Executive Functioning:

Making Life ACTUALLY Work

Ever feel like your brain is trying to run a whole operations team while you’re just trying to complete one simple task? That’s executive functioning in action.

It’s the behind-the-scenes management system that helps everyday life run smoothly. When it’s working well things feel organised and manageable. When it’s overloaded, even simple tasks can feel chaotic, confusing, exhausting, or overwhelming.

For people who struggle with executive functioning, it can feel like everything is too much.

But here’s the important part: It’s not about laziness or ability. It’s about the brain’s management system needing the right support.

As an example, lets look at having a Shower. It sounds easy, almost automatic. But your brain is quietly managing a lot:

• Remembering to shower

• Getting up and starting (instead of postponing it five times!)

• Transitioning from one activity to another

• Gathering towels, clothes, toiletries

• Sequencing steps correctly (undress → turn on water → check temperature → wash → rinse → condition → rinse → dry → dress)

• Keeping track of time

• Remembering what you’ve already done

• Not getting distracted halfway through and forgetting the conditioner is still on

That ability to plan, start, stay on track, and finish a task, that’s executive functioning.

Another example is cooking dinner

Again, it seems straightforward. But your brain is juggling:

• Deciding what to make

• Checking ingredients (and possibly changing plans when you don’t have the right ingredients or the tomatoes are mouldy)

• Getting clean pots, pans, and equipment (or washing them if they’re still dirty from lunch)

• Following steps in order

• Managing multiple tasks at once (pasta boiling, vegetables chopping, oven heating)

• Timing everything so it finishes together so there isn’t mushy broccoli and raw potatoes.

• Staying focused despite distractions like messages, pets, or family needs

This involves planning, organisation, working memory, task switching, time management, and impulse control all at once.

When executive functioning is working well, these tasks feel automatic. When it’s overloaded, even small tasks can feel overwhelming.

What Is Executive Functioning?

Executive functioning is the brain’s task control centre.

It helps you:

• Plan

• Organise

• Start tasks

• Switch between tasks

• Remember what’s important

• Regulate emotions

• Manage impulses

• Stay focused

Think of it as the air traffic controller of your brain. When it’s working smoothly, you feel productive and calm. When it’s struggling, you might procrastinate, forget things, feel scattered, or start multiple tasks without finishing them.

Energy, Not Just Time

Sometimes it’s not that we don’t have time. It’s that we don’t have the executive energy to use the time well.

Capacity fluctuates depending on:

• Sleep

• Stress

• Emotional load

• Burnout

• Environment

Some days your brain has more capacity. Some days it has less.

That’s normal.

Transitions Are Hard

Starting is hard.
Stopping is hard.
Switching tasks is often hardest.

Every transition requires executive energy. Moving from relaxing to working, working to cooking, or one task to another costs mental resources. Understanding this can reduce self-blame and increase self-compassion.

Executive Functioning & Dopamine

For many neurotypical people, productivity often works like a ladder.

They start with a small task, feel progress, then move to a bigger one. Each completed step gives a burst of dopamine reward (a bit like a chocolate button for your brain) that satisfying “tick it off” feeling which helps build momentum.

But for many neurodivergent people, small tasks don’t always provide enough dopamine to activate motivation. They can feel heavy, boring, or unusually hard to start.

That’s why the advice to “start small and build up” doesn’t always work and many neurodivergent people will just not start at all.

Flip the To-Do List

Instead of:

Small → Medium → Big

Try:

Big or meaningful → Medium → Small

Starting with something engaging, urgent, or rewarding can create dopamine momentum that carries you through smaller tasks.

It’s not about doing things in the “right” order. It’s about doing them in the order that works for your brain. And sometimes its just about doing them at all.

Creative Dopamine Boosts

You can intentionally increase engagement by:

• Video blogging (vlogging) tasks – video yourself doing the task in a tutorial style, makes washing up more fun!

• Body doubling (working alongside someone in person or virtually). Going to a café to send an email or fill in a form.

• Sharing task completion with friends – have a ‘to do’ list group chat for accountability and then share achievements.

• Gamifying tasks

• Using timers or challenges

• Celebrating completion out loud (pompoms!!)

• Adding music or podcasts, we move our bodies much better to music, and that works for completing tasks too, use a cleaning playlist or a shower play list to help.

• Using visible progress trackers

Sometimes we don’t need more discipline, we need more dopamine!

Practical Strategies

Treat It as an Experiment - You can’t pass or fail an experiment. You’re simply testing what works for you.

“How Long Does It REALLY Take?”

Use a timer. Time tasks honestly. This helps with planning and time blindness.

The Reset Basket

Put clutter into one basket first. Sort later. Visual progress creates motivation.

“Just One Minute”

Commit to one minute only. Starting breaks task paralysis. Momentum often follows.

Working Memory Support

Use:

• Lists

• Reminders

• Whiteboards

• Sticky notes

• Apps

• External calendars

Let your environment hold information for you.

Break Tasks Into Tiny Steps

Instead of “clean kitchen,” try:

• Put one plate in sink

• Turn on tap

• Wash one item

Smaller steps reduce overwhelm.

Low-Energy Version of Tasks

Have a minimum version for hard days:

• Quick shower

• Simple dinner

• 5-minute tidy

• One priority task

Consistency matters more than intensity.

Add Structure and Play

Use:

• Timers

• Points

• Streaks

• Challenges

• Boss-level tasks

• Self-rewards

Engagement increases motivation.

Use Body Doubling

Working alongside someone can significantly improve focus and follow-through.

Support the Nervous System

Executive functioning improves when regulated.

Tools like:

• Deep breathing

• Movement

• Short walks

• Water

• Reduced sensory overload

• Rest

can improve cognitive performance.

Reduce Decision Fatigue

Simplify choices:

• Routine meals

• Set outfits

• Weekly structure

• Pre-decided defaults

Less decision-making preserves executive energy.

Progress Over Perfection

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.

Waiting for the perfect time, plan, or version of a task can prevent action.

Perfection says: “Don’t start unless it’s exactly right.” Progress says: “Done is better than perfect.”

You don’t need:

• The perfect routine

• The perfect order

• The perfect plan

Starting imperfectly is still starting.

Good is action.
Good is enough.
Perfect is often delay.

Executive Functioning Is a Skill Set

Executive functioning isn’t about laziness or willpower.

It’s about a brain system that sometimes needs structure, support, creativity, and understanding.

With:

• Flipped task order

• Dopamine strategies

• Body doubling

• External supports

• Environmental design

• Energy awareness

• Low-pressure systems

• Self-compassion

Life becomes more manageable.

Final Thought

Executive functioning fluctuates. Some days it feels strong. Some days it doesn’t.

That doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means capacity changes.

You are not behind.
You are building systems.

Start small. Celebrate progress.
Use strategies that fit your brain.

You’re not failing.
You’re learning your brain’s language.