Executive Function Basics: Core Skills, Contributing Factors, and Practical Tips

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In a recent essay in the Wall Street Journal, author Jenny Anderson highlights the growing demand for executive functioning support, particularly executive function coaches, amongst school age children. It’s one of the rare times we’ve seen the topic pop-up in the mainstream media.

This is a welcome step towards exploring, as a society, the fundamental contributors to neurodiversity and better understanding the common challenges faced by those with ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore an in-depth overview of executive function basics, breaking down core components, and examining how EF skills impact every facet of our daily lives. By understanding executive function, we gain insight into our strengths and challenges in a constructive way, enabling us to improve these skills and achieve a better quality of life.  

What is Executive Function?

Executive Function refers to a set of cognitive skills and processes responsible for regulating our thoughts and behaviors. They do everything from helping us focus and setting goals to control impulses and managing emotions—ultimately determining how an individual will cope with challenges, build relationships, and navigate through life.

While all people rely on executive function skills, they don’t develop the same way, or at the same rate, for everyone. The challenge for neurodiverse populations, in particular, is they tend to have a more difficult time developing these skills, resulting in major skills deficits that persist into adulthood. 

Without executive function, our daily tasks—from cooking dinner to meeting deadlines—would become far more difficult, resulting in a nebulous jumble of responsibilities. And learning about these fundamental skills is valuable for anyone looking to better understand themselves and the world around them. The truth is that executive function can absolutely be improved—those facing EF challenges just need to go about it in an informed way to help new habits and strategies stick. 

Core Skills (Executive Function Basics)

Executive function skills are regulated by the prefrontal cortex—an area at the front of the brain that handles complex cognitive behaviors, including anything from expressing personality and moderating social behaviors to coordinating plans and sustaining attention. 

While there is no universal agreement on the exact number of executive functions, they can generally be broken down into core executive function skills categories, which include:

• Working Memory: The ability to hold and manipulate information in the mind over short periods. This skill allows us to retain information we need for immediate tasks, such as remembering a phone number, following a multi-step recipe, or solving problems in our heads.
• Cognitive Flexibility: The ability to adapt thinking and behavior in response to changing goals or environmental factors. It helps us switch between tasks, consider new perspectives, and adjust to new rules or unexpected situations.
• Impulse Control: The ability to regulate impulses and responses, particularly in situations requiring restraint. This skill helps us pause and think before acting, resist distractions, and avoid behaviors that might lead to negative outcomes.

To appreciate the role that each core skill plays, imagine you’re driving to work when you encounter an unexpected road closure. In order to achieve your goal—getting to work on time— you must draw from your working memory (keeping your work location in mind), cognitive flexibility (identifying the best alternative route), and inhibitory control (managing your frustration). These skills help you adapt and stay on course.

Additional executive function skills branch off from these three core skills and include:

• Emotional Regulation: The ability to manage and respond to emotions in a healthy and constructive way. This skill helps us stay calm under stress, recover from setbacks, and express emotions appropriately, maintaining balanced reactions in challenging situations.
• Focus: The ability to direct and sustain attention on a specific task or activity without becoming distracted. Focus enables us to complete tasks efficiently and avoid wandering thoughts or interruptions that can derail productivity.
• Task Initiation: The ability to begin tasks without unnecessary delay. Task initiation helps us overcome procrastination, allowing us to start projects, assignments, or responsibilities even when they seem overwhelming or unappealing.
• Planning/Prioritization: The ability to set goals, create steps to achieve them, and decide which tasks are most important. This skill helps us organize tasks in a logical order, manage resources, and complete projects on time.
• Organization: The ability to create and maintain order in physical spaces, information, and responsibilities. Organization skills enable us to find items and information easily, arrange belongings logically, and keep track of important details.
• Time Management: The ability to estimate how much time tasks will take, allocate time effectively, and stick to a schedule. Time management skills help us avoid over-committing, meet deadlines, and maintain a balanced workload.
• Goal Setting: The ability to define and pursue achievable objectives, breaking down larger ambitions into manageable steps. Goal setting provides motivation, direction, and a sense of purpose, guiding us through short- and long-term aspirations.

Factors Influencing Executive Function (Basics)

Executive function is dynamic and influenced by various factors throughout our lives. Appreciating these influences helps us understand why executive function skills vary so much, not only from person to person, but within a single individual over a period of time. 

1. Age and Development: Executive function develops gradually, with significant changes occurring throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. In young children, these skills are still emerging, which is why impulsivity and emotional control can be challenging. Adolescents experience a surge in executive function development, particularly in decision-making and impulse control, although these skills aren’t fully matured until the mid-20s. In adulthood, executive function skills are generally strongest, but they can start to decline in older age.
2. Environment: Our environment plays a major role in shaping and challenging our executive function skills. A structured environment, such as a well-organized workspace, can support better focus and task management, while a chaotic environment with constant interruptions can overload our cognitive resources. Additionally, high-stress environments or major life changes can disrupt executive function, making it harder to manage daily responsibilities effectively.
3. Mental Health and Neurodivergence: Conditions such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression, and anxiety can impact executive function in unique ways. For example, people with ADHD often experience difficulties with attention, impulse control, and organization. Neurodivergent individuals may have to work harder to build and maintain executive function skills, and their challenges are often due to differences in brain structure and processing. Mental health conditions can also fluctuate, affecting executive function temporarily during periods of stress or anxiety.
4. Sleep, Nutrition, and Physical Health: Basic health factors play an important role in supporting executive function. Poor sleep, inadequate nutrition, and lack of exercise can all contribute to lapses in focus, memory, and self-control. Proper sleep and nutrition help the brain function optimally, supporting sustained attention, emotional regulation, and other executive function skills.

Practical Tips for Strengthening Executive Function (Basics)

There are a number of strategies and techniques to improve executive functioning, which can support skills such as focus, organization, impulse control, and adaptability, making it easier to manage day-to-day tasks and long-term goals.

1. Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness can improve focus, self-control, and emotional regulation. Techniques like deep breathing, guided meditation, or simply taking a few moments to refocus during the day can help strengthen inhibitory control, making it easier to manage distractions and impulses. In addition, activities like attending storytellings (no visual aids) have been found to improve sustained auditory attention.
2. Organization Tools: Using tools like executive function planners, calendars, to-do lists, and habit trackers can make a huge difference in managing tasks and keeping track of priorities. Digital tools such as task management apps can also help create reminders, set deadlines, and break down large tasks into manageable steps, which supports working memory and planning.
3. Cognitive Exercises: Engaging in activities to challenge the brain—such as puzzles, memory games, or learning new skills—can support executive function by strengthening mental flexibility and working memory. Even simple activities like crosswords, Sudoku, or strategy games can provide a fun workout for the brain.
4. Self-Compassion and Realistic Goal-Setting: It’s important to set realistic goals and practice self-compassion, especially when working on skills that don’t come easily. Recognize that progress takes time and allow yourself to celebrate small victories. This approach fosters resilience and reduces the stress that can sometimes hinder executive function development.
5. Building Healthy Routines: Consistent routines can improve executive function by reducing cognitive load and creating predictable structures. Simple routines like regular wake-up and sleep times, exercise schedules, and meal planning help conserve mental energy, allowing the brain to focus on higher-order tasks.

Concluding Thoughts on Executive Function Basics

If you struggle with executive function, know that you’re not alone and that you are capable of improvement (If you want to see just how common executive dysfunction is, check out this list of 27 clear examples of executive dysfunction).

With a little practice and some trial-and-error, you, too, can improve your quality of life and take steps towards reaching your full potential. Good luck! 

More from the ADHD Executive Function Toolkit:

• Printable executive functioning worksheets
• An executive function planner for adults
• Executive function tools and strategies

References: 

Anderson, Jenny. “The New Must-Have for Overwhelmed Kids: An Executive Function Coach.” The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/the-new-must-have-for-overwhelmed-kids-an-executive-function-coach-13feb5b3. 

Belsky, Gail. What is Executive Function? Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-is-executive-function.

Diamond, A. Ph.D., FRSC, FAPA, FAPS, FSEP. How to Sharpen Executive Functions: Activities to Hone Brain Skills. ADDITUDE. https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-improve-executive-function-adhd/.

Friedman, N.P., Robbins, T.W. The role of prefrontal cortex in cognitive control and executive function. Neuropsychopharmacol. 47, 72–89 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01132-0. 

Shahab Zareyan, Haolu Zhang, Juelu Wang, Weihong Song, Elizabeth Hampson, David Abbott, Adele Diamond, First Demonstration of Double Dissociation between COMT-Met158 and COMT-Val158 Cognitive Performance When Stressed and When Calmer, Cerebral Cortex, Volume 31, Issue 3, March 2021, Pages 1411–1426, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa276

Executive Function & Self-Regulation. Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/.

Goal Setting with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion. SMARTS. https://smarts-ef.org/blog/goal-setting-with-mindfulness-and-self-compassion/.