Attention, Organization and Self-Control: How to Make Executive Functioning yOur Productivity Superpower.

In honor of brain health awareness month, we at Tailored Brain Health wanted to give you a quick (and hopefully pretty interesting) lesson on one of the superpowers of the highly evolved human brain. If you've done any reading or research on brain health (I know, not the most common leisure activity), chances are you've stumbled across the term 'executive functioning' to label a crucial yet sometimes difficult-to-describe set of skills that contributes to your success in a myriad of tasks in your daily life. And, if, like many of us, you don't quite have the time for leisure reading about major brain functions, but you've noticed a dip in your attention span, feel like you're getting less focused and productive with each passing day, or find yourself the subject of well-meaning family jokes about forgetfulness, rest easy, we've got you covered with a brief explanation and some quick and easy tips below.

Getting Started: Why Talk About Executive Function?

If you've ever wondered why some people seem to have it all together and can effortlessly juggle multiple tasks, you may be interested in learning about executive functioning. Executive functioning is a set of mental skills that help you get things done. These skills include things like planning, organizing, and managing time effectively. But if you're like me and occasionally struggle with these skills, don't worry - there are ways to improve them without spending the little remaining energy you have left. Keep reading to find out more about what executive function is, what skills it includes, and how you can strengthen it to become more productive and efficient in your daily life.

Breaking It Down: What Exactly Is Executive Functioning?

So, what exactly is this fancy-sounding "executive functioning" skill that all the organized folks seem to possess? Think of these skills as your brain's personal assistant, responsible for keeping you on track and making sure you get stuff done. It's like having a little manager up there in your noggin, helping you plan, prioritize, and stay organized. If you've ever found yourself struggling to focus, stay on task, or meet deadlines, your executive functioning skills may need a little boost. Let's dive into the nitty-gritty of what this brainpower is all about and how you can level up your game!

The Essential Skills of Executive Function: What Should You Know?

In order to get started, let's break down the core skills that make up this executive functioning superpower. You can think of this broad set of skills as falling into four main categories or functions:

1. Firstly, we've got working memory, which is essential for holding onto important information while you juggle tasks. To illustrate this, think of when you are trying to remember a phone number from the time you read it on a webpage to the time you enter it in your cell phone to make the call.

2. Next up is cognitive flexibility, your ability to adapt to new situations and switch between different tasks.

3. Then there's inhibition, helping you stay focused and resist distractions. What does this look like in real life? You might see this is in your ability to wait for a pause in conversation before adding your very relevant thoughts. This ability to resist the urge to immediately say the thing on your mind is another example of inhibition at work.

4. And last but not least, there is self-regulation, which involves managing your emotions and impulses. These skills work together like a dream team to keep you organized and on top of your game. So, hang tight as we explore how you can beef up these skills and become the master of your own productivity universe!

What Impacts Our Executive Functioning

Alright, so now that we’ve covered the basics of executive function and its key components, you might be wondering why we don't all have the same skills and capabilities. There are many things that can impact our executive function, a few are listed here.

1. Neurological Factors: The brain's structure and function play a crucial role. Conditions such as ADHD, traumatic brain injuries, and neurodevelopmental disorders can impair executive functioning abilities.

2. Environmental Influences: Factors such as home environment, educational settings, and social interactions significantly affect executive functioning. Supportive environments can foster these skills, while chaotic or stressful conditions may hinder their development.

3. Emotional Regulation: Emotional stability is closely tied to executive functioning. Individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, or other emotional challenges may find it more difficult to manage their executive functions effectively.

4. Age and Development: Executive functioning capabilities evolve with age. Children and adolescents are still developing these skills, which may lead to challenges in planning, organization, and impulse control.  On the flip side, older adults are facing relative decline in these frontal-lobe driven functions.  It really does all come full circle. 

5. Physical Health: Nutrition, sleep, and overall physical well-being can influence cognitive functions. Poor diet, lack of sleep, or chronic health issues can negatively impact attention, memory, and decision-making.

6. Cultural Context: Cultural norms and values shape cognitive processes, including executive functioning. Different cultural expectations regarding behavior and education can affect how these skills are developed and exhibited.

Understanding these factors can help in addressing challenges related to executive functioning and in boosting our skills to make life feel a little less tiresome.

Simple Ways to Boost Your Executive Function Skills

So, now that we know a little more about what these skills are, it's time to optimize. In order to do this, it can be helpful to understand what impacts the functioning of these skills in the first place. In order to understand, I want you to imagine your brain as a bucket and all of the demands on your brain as objects inside that bucket. Some objects are larger than others, taking up more space. When the bucket is full, we have nowhere to put additional demands. Do you have the image in your head? Great. Now, as we're trying to improve our ability to carry this bucket full of demands, consider this. There are two main ways to change how easily we can carry the demands in that bucket.

One way of making our buckets less full is simply to remove things from our buckets. Sounds simple, right? I know you may be thinking, "I can't just drop my responsibilities, it doesn't work that way." But before you disregard this approach, consider this: maybe you don't need to remove the demand itself, but shrink it by delegating small portions of the task to something other than your brain. For example, how many times have you found yourself repeating a to-do list or a grocery list in your head rather than writing it down (delegating to paper), or have you ever relied on your memory to say, take medication or make an appointment, only to completely forget? Why not use the alarm in your phone to offload that part of the task from your brain? Some other examples of quick and easy executive function supports are below:

1. Timers and Alarms- why spend background energy checking the clock every 5 minutes when you can set an alarm or a timer to ensure you get a very obvious signal that your time is up.

2. To-Do lists and Daily Planners- We've all been there. It starts with "I just have to remember this one thing" and rapidly becomes a list of three, then four, then eight things we are trying to remember. Writing that list down in a note app or on a to-do list can work wonders in offloading the background noise in our brains that can make it so hard to focus. Better yet, schedule 10 minutes at the beginning of your day to complete a daily planner. Identify the things you have to get done and the things you want to get done, and keep it open nearby to check in regularly so that you can focus on one task at a time.

3. Habit Tracking Apps- Can't remember how much water you drank today? Why not just log it on paper or in an app that can track it for you? No need to use brain power, just look down and you can tell whether you are on track or veering off course.

4. Noise-Cancelling Headphones and Earplugs- Sometimes the noise level isn't in our control to lower. As a mom of young kids, there are definitely times in my house when the word 'overstimulating' doesn't feel adequate. If you're someone who works in a busy office or has a hectic home environment, focus can be hard to come by, and this can make the emotional regulation aspect of executive function difficult as well. Don't hesitate to pop in some noise-cancelling headphones or their lower-tech alternative, earplugs, to help dull the roar and give your brain some peace!

5. Voice Assistants- If you're like me, you frequently find yourself with your hands full down to items hanging off each individual finger. In those moments, it can be easy to tell yourself, "I'll set the alarm when I get in the house and put this stuff down." But, from my experience, in the 15-foot walk from the car to the house, I've already moved on to another thought and completely forgotten my plan. In today's technology-rich world, you can use a quick "Hey, Siri," "Alexa," "Hey, Google," etc. to get that alarm set hands-free, eliminating one thing you are trying to remember. And I assure you, those little things add up.

6. Organizational Tools and Systems - This one doesn't need to be a high-tech solution. Think binders, filing systems, 'a home for everything' kind of approach. Just having a reliable system for where you will find your car keys each time eliminates the need to remember that type of thing and can make your morning routine that much smoother.

7. Journals- Sometimes in the chaos of everyday life, it can be difficult to sort out the thoughts that are flowing at 10K miles per hour. Journals can be a great way of getting thoughts out of our heads to organize and process them. Much like talking to a friend about an issue or challenge, getting words down in a journal can be incredibly helpful for taking the tornado of thoughts and transforming it into something more logical and structured.

8. Note Taking Tools- This can be as simple as a pen and paper or as technical as an app that listens while you are in your meeting or doctor's appointment and records the important points for you. Often, when we are in the midst of an important interaction, we assume we will remember what is said, but this requires a significant amount of brainpower that most of us don't have in reserve. Why not let an app or a notepad do the work and save that energy for something else?

9. Your closed door! -This sounds so trivial, but sometimes just closing your door to protect your time and quiet can go a long way toward creating a space more conducive to executive functioning and productivity.

   
   

The second approach to improving our ability to hold demands in the brain bucket is to build our capacity or, in other words, grow our buckets! This can be through skill building (practicing building our attention, memory, and emotional regulation skills), self-care (nutrition, activity, sleep) or through stress management.

 Stress can really do a number on our brains, making it tough to stay focused and on top of things. But there are some handy strategies we can use to keep stress in check and make sure our minds are firing on all cylinders. One of the biggest keys is carving out time for activities that help us chill out and recharge our batteries. Maybe that's meditating for a few minutes each day, going for a walk in nature, or doing some deep breathing exercises. The goal is to hit the pause button and give our brains a much-needed break from all the chaos and demands.

Another good move is getting organized and setting up some structure in our daily routines. Having a plan for tackling to-dos and staying on schedule can prevent that overwhelming feeling of having too much on our plates.

And of course, health basics like eating healthy, staying active, and getting enough shut-eye make a huge difference in our ability to handle whatever challenges come our way. The bottom line is, investing in our own wellbeing and finding ways to keep stress levels in a healthy range can work wonders for upping our mental game and crushing it in all areas of life. And if you find that you need some support in managing stress, therapy is a fantastic tool to help process the stressors in our lives to help us free up brain space for focus, memory and productivity. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Tailored Brain Health for support in this process.

Conclusion: Your Roadmap to Better Executive Function Skills

Whether by growing your bucket or taking a few things out, we hope these strategies will help you embrace the power of your brain in a way that preserves your sanity. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, so be patient with yourself as you implement these tips. Stay consistent and keep those reminders buzzing, lists updated, and tasks chunked. You've got this! Embrace the journey of growth and watch those executive function skills soar. And as always, if you want a partner in your brain and mental health journey, we at Tailored Brain Health would be happy to support you. Reach out by phone or email at 336-542-1800 or admin@tailoredbrainhealth.com.