How to Increase Motivation With ADHD: 10 Tips From Treatment Experts
"My kid has ADHD and I can't seem to get them to do anything without constant re...
"My kid has ADHD and I can't seem to get them to do anything without constant re...
Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity...
Flying off the handle. Flipping your lid. Melting down. Any way you say it, when...
Oct 17, 2014
Executive Function skills are self-management skills that help us achieve goals. It’s how we manage our emotions and attention, organize and plan our work and time, and reflect upon and revise our tactics as circumstances change. These skills are critical for meeting the challenges of school demands and later, as an adult, our professional and personal lives.
Essentially, Executive Function skills help us be productive. And that’s the distinction between Executive Function skills and intellect. A person with a high IQ can be capable of understanding or discussing complex concepts, but be nearly incapable of producing an essay, completing a set of problems, or finishing a research paper. Why? It’s not because he isn’t smart enough, it’s because he can’t effectively marshall his efforts toward a specific end result.
Think of IQ as the engine in a car and Executive Function skills as the oil, fuel, belts and hoses that make it run effectively. That perfectly restored 1969 Pontiac GTO with a 330 horsepower engine has plenty of potential to cruise down the highway on a sunny Saturday, but see how far you get with faulty spark plug wires.
When it's a student who is not running on all cylinders, there could be many potential reasons for that ineffectiveness. Let’s explore a few possibilities.
Maybe it’s attention-related. She gets distracted, then hyper focused on 20 other cool topics when she sits down to gather relevant research for a paper. Before you know it, 4 hours have elapsed and no notecards have been completed, and that outline is way behind schedule.
Maybe it’s related to emotional regulation, our ability to maintain an even keel in the face of frustration or boredom. Perhaps he really hates the assignment, thinks it’s stupid, and is angry at the teacher for imposing the task. He may find reasons to delay getting started, or rationalize avoiding it altogether. It’s not that he doesn’t understand the material, it’s his emotional reaction to the task demands that forms the barrier to productivity here.
Maybe it’s organization that’s the issue. If a student has trouble pulling together information and then imposing a structure on it, she is sacrificing productivity. With an essay, for example, organization pertains to what to include in an introduction, how to use your thesis to guide how you construct your body paragraphs, and how to write a conclusion that both summarizes the evidence and then takes it to the next level. That bright student may have all the information accurately in her head, but if she lacks a method to get those ideas cohesively in written form, there’s no product to pass in to the teacher.
Maybe a bright student is ineffective because he can’t manage his time or prioritize his efforts. He may stay up until midnight perfecting a single low-stakes assignment, leaving untouched the others that influence his grade far more. Or he may grossly underestimate how long an assignment will take, play video games until 11:00pm and then realize that the physics lab report due the next day is way more complicated and time consuming than he had imagined.
Now you see why we, as Executive Function coaches, don’t put our emphasis on being “smart.” Pure intellect doesn’t equal productivity. Sustained attention and effort, mindful choices about how to use time, and the ability to tolerate sometimes unpleasant tasks are the key ingredients for being a productive student.
Now it's time to tune-up that engine. Do you have a bright child who is struggling in school? Click below to find out more about how Executive Function coaching can help.
photo credit: FreeWine via photopin cc
Jackie Stachel is the Director of Communications for Beyond BookSmart. She joined the company in 2010 and is based in our Boston branch. Jackie leads Executive Function presentations for parent groups throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Additionally, Jackie manages our You Tube channel as well as our company blog content through editing submissions, writing articles, and collaborating with professionals from outside Beyond BookSmart to create useful, informative content. Finally, Jackie coaches students supporting them in learning and developing Executive Functioning strategies.
Flying off the handle. Flipping your lid. Melting down. Any way you say it, when emotions get out of control, it’s hard for everyone involved - especi...
New sneakers, fresh binders, and the latest model backpack. Typical must-haves for the first day of school, right? As exciting as it is for the return...
Editor's note: This article has been reviewed and verified for accuracy by Theresa Cerulli, MD., a nationally certified neuropsychiatrist with over 20...
Executive function coaching for students online throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Copyright © 2021 Beyond BookSmart, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
We will connect with you as soon as possible.
Comments