What are executive functions?
Barkley* wrote a book on EF (Executive Functions. What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved) and lists several definitions. Regardless of how many there are, I'll try to explain to you in a simple way what they are.
“Executive functions refer to the cognitive or mental abilities that people need to actively pursue goals.” But what does that mean?
Imagine executive functions as air traffic control in your brain. The air traffic controllers monitor and manage hundreds of airplanes, ensuring each one takes off safely, flies in the right direction, and lands without a hitch. Now imagine all the controllers went on a coffee break and left everything unattended. Planes start colliding, losing their way, and some end up landing in cornfields instead of on the runway. That’s what your day looks like without functioning executive functions (aka executive dysfunctions). Your thoughts, decisions, and actions turn into airport chaos, and reaching your goals becomes as difficult as landing a jumbo jet in your backyard.
Barkley identifies four main areas of executive functions.
Nonverbal working memory (aka "the ability to keep everything in your head like it's a magic whiteboard")
📅 Forgetting important dates:
People with ADHD often struggle with remembering birthdays, appointments, or deadlines because they have trouble storing and recalling information in their nonverbal working memory.
I never remember my loved ones' birthdays. If they're not in my calendar, I will definitely forget them. History isn't my strong suit either. I remember asking my history teacher one day, "How am I supposed to remember dates when I can't even remember my friend's or family's birthdays?" He probably didn't expect that response because he looked at me in surprise. 😅
🔑 Losing things:
People with ADHD frequently lose keys, wallets, or other everyday items because they can't keep a visual memory of where they last left them.
📱 Where did I put my phone? I guard my phone like a hawk, so I haven't lost it...yet, but I misplace it under something. That's why I love Google Assistant's "Hey Google, find my phone" feature. No stress, no searching! 🎧 Earbuds are trickier because they're small, and hair ties... forget about it. 😄
🔄 Challenges in organizing work:
Keeping a tidy desk or workspace can be tough because people with ADHD have trouble visually storing information about where things should be.
🎨 I call it "artistic clutter." I sort of know where everything is... but not really 😛. When I use scissors, I put them aside, and they disappear. Do you know that meme?
🤔 Forgetting daily tasks:
Everyday routines, like taking medication, can be overlooked because people with ADHD struggle to keep these tasks in their working memory. 💊🕒
Even though my app reminds me to take my meds, I still sometimes forget and wonder hours later if I took them, or I put it off for later (mainly on weekends). 📱
Internalization of Speech (verbal working memory) (aka "talking to yourself, but not out loud so you don't look weird")
📝Task Planning:
Internally rehearsing the steps needed to complete a project or task.
Imagine you want to make spaghetti for dinner. In your head, you start mentally listing the ingredients: pasta, tomato sauce, ground meat, onion, garlic... and so on. You try to go through the whole process, but suddenly you think of something else. "What was I doing?" 🤔 you wonder. Instead of focusing on the list, your thoughts start jumping around like crazy: "Maybe I should make a salad too? Where did I put that knife? Do I still have parmesan in the fridge?" 🤔 As a result, you forget half the ingredients and end up with pasta but no sauce. Well, at least the pasta turned out fine! 😅
🔥Self-Motivation/Internal Motivation:
Encouraging yourself to stay focused and motivated.
Imagine you have to finish a work task by 5:00 PM. ⏰ You tell yourself, "I need to get this done by 5:00" and sit down to work. Suddenly you remember the plants need watering. You get up, water them, and think, "Maybe I'll make some tea?" In the kitchen, you notice you're out of sugar and jot it down on your shopping list. You start feeling hungry, so you make a sandwich. You return to your desk, and it's already 4:45. Panicking, you barely finish in a rush. 😱
🧠 Aiding Memory:
Repeating important information to yourself to remember it better.
I used to think something was wrong with me because I couldn't remember a few items to buy. You'd think that just repeating "milk, bread, ham" would be enough, right? Well, no! I always had a list on a piece of paper, otherwise, I'd come home with something like "pasta, Nutella, and a cactus." 🌵🤦♀️
Now I have such a list in an app on my phone. 📱
Self-Regulation (aka "the art of controlling your emotions") - picture of a turtle “find your inner peace”
💥 Impulsive emotional reactions:
People with ADHD can struggle to control emotional impulses, leading to intense reactions to stressful situations. 💢
You know that moment when someone ticks you off with some minor thing? I used to react impulsively with anger. Now, I just give them the death stare. 🤷♂️👀
😵💫 Problems maintaining attention:
Focusing on tasks that require prolonged effort can be tough, leading to frequent distractions. 📚
Long work meetings that could've been an email, right? But do us ADHD folks even read emails? 😜📧 Yeah, keep dreaming. On the bright side, it's easier to revisit an email than remember a long lecture and "What was that about again?" 🤔
🚗 Risky behaviors:
People with ADHD might make impulsive decisions, leading to risky behaviors like speeding or impulsive spending. 💨💸
I love roller coasters, oh that adrenaline... 🎢😄 Fast turns and sudden drops, awesome! As a kid, riding my bike hands-free was the best. 😁🚴♀️
🍫 Problems with self-control:
Maintaining self-control against temptations like junk food or excessive social media can be hard for people with ADHD. 📱
Mmmm…chocolate…love it 😍🍫
Reconstruction (planning and generativity) (aka "putting your life together like LEGO pieces, but sometimes without instructions")
🌀 Lack of structure in daily tasks:
People with ADHD may struggle to organize their activities, leading to chaos and inefficiency.
After work, I remembered I needed to do some shopping. I got home, went to the kitchen, and started unpacking the bags when I noticed the kitchen looked like a tornado had hit. I began cleaning up but then saw some cups in the living room. I decided to take them to the kitchen but got distracted by my phone on the way and started playing music. The cups stayed on the table, the shopping bags remained unpacked, and I lost time scrolling through memes on my phone. Ah, the daily life with ADHD! 🤦♀️
📋 Problems with prioritizing:
Difficulty determining which tasks are most important can lead to neglecting key responsibilities. For example, focusing on less crucial tasks while ignoring those with shorter deadlines. ⏳
Oh, I know this well! A little example from my life: instead of working on my thesis, I got so obsessed with the idea of going to the States that I fell into a rabbit hole of videos about tourist attractions. Instead of writing, I ended up watching things to see, looking for accommodations, checking flights, and browsing packing guides. I did finish my thesis... but it was late. 😅
💡Brown* divides executive functions into six "clusters" (groups)
Breaking them into groups helps understand how different parts of executive functions work together to control our thoughts 💭, emotions 😢😊😠, and behaviors 🕺.
🗂️📋 Organizing, prioritizing, and activating tasks (like turning chaos into order, as if you're a superhero with a to-do list)
I signed up for an online course that required regular work. Every week I had a new set of tasks, but there was always something else distracting me. Motivation to study? Lost somewhere between the couch and the fridge. The course, which was supposed to be enjoyable, became a chore, and I felt like a turtle trying to catch up with a cheetah. I was falling behind and felt like even a snail was overtaking me! 🐌
🧠 Focusing, sustaining, and shifting attention to the task (the art of not getting distracted by memes and cats on the internet)
As an English philology student, I had subjects that were interesting and others that made me yawn like a hippo after a hard day. In those boring lectures, my attention quickly wandered to Facebook, where I browsed memes. Sometimes I found articles on completely different topics, and my yawning turned into quiet "click, click" on the keyboard. 💻📚
🧘 Regulating alertness, sustaining effort, and processing speed (staying ready like a ninja on a mission)
Imagine you're preparing for an exam. 📚 You study for hours without a break until you feel burnt out like toast. 🍞 You decide to take a short break, which magically turns into a TV series marathon. 📺 Suddenly it's night, and instead of being ready for the exam, you're a master of your favorite show's plot. 🎬
😤 Managing frustration and modulating emotions (like not erupting like a volcano over every little annoyance)
Imagine you're cooking dinner. Everything's going smoothly until you can't find the wooden spoon. You start rummaging through all the cabinets, and meanwhile, the food starts burning on the stove. Finally, you find the spoon buried under a pile of dirty dishes, but by the time you wash and use it, the kitchen's filled with smoke. In a fit of frustration, you slam the spoon on the counter, then feel guilty because instead of a delicious dinner, you have a burnt mess and a frayed temper. 😡🔥
🧠 Utilizing working memory and accessing recall (like having magic drawers in your brain that always have what you need)
Imagine Facebook and your calendar remind you of a friend's birthday. In the morning, you get the notification while making coffee. "Got it, I remember," you think. The whole day passes, and you're busy with a million other things. In the evening, as you're lying in bed, you suddenly remember: "Oh no, I forgot the birthday!" You quickly grab your phone and type, "Happy Birthday!" 😅
📊 Monitoring and self-regulating actions (like being your own manager who doesn't yell but effectively keeps track)
Imagine you decide to write a blog post or Instagram entry. You sit down to work, full of energy and enthusiasm. A few minutes into it, you remember you need to check something on YouTube. Ten videos later, you're now an expert on hamster care. You get back to writing but suddenly feel like having a snack or making some coffee. In the kitchen, you realize you forgot to buy milk. You head back home, make some food and coffee, and turn on a short TV episode (because you like it). You watch one, then another... and just like that, your day is gone, and the blog post is still waiting to be written.
🧩Ways to Make Life Easier with ADHD: Little Tricks That Work
📅 Organization and Planning - How to Navigate Chaos
Get friendly with a calendar! Seriously! Before you close this page, give me a moment to explain.
Back in high school, I would jot down test and quiz dates quickly under the lesson, and then... of course, forget them. 😅 Eventually, I started noting them at the end of my notebook, but that didn't help much either. Then came college, and I discovered a wall calendar like the one below. I wrote down all my exam dates, deadlines, and other important events. The calendar hung in a visible spot, so I saw it every day. 👀
An app called "My Study Life" also came to the rescue 📱 – it helped me log my classes, timings, and other important details.
When I began working at a language school, I switched to a calendar diary. 📒🖊️ I would write down everything I assigned to students, the material we covered, and where and when I had classes with each group. Each day had its own page. This way, no one could trick me by saying "there was no homework" or "you didn’t announce the quiz" – everything was documented! 😎✅
Later, I switched to apps... but more on that in a bit. 📱
There are tons of tools available for organizing and planning. One of my favorites is the Eisenhower Matrix – a brilliant method for sorting tasks by importance and deadlines. Over time, I created my own version of this matrix, which you can download along with my ebook. 📚 It contains what I believe are the best tools for managing your time, energy, and space. ⏰✨
I encourage you to download the free ebook with templates here. 📥
📱Handy Tools: Apps, Reminders, Colorful Notes – How Technology’s ‘Magic’ Can Help
I’ve lost count of how many apps I’ve installed, but I’ve spent a lot of time testing them. When one didn’t suit me, I’d install another. And so on, until I finally found TickTick and started using Google Calendar. If you have a similar problem, I recommend trying out different apps until you find one that feels as natural and enjoyable to use as your favorite coffee. ☕😊
🔔Using Visual and/or Audible Reminders
Visual reminders aren’t just colorful sticky notes that might get lost, but also widgets on your phone or computer desktop. It could be a wall calendar where you jot down important dates or a family calendar 👪. You can also use a chalkboard or dry-erase board to list the key things to do each day.
An alternative to visual reminders are sound alerts. You can use Alexa or Google Assistant, which can sync with your calendar or other apps. Personally, I use Google Assistant, which reminds me daily of events and tasks – it's like having a personal assistant that never complains about overtime! 🤖
Summary
Executive functions in our mind work like air traffic control ✈️ – they manage our thoughts, decisions, and actions to keep everything running smoothly. When these functions don’t work properly, our life can feel like airport chaos, where planes land in cornfields and achieving goals becomes as difficult as landing a jumbo jet in your backyard. As Barkley points out, there are four key areas of executive functions, while Brown divides them into six "clusters" that together form our mental control. Fortunately, there are ways to make life with ADHD easier – from small tricks to more advanced strategies. Thanks to them, even if we sometimes feel like a turtle on a racetrack 🐢, at least we can avoid hitting obstacles 🚧.
🌟Follow my page for more posts about ADHD, time management, energy, and space.
📧 Subscribe to the newsletter and download the free ebook "5 Best Printables for Time and Space Organization for People with ADHD (and not only)" which will surely help you better organize daily tasks and increase efficiency.
*Russell Alan Barkley is a retired American clinical neuropsychologist. Until 2022, he was a professor of psychiatry at VCU Medical Center and president of Division 12 of the APA and ISRCAP. He specializes in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the neuropsychology of executive functions and self-regulation.
*Thomas E. Brown, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with a PhD from Yale University, specializing in the assessment and treatment of high-IQ individuals with ADHD.