Apropos our convos re procrastinating/getting started, The Guardian had an article today:
“In an ultra-viral TikTok video, a woman lies on her couch. “I’m tired. I should shower so it’ll wake me up; if I shower, I should exercise first so I don’t have to shower twice,” intones the voiceover. “If I’m going to exercise, I should eat first; if I’m going to cook, I should have coffee first so I have energy to cook,” it continues. The video – which has almost 5m views – bears the caption: “What executive dysfunction looks like.”
Hundreds of videos have circulated through social media, pinning people’s various struggles on “executive dysfunction”. Each video follows similar themes: showing people failing to initiate tasks, growing overwhelmed by household chores or theorizing why they’re never on time.
But what is executive dysfunction? Why do people experience it, and what can be done to mitigate it? Additionally, what is executive function? We asked experts to explain. What is executive function?
Executive function is the ability to manage and organize tasks on a daily basis, says Mai Uchida, a pediatric psychiatrist at Massachusetts general hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. This includes planning, prioritizing and thinking about how long a task will take you before you need to move on to the next thing. But it also includes the ability to break down larger tasks into smaller ones, being able to shift attention from one task to another, and maintaining working memory…
… While there are no real treatments explicitly for poor executive function, there are strategies and workarounds that professionals recommend to help make time management easier. Many are tried and true organizational strategies, says Tuckman: “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” For example, set up multiple reminders and alarms for yourself, and write out on paper checklists of things to do, even for tasks that are extremely small and easy.
Reflect on and try to recognize the patterns that get you into trouble. If you have a work deadline approaching, and you know you tend to lose track of time when you open up and scroll through Instagram, try temporarily removing the app from your phone. Essentially, avoid putting yourself into situations that require more impulse control than you are able to muster, says Tuckman.
If you get overwhelmed by the size of a task and have trouble getting started, Uchida recommends finding a small amount of time you can commit to. Maybe that’s 15 minutes; maybe it’s just five. Then dedicate just that small amount of time to the task. “When the bar is low, it’s a lot easier to get started,” says Uchida, “and sometimes it’s just getting started that’s difficult.” You might find that after that first 15 minutes, you have the ability to keep going. Or you might need a break before you commit to another 15. You have to find and adapt strategies that work for you, she says.
Carothers also recommends turning to community to help you understand where you might need assistance. “Sometimes other people have more insight into your behavioral patterns than you do,” she says. “Ask a trusted friend, colleague, romantic partner for areas where they’ve noticed you struggle.” Then ask them to help you brainstorm workarounds for those specific circumstances – they might have ideas that you never learned or considered. “Strong social connections are important,” Carothers says. “Learn from the people around you.” ”