difficult to maintain your motivation and perseverance to accomplish long-term objectives. You may have trouble creating a plan to follow and lack positive drive or self-motivation.

Organisation

The capacity to organise thoughts and convey them either orally or in writing, as well as the ability to design and maintain tracking systems: e.g. a diary.

If this skill is challenging, you might have trouble managing your time, your thoughts, and your resources. This can result in you having a disorganised workspace, missing deadlines and making careless errors.

Sustained Attention

The ability to stay focused during a task or in a situation despite being distracted, tired, or bored. Working on a project or email until it is finished.

If this skill is challenging, you have trouble focusing on tasks (particularly reading-related ones) and become easily distracted. You rush through or give up on tasks too soon, with an inability to maintain focus. There is an element of restlessness.

Time Management

The ability to calculate and allocate one's time, and adhere to deadlines and time constraints while maintaining a sense of urgency.

If this skill is challenging, you may find it difficult to predict how long tasks will take. This can lead to procrastination or rushing to meet deadlines. You may not be able to manage lengthy projects and find it hard to schedule time.

Metacognition

The capacity to observe, monitor and evaluate oneself in a situation. You can evaluate what worked and what didn't and change the way you behave.

If this skill is challenging, you will have trouble identifying errors and correcting yourself without outside input. You will struggle with thinking through problems and it will look you are not learning from mistakes.

Emotion Regulation

The ability to control emotions, reach objectives, and regulate and guide behaviour - controlling emotions instead of acting on them.

If this skill is challenging, you may experience anxiety and frustration during reading, writing, or spelling tasks. You may get visibly upset and experience emotional fluctuations. You can lack self-soothing techniques.

Task Initiation

The capacity to start projects quickly and efficiently without excessive procrastination - starting a task right away without putting it off.

If this skill is challenging, you struggle to begin tasks because of anxiety or uncertainty, particularly when they involve reading or writing. You find that you only deliver results under pressure.

Skills can be Learned

Executive functions are crucial skills that play a significant role in our daily lives, influencing how we navigate the world around us and achieve our goals. By understanding and developing these skills, we can improve our ability to plan, organise, and execute tasks effectively, leading to greater success and fulfilment in all areas of life. The most important message is that these skills can be learned.

If the above resonates with you, please send me a message and we will arrange for a free online introductory session, where we get to know each other and I explain in more detail how my coaching works.

Contact Jay

jay@jaymacleod.com