Ep 75: Executive Function Skills Series - Introduction & Overview

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🧠 Executive Functions: The Missing Link to Taking Control with Special Introduction 

In this foundational episode, we kick off our comprehensive series on executive function skills, exploring why traditional productivity methods often fail and how understanding these core brain functions can transform your daily life.

📌 Key Topics:

• What executive functions really are and their impact on daily life
• The critical role of mindset in developing new skills
• Time blindness and its real-world implications
• Preview of all 14 executive function skills
• Why willpower alone isn't enough
• How small routine changes can lead to major improvements

🗣️ Featured Quote: "You're not broken. Executive function skills might be the missing link. No matter where you struggle, this series will cover everything that you need to know."

💡 Series Overview: This introduction sets the stage for exploring all 14 executive function skills, including:

• Time management
• Emotional control
• Organization
• Task initiation
• Working memory
• And more!

🎯 Coming Up Next: Deep dive into Time Management and Awareness - discover why time feels different for ADHD brains and practical strategies to finally get a handle on it.

🔑 Key Takeaway: Success isn't just about strategies - it's about combining the right mindset with practical skills. When you change the way you think, you can change what you're capable of.

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#executivefunctions #adhd #productivitytips #mindset #timemanagement #organization #personaldevelopment #adhdcommunity

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Transcript

Have you ever felt stuck, overwhelmed or frustrated? Because no matter how hard you try staying organized, managing time or following through feels impossible. You're not broken. Executive function skills might be the missing link. What this is, is the intro to a series that I'm going to be doing on executive function skills, and we're going to go over 14 of them.

And it's things like time management, impulse control, emotional regulation that's just starts now. No matter where you struggle, this series will cover everything that you need to know. If you don't shift your mindset, all the strategies in the world won't stick. And you know this because you have tried to make a change and you do well for a day, two days a week, and then we fall off, right?

And that's because we don't have the mindset piece along with the skills that we're trying to build. So that is what makes my coaching different. I don't just teach you what to do. I help you change the way you think, so you can finally take action. And if you're ready to take this to the next level, I have an upcoming masterclass where I'll help you build a personalized system to strengthen your executive functions.

Now let's get started.

Time management for me for years was a complete disaster. I was never on time. Sometimes I was hours late for things and it wasn't because I didn't care. I cared so much. I just didn't understand how long things actually took. And we call that time blindness and a lot of us can suffer from that.

I would start getting ready 5 minutes before I was supposed to be somewhere,

not even realizing that that wasn't enough time to drive to the place I was trying to go. Then I started to pay attention to how much time things took.

so for example, I discovered that taking a shower was taking 45 minutes to an hour of my time.

Why? It was because I didn't have a routine. Once I got in there, I was doing a lot of standing around or trying to make decisions.

I was constantly making decisions and there is such a thing as decision fatigue. And if you're using up all your decisions early in the day, you have a limited amount and that's where at the end of the day you feel like you cannot just make one more decision.

So I was deciding what shampoo to use, which conditioner to use. I had multiple options, which body wash to use, Am I going to just wash my face or I'm going to also going to scrub my face this day? It was very inefficient. And so I reduced the amount of products I went to like a head down approach.

So I knew like what was coming next. And I built this shower routine for myself. Suddenly my showers took 10 to 15 minutes instead of an hour. Then I looked at my makeup routine. Why did that take an hour as well? Well, because I was overcomplicating it again. I simplified the routine, cut down the decisions and reduced it to 10 minutes, and that small shift completely changed my relationship with time.

And I started timing everything. And what that what I discovered in timing everything. And this will be in the time management series of of the executive function skills. But I'm kind of harping on this point because it was it was a game changer for me. But what I discovered in timing is things that I thought took forever that I was avoiding doing because I, in my mind was saying there's that mindset shift right in my mind.

I was saying they took forever. I discovered, well, they only took 6 minutes or they only took 10 minutes or 15 minutes. That's certainly not forever. So I can I can do that. So when I don't want to do things because I know it's a 15 minute commitment, I can go ahead and make myself do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do.

But here's what most people miss. It wasn't just about better routines. Again, it was about mindset shift. But before I believed that I was just bad at time management. I'll never be on time no matter what I do. That belief created stress and frustration which made me avoid looking at my habits. But when I changed my thinking, when I started telling myself I can learn to manage my time, I actually felt more capable of it.

And that made me take different actions. And that's why mindset matters just as much as the skills themselves. So we're going to talk about three main points here. So point number one, what are executive functions? Executive functions are a set of mental skills that include time management, organization, impulse control. Like we said before, there are tools that your brain uses to set and achieve goals.

And when I say goals, don't think of the bigger picture. Think of smaller things like getting out of bed, getting ready for the day,

taking action on the things that are on your list to do

winding down at the end of the day, getting ready for bed, those kinds of things. It's the simple things as well as the big things.

When these skills aren't working well, life just feels harder. But understanding them is the first step to improving so point number two, it's not just about willpower, it's about mindset and skills. And many people think they're failing because they lack motivation or willpower. But often the real issue is a gap in executive function skills, an unhelpful mindset. For example, if you struggle to start tasks, it's not just because you're lazy,

it's because of task initiation, a skill that you can learn, and that's getting started on things. But if you believe I'm just bad at getting started, that thought creates frustration, which makes you avoid taking action. That's why in my coaching we don't just work on skills, we work on your thoughts that drive your actions. So point number three, what to expect in this series.

In this series will cover all 14 executive function skills. So no matter where you struggle, there's a solution for you. Topics include time management, emotional control, organization, task initiation, working memory, and more. But we'll also talk about the mindset shifts that make those skills stick. Because when you change the way you think, you can change what you're capable of.

So next in the series is going to be time management and awareness, which, as you heard from my story, I am an expert end and I am helping all my clients with time management. It's so funny when I ask oftentimes on the console call, I will ask, How are you managing your time? And the answer most often is I am not.

And they might have a calendar that they're not looking at, you know, that kind of thing. And that's what usually brings people to me as they're figuring out their time management. So that's like the first step. If you've already got your time management down, good for you. There's going to be there's going to be lots here for you.

So if you ever feel like time disappears or you're constantly underestimating how long things take, you definitely won't want to miss this part of the series.

We'll talk about why ADHD brains struggle with time, perception and what you can do to finally get a better handle on it.

So hit subscribe, turn the notifications, Drop a comment below. What's one executive function skill that you know you need help with? I'll be reading your comments and tailoring future episodes according to those, and if you're on the podcast, go ahead and rate and review that helps other people find us so we can get all the ADHD brains together and learn and grow together.

All right. I will see you guys next week.