Note: This article is an updated version of a previous post on executive functions. Click here to view the original.
What are executive functions, you may be wondering? Allow me to set the scene. You walk into a room and cannot, for the life of you, remember what you came in for. You struggle to start tasks. even ones you’ve done before or know aren’t particularly difficult. You find it hard to adapt to changes in your environment, routines, or processes.
These are all great examples of your executive functions at work… or, well, not at work 😅😅.
Everyone has executive functioning skills, whether they have ADHD or not. Understanding what they are can be a powerful way to shift how you view yourself and reframe your ideas around productivity. It can also helo you learn how to troubleshoot problems in your life.
So this article is part of a series designed to help you understand your brain better by introducing you to your executive functions. Ready?
What Are Executive Functions?
Put simply, executive functions—or executive functioning skills—are the mental skills and processes humans use to start, stick with, and complete tasks, while also pursuing goals and managing distractions.
A great way to think about them is like traffic control in your brain. They tell you when to start, stop, or wait, and how to resolve jams and collisions so things run smoothly. In reality, your executive functions involve several different areas of your brain working together; communicating, compromising, and coordinating so life doesn’t constantly feel like chaos.
Depending on who you ask, there could be as few as 7 executive functioning skills, or as many as 50. The core purpose remains the same: to help us function well in our daily lives.
I break them down into 10 skills now, but in my first article, I had 11. (Progress, right?)
The 10 Executive Functions
For each one, we’ll define it, give an example, and explain why it matters.
Focused Attention
Definition: The ability to sustain attention on tasks, especially when the task is difficult, repetitive, or boring.
Example: Struggling to stay focused during a boring meeting or lecture. Or, on the flip side, getting completely absorbed in scrolling social media when you were supposed to be doing something else.
Why it matters: Focused attention is the backbone of productivity. Without it, we’re left with incomplete tasks, wasted time, and energy lost to catching up.
Emotional Self-Regulation
Definition: The ability to manage and modulate emotions in ways that align with our long-term goals.
Example: This might look like lashing out during a confrontation, freezing or quitting when something gets tough, or struggling to soothe yourself after experiencing strong negative emotions.
Why it matters: Emotions guide so much of our behavior. When we struggle to regulate them, it can deeply impact our relationships, our sense of self, and our ability to push through hard things.
Cognitive Flexibility & Set Shifting
Definition:
- Cognitive flexibility is the ability to think about problems in new or different ways and adapt to change.
- Set shifting is your ability to change your approach when your usual strategy isn’t working.
Example: Think about how you respond when your schedule changes—like if a meeting is moved, you’re reassigned to a new project, or a familiar system gets replaced at work.
Why it matters: Change is the only constant in life. Flexibility helps us stay resilient and creative. Rigidity, on the other hand, often leads to frustration, overwhelm, or shutdowns.
Self-Control
Definition: At its core, self-control refers to our ability to say no to our impulses, desires, and distractions, especially when they go against our goals, moral conduct, or values. It’s like our brain’s brakes, and it involves sub-skills such as response inhibition, interference control, and selective inhibition.
Example: We need self-control to say no to certain foods when we’re dieting, or to refrain from looking at notifications on our phone, like during meetings.
Why it matters: Self-control allows us to honor our commitments to ourselves and others. It helps with self-discipline, decision-making, and maintaining social appropriateness.
Task Initiation
Definition: This refers to our ability to start tasks without unnecessary delay, especially when we experience internal resistance, like finding the task boring or hard.
Example: A failure in task initiation can look like cleaning your house when you should be writing an important report, or scrolling on your phone instead of folding the laundry.
Why it matters: Difficulties with task initiation often look like procrastination on the outside, but they result in a buildup of tasks, missed deadlines, and underperformance in our responsibilities.
Organization
Definition: Organization refers to our ability to structure, plan, and manage resources effectively. These resources can be tangible—like money, clothes, and files—or intangible, like tasks and time. It’s possible to be organized in some areas of life and still struggle in others.
Example: Poor organization can look like not performing tasks in the right order, having messy desks, drawers, or clothes, and frequently misplacing items.
Why it matters: Clutter—both physical and mental—interferes with our ability to focus and function as effectively as we could.
Time Management & Planning
Definition: This refers to our ability to manage time effectively and to plan tasks in the right order.
Example: Struggles with time management can look like missing deadlines, being frequently late, or tasks taking longer than they should.
Why it matters: Poor planning and time management often lead to overwhelm and burnout, especially if we underestimate how long tasks take or overcommit ourselves.
Metacognition / Self-Monitoring
Definition: Simply put, metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It’s our awareness of our own thought processes, our ability to reflect on behaviors, and to make necessary adjustments.
Example: We demonstrate metacognition when we question our thoughts or course-correct, for example, realizing you’ve interrupted someone and then apologizing.
Why it matters: Metacognition allows us to make better decisions, improve over time, and adjust when we make mistakes.
Working Memory
Definition: This refers to the ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind temporarily.
Example: We use working memory to keep track of the sequence of events in a story someone is telling, or to remember an address while receiving directions. A deficit in working memory can look like forgetfulness or repeatedly making the same mistakes.
Why it matters: Strong working memory helps us follow instructions, multitask more effectively, and stay mentally organized.
Decision-Making & Prioritization
Definition: Decision-making refers to our ability to weigh our options and make choices; prioritization is about ranking those options to determine where our focus should go first.
Example: We use these skills when choosing what action to take—for instance, preparing for a meeting instead of scrolling Facebook, or going to bed instead of staying up on your phone.
Why it matters: This helps us focus on what’s urgent and important before tackling what isn’t, and it protects us from burnout by preventing overwhelm.
Executive Functions Work Together
Even though we’ve listed executive functions as separate skills, they never operate in isolation. Most of our daily responsibilities rely on multiple executive functions working together, and when we struggle, it’s often due to breakdowns in more than one area.
Take this example:
A master’s student misses the deadline for submitting their thesis. On the surface, it may look like simple procrastination or laziness—but that’s rarely the whole story.
There could be a mix of issues at play:
- They might be struggling to start (task initiation).
- They may not know how to break down a large project like a thesis into actionable steps (planning and organization).
- They might find it hard to say no to internal or external distractions (self-control).
- They may be feeling overwhelmed or anxious, making it difficult to focus (working memory, emotion regulation).
- They may struggle to prioritize the thesis over other tasks or responsibilities (decision-making).
As you can see, executive functions don’t exist in neat boxes—they overlap, interact, and influence each other constantly. That’s why identifying which ones you’re struggling with is such a powerful first step toward getting unstuck.
The Bad News and the Good News
The bad news is that executive function struggles don’t just show up in one part of your life. They often spill into multiple areas—your work, your relationships, your home, and even your mental health. This pattern is consistent with ADHD, which is diagnosed based on symptoms showing up across various settings.
The good news? These are skills.
And the even better news? Skills can be learned.
That means once you identify your executive function gaps, you can start learning how to strengthen them or build systems to support them. While it takes time, experimentation, and a bit of patience, improvement is absolutely possible.
And let’s be clear: the goal is not perfection.
The goal is to become “good enough” at these skills that:
- You recognize when you’re struggling,
- You have tools to help yourself, and
- Even on/after bad days, you can get yourself back on track.
We’ll dive deeper into what affects these skills (and what you can do about it) in our next article.
Your Next Step
If you’ve made it this far, well done! Hopefully, you now have a clearer understanding of what executive functions are and how they show up in your life.
Which executive function do you struggle with the most? Naming it is the first step to changing your relationship with it.
To help you reflect, download this free infographic: The 10 Executive Functions + Common Struggles & Reframes
Ready to Take Action?
You don’t have to figure this out on your own.
- Click here to schedule a free consultation and let’s shift the narrative from “lazy” or “unmotivated” to “learning how to work with my brain.”
- I also recently launched my first-ever ADHD group coaching program, a supportive, collaborative space to improve your executive function skills alongside others who get it. Click here to apply.
And if you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it. Your friends, family, and community may be struggling in silence, and your share could be the thing that helps them feel seen.
