Executive Functions
What Is Executive Function Coaching?
Executive functions are the brain’s management tools - skills like prioritising, planning, managing time, switching focus, and completing tasks.
When these skills aren’t working as well as they could, life can feel chaotic and frustrating.
My coaching helps you:
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Understand how your brain works
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Understand your executive function strengths & deficits
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Build practical strategies that fit your real life
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Improve focus, motivation, and consistency
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Understand how to set goals
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Develop routines and systems that actually stick
It’s supportive, personalised, and solution-focused. Not therapy. Not one-size-fits-all advice.
There are 11 executive function skills:
What it is: How we figure out what needs to be done and when. Being able to break a goal into manageable steps and create a clear path to achieving it.
Why it matters: feeling less overwhelmed, supports time management, and helps achieve goals.
How challenges may present: struggling to start and complete tasks, avoiding long-term goals and not allocating time effectively.
Planning
What it is: How we arrange things to make life easier. The ability to have systems which keep track of information and materials.
Why it matters: Helps to reduce stress, saves time, and supports independence at school, work, and at home.
How challenges may present: Disorganised personal belongings, frequent lost items, missed appointments or deadlines, or struggling to keep spaces or thoughts in order.
Organisation
What it is: Using our time well and staying on track. The ability to judge how long tasks will take and use time effectively.
Why it matters: Helps to meet deadlines, balance responsibilities, and reduce panic last minute stress.
How challenges may present: Having little sense of urgency, running late or out of time, struggling to prioritise and underestimating how long things take.
Time Management
What it is: The ability to hold and use information in your mind while doing a task or make links with prior learning.
Why it matters: Supports learning and helps when following multi-step instructions.
How challenges may present: Instructions forgotten and need repeating.
Working Memory
What it is: How we get started on tasks without undue procrastination.
Why it matters: Reduced task anxiety and starting tasks easily and in a timely fashion.
How challenges may present: Trouble starting tasks, feeling overwhelmed and leaving to the last minute.
Task Initiation
What it is: The ability to manage emotions appropriately when responding to situations.
Why it matters: Supports resilience and healthy relationships and enables calm decision making.
How challenges may present: Overreacting, difficulty calming down and avoiding tasks.
Emotional Regulation
What it is: How we respond when life around us changes. Being able to switch between tasks, adapt to new situations, or changes to plans.
Why it matters: Helps to cope with change, solve problems creatively, and tackle day to day life more easily.
How challenges may present: Stuck on one way of doing things, feeling upset or angry when plans change and finding shifting focus difficult.
Flexibility
What it is: Our drive to achieve goals. Being able to stay focused on a goal, even when it’s challenging.
Why it matters: Sense of achievement and motivation.
How challenges may present: Giving up easily, losing interest quickly, or struggling to stay motivated.
Goal-Directed Resistance
What it is: Focussing and not being distracted
Why it matters: Helps us to stay on task
How challenges may present: Struggling or not finishing tasks, easily distracted and losing focus.
Sustained Attention
What it is: Being able to think before you act. The ability to pause and consider the impact of our response.
Why it matters: Supports impulse control, giving time to consider decision-making, and aids respectful interactions.
How challenges may present: Interrupting, acting without thinking.
Response Inhibition
What it is: To know and understand how you think and learn. To know your strengths and weaknesses.
Why it matters: Supports self-awareness and empowers independent learning and reflection.
How challenges may present: Not knowing what is best for you, repeating mistakes.
Metacognition
What our clients say...
"Jo's support has been transformative. My daughter has moved from 'can't do it ' to having a go with confidence. Jo is down to earth, supportive and committed. We can't recommend her highly enough."
Parent