How to Boost Executive Function

Source: Photo by Andrea Piacquadio/ Pexels

Imagine a movie character’s day going exactly as she planned: her organization systems make her space pristine, she’s on time or early for everything, her focus rivals an Olympian’s, and she adheres to a busy and fulfilling schedule, set to an upbeat soundtrack. A day like this, if it existed in reality, would be made possible by the tools of executive function.

Executive function is probably a familiar term, but it may still be hard to define. Pressed for a definition, people often list some of the skills, like organizing and planning, but may linger with a fuzzy sense of what executive function truly is. Understanding executive function opens the door for both self-acceptance and strategies, creating the opportunity for great positive change.

What is this secret sauce we call executive function? Executive function describes the set of mental skills we use to facilitate our lives and move toward our goals. Analogizing executive function with an orchestra conductor or an air traffic controller helps illuminate its importance and complexity, but not necessarily what skills it involves. Instead, I like to describe executive function as a tree with three main branches: first, future skills, such as organizing and planning; second, attention and self-regulation, including avoiding distractions and self-soothing; and third, learning and memory, like using lists and learning tools. Mostly housed in your prefrontal cortex, executive function develops over time and can be affected by a slew of common challenges: stress, depression, ADHD, autism, lack of sleep, and even dehydration.

Understanding executive function can help us appreciate just how much mental heavy lifting we do each day. It can also help us form a new perspective: Everyone’s executive function is developing throughout life, with strengths and struggles, and it varies from day to day. It’s a neurological take on the adage that we are, indeed, just doing our best. That person who is always late might be struggling with time management, planning, or distractions, and through this lens, we can see their tardiness not as a personal affront. The coworker who keeps interrupting may be struggling with working memory or impulse control and is likely not intending to send messages of disinterest or rudeness.

The same applies to how we view ourselves. While we may use descriptors like “messy” or “lazy,” our challenges viewed through an executive function perspective may reveal themselves to simply be areas in which we need strategies but not character flaws. Are we truly “disorganized” as a human, or do we need some tools, routines, and systems to create and keep a space that works for us? Are we actually “not smart” or have we not yet found the just-right approach to learning and studying for our brains?

Exploring executive function can provide a more neutral space in which to explore our and our fellow humans’ struggles. After all, if executive function is all just skills, and skills can be learned, success is simply a matter of time.