“THE SECRET OF GETTING AHEAD IS GETTING STARTED ”
MARK TWAIN
BECOME
WHO YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE
Executive Functions and Why They Rule Our Lives
While not an exhaustive list, these EF skills are often the most important and, when lacking, the most disruptive.
They're all related and can overlap and compound each other, making life exponentially easier and more functional when working well together, but more difficult and chaotic when dis-functioning together.
People experience varying degrees of challenge among EF skills; few have the exact same mix.
If you find this list overwhelming, you don't have to go it alone!
The good news is that Pareto Principle applies quite well to executive functions. The Pareto Principle (a.k.a. the 80/20 Rule) dictates that for many outcomes roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Or said another way, the vast majority of benefit is had by identifying and working on the most centrally important aspects of a problem. By identifying and working together on those critically lacking skills that create the most disruption in your life, much of the rest can and will improve.
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Initiation - The ability to overcome internal resistance and avoidance that make up procrastination for tasks that aren’t immediately interesting, fun or novel.
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Working Memory - The ability to hold thoughts and important details in mind while engaged. The ability to recall them at the right time.
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Emotional Regulation - The ability to sense one's emotions in real time and not over/under react to overwhelm, stimuli, boredom, etc.
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Planning - The ability (and willingness) to make decisions in advance.
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Inhibition - The ability to block distracting external noise and internal thoughts.
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Impulse Control - The ability to pause and look before leaping, to think before speaking or acting.
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Self-Monitoring - The ability to observe oneself; to be aware of how you’re doing, what you’re doing and how long you’ve been doing it.
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Self-Guiding - The ability to intentionally direct your energy and action in a calm and conscious way. Conversely, also the ability to break hyper-focus.
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Attention Stability – The ability to sustain and shift mental attention at will, especially for those things that aren't immediately interesting, fun or novel.
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Organization – The ability to put thoughts and materials in order, to prioritize and store things in a way that they can be found when needed.
The Process
1
The Free Consultation
This is NOT a sales call!
We treat every consultation as an information session. Our aim is to listen and give some insight into your EF challenges, what might be your best course of action, what coaching is (and isn't) and whether our services and you're needs are a good match.
2
The Assessment
This is where we really get to know you and the nature of your challenges in all their different dimensions. We also take a look at your potential strengths and the things in your life that you may be doing pretty well, things we may be able to build upon. The idea is to get a comprehensive picture of you in your world and how, together, we can identify your most troublesome areas and begin to untangle the knot.
3
The Initial Goal-Discovery Session
Armed with the assessments we can now start to come up with a real action plan. Perhaps you already have a pretty solid idea of what you want to tackle first, maybe you have no idea, and maybe there's some underlying aspect of your EF challenges that you hadn't realized might be the key to several of them. This is where we talk it out, get S.M.A.R.T. of course, and lay out the very concrete steps towards your goals. You'll also be provided with online access to session notes and goal so you can always reference where you are and where you're going.
4
Let's Get to Work!
We'll meet once weekly, either in office or via Zoom to see how you're progressing. Yes, we're you're accountability partner, keeping track of your progress, but we also help you to see problems from new angles, break down overwhelming obstacles, celebrate victories large and small, and help you establish some of that precious momentum that can be so hard to find when creating new habits and enacting major life changes solo.
5
Continuous Assessment, Adjustment & Wind-Down
As you progress, goals with be achieved and replaced, others will need to be modified and reassessed, but eventually it's our goal to get you to the place where, frankly, you no longer need us. We'll be here, of course, should you continue to need us but our goals are truly aligned in that success is defined by how well you're able to live your life intentionally, with reasonable confidence and a sense of self determination.
From the Vlog
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The ADHD Catch-22
Do I Really Need a Coach?
Contact Us
You Can EITHER book a consultation call here:
Or if you have any a question that is better answered by email you can use this form. Response time is typically within one business day.
PHONE
201-397-3657
ADDRESS
140 County Rd., Suite 113
Tenafly NJ 07670