The Brain's Executive Functions
Activation ⚡
- Getting Started
- Organizing
- Prioritizing
- Avoiding procrastination
Focus🔬
- Avoiding distractions
- Sustaining focus
- Shifting attention from one task to another, especially from something enjoyable to something less enjoyable
Effort 💪
- Sustaining effort
- Motivation
- Persisting through challenges
- Processing speed (time it takes to do a mental task)
Emotions❤️
- Managing frustrations
- Reducing the intensity or duration of emotions
Memory🧠
- Retrieving memories
- Working short-term memory
Action 💥
- Monitoring and managing actions or impulses
- Self-control
Tips to Improve
☑️Action
- Regular exercise or movement
- Think about how your behavior impacts others
- Think about the potential consequences of your actions
- Set goals to improve behavior/self-control
- Track good/poor behavior days on a calendar with a green mark for good daysred mark for difficult days
- Talk to parents about earning reward/ incentive for good impulse control
☑️Memory
- Use daily Task/To-Do lists, or whiteboard
- Use alarms or calendar notifications to do tasks
- Use daily planner for tasks or assignments
- Have a parent or teacher remind you about tasks
- Post sticky notes or signs in key places as reminders
- Follow the same morning/after-school/ evening routine each day
- Use one folder for all completed assignments to turn in the next day
☑️Emotions
- Practice calm down strategies
- Daily moderate exercise
- Take breaks when mood is escalating
- Problem solve frustrating situations
- Slow deep breaths
- Get plenty of sleep, good diet/nutrition
☑️Effort
- Keep your mind on your goal
- Write goal down and post on wall
- Use home system of daily earning of privileges after completion of expectations (parents hold onto privileges until expectations are complete)
- Think about the work ethic you see in people you admire
- Complete one task on a list at a time, return to list after each task is complete
- Find ways to reward yourself for completing tasks
- Use small "tasks" as rewards (e.g., drink of water, get a snack, get up to stretch)
☑️Focus
- Put phone away, or check it in to parents
- Create distraction-free environment
- Work in a quiet area
- Set timer for 15-20 minute work intervals
- Take breaks
- Listen to music if it helps with focus
- Do homework outside of your room in an area where parents can monitor
☑️Activation
- Hurdle Help: Have a parent, teacher, or friend help you get started on tasks
- No electronics/social time until after school/home tasks are complete
- Set a deadline for tasks
- Check in with parents for 10 minutes each day to ensure starting/ completion of school/home tasks before privileges
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