Executive function · 5 min · Clinically established
Executive function, explained
Executive functions are the brain's management skills — planning, starting, switching, remembering what you were doing. ADHD often makes these harder.
Executive functions include working memory, planning, organising, starting tasks, shifting between tasks and monitoring yourself.
Difficulties here are commonly described in ADHD. They explain why 'just do it' advice rarely helps: knowing what to do and being able to start doing it are different things.
Useful supports tend to move information out of your head and into the world — lists, timers, visual cues, body doubling — rather than relying on memory or motivation.
Quick check
Which strategy works with executive function rather than against it?