Executive Functioning
3/25/26 | By: Emily Jeffers
“Executive functioning” ... what is it?
Executive functioning refers to your brain’s ability to perform and manage skills that you use everyday, to manage all aspects of your life. These include planning, feeling, remembering, focusing, and more. The executive functions are thought to develop at different times throughout your life as your brain develops, and they are divided into different skills. Most sources agree on what the main executive functioning skills are, but sometimes they vary in both name and their classification as a “main” skill. The most frequently named executive functions are working memory, inhibition, and set shifting (or cognitive flexibility). When working properly, and working together, these functions help people engage in their tasks of daily living.
Executive functions use multiple parts of the brain (although primarily the prefrontal cortex), and everybody has them. However, not everyone experiences executive dysfunction, which can arise when any of these parts of the brain (including their white matter or neurotransmitters) are injured or affected. There are many possible causes for dysfunction in these areas that can include, but are not limited to disorders and diseases such as Parkinson's disease; Alzheimer’s disease; Dementia; Depression; Tourette Syndrome; Multiple Sclerosis; ADHD; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Schizophrenia; brain injuries or brain tumors; Dyslexia; certain genetic conditions; and more. Additionally, certain brain surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy may also be causes of executive dysfunction.
There are certain neuropsychological tests that can be done to assess a person’s executive functioning. Frequently these tests are completed as part of psychological testing or a neuropsychological evaluation. If you think that you or a loved one may be struggling with executive dysfunction, it is best to contact a practitioner who can help you explore this further by providing you with more information and conducting helpful tests.
What are the Main Parts of Executive Functioning?
Working Memory
Working memory is what helps you learn, understand, and retain information. It helps us absorb new information and then use it, change it, or integrate it into what we already know. This executive skill is thought to begin developing in childhood and continue to develop throughout our lives until we reach our early-mid thirties. An example of working memory would be when you talk on the phone with a family member or friend to hear about something new in their life, you absorb that information and relate it to what they told you about their life the previous day, or week. This may also look like remembering a code that was emailed or texted to you as part of logging into an account online. We use this part of our minds to remember information, understand its meaning, and make plans or decisions. Dysfunction with working memory may look like easily forgetting things, like that code from your email or what date your friend said they’re available.This can make it difficult to organize all of the information needed for the decisions or plans we’ve made.
Inhibition (Control)
Inhibition, or inhibition control, refers to our self-control. It is our ability to hold back, to think before we act, manage our reactions (to thoughts, emotions, and events), and consider outcomes. This executive skill is thought to begin developing in infancy and continue developing into one’s 60’s. Inhibition helps us ignore irrelevant parts of our environment and focus on the main task at hand. An example of this is when you are out at a noisy restaurant, you block out the noisy background while you talk with your dinner partner. Additionally, inhibition helps us control our emotions, so if your dinner partner upsets you, this is the part of your brain that keeps you from starting to yell in the restaurant. Dysfunction with inhibition can look like somebody getting easily distracted (maybe trying to figure out the song that the restaurant is playing because you recognize it, instead of listening to your partner), or making choices/reacting without thinking about them first (becoming so angry that you just decide to leave the restaurant, only to get outside and find out that your partner has the keys, and you left your purse/wallet and your phone on the table). Dysfunction with inhibition makes it really difficult for people to focus on specific tasks, consider outcomes, and even manage emotions.
Set Shifting or Cognitive Flexibility
Set shifting, or cognitive flexibility, is a person’s ability to adapt to changes in their environment. It is thought that this skill begins developing around age 3, and stops developing somewhere between ages 12-29, depending on the research. Set shifting utilizes both working memory and response inhibition in its functions because it relies on the brain being able to keep track of current goals and to ignore stimuli that are no longer an important part of the task at hand. Examples of this include when you are attempting to multitask; such as when you are making dinner but still answering a question from your spouse or child, when you have to find a new route to work due to construction you did not expect, or even switching between emotions when you try to empathize with someone else. Dysfunction in this area can result in rigid or inflexible thinking (such as the inability to find new solutions to a problem, or inability to change plans), create difficulties adapting to changes in someone’s environment (sometimes even emotional changes), and possibly difficulties relating to others.
Symptoms of executive dysfunction:
Now that we’ve covered what executive functioning actually means, and what those “functions” are, we can apply them to a few real-world examples. The following is a list of some common areas of everyday life that are affected by executive dysfunction and descriptions of what that may look like.
Planning and Organization: often this shows up as difficulties organizing activities or planning ahead, struggles with prioritizing or ordering tasks, difficulties following schedules, and struggles keeping belongings organized.
Cognition and Memory: this looks like often losing important things (your keys, wallet, phone, homework, etc.), forgetting important information (dates, times, instructions, sometimes even conversations), difficulties moving on from one task to the next, struggles with multitasking, and struggling with rigid and inflexible thinking.
Time management: this symptom presentation is pretty straightforward - difficulties meeting deadlines, arriving late (to appointments, work, meetings, social events), and difficulty motivating yourself to complete tasks or frequently procrastinating.
Impulsivity: while this may look like acting before thinking, making poor decisions because you didn’t consider the outcomes, or taking more risks, this can also show up as difficulties waiting your turn, interrupting other people (while they’re speaking or while they’re engaged in another task), struggling with being patient, and blurting things out (answers to questions, comments while someone else is speaking, sometimes even thoughts that are best kept in our own heads).
Emotional dysregulation: this encompasses difficulties regulating emotions, but also difficulties controlling and even processing/understanding your emotions; this can also look like poor or inappropriate reactions to anger, irritation, frustration, and annoyance as well as having a hard time managing stress or anxiety.
So what now?
To summarize the above information, everybody has executive functioning. Executive functions are responsible for much of how people manage their actions, emotions, and their thoughts. This extends to many areas of life including planning and organizing; cognitive and/or memory function; time management; impulsivity; even emotional regulation.
Executive dysfunction can impact how we relate to others, our environments, and even how we understand ourselves. Often labels like “executive dysfunction” or “executive functioning disorder” may be used to describe these difficulties, but it is important to note that neither of these labels are an actual diagnosis. Executive dysfunction is not its own disorder, but typically a component of a different disorder. There are many diagnoses that could have symptoms of executive dysfunction, including mental health diagnoses like ADHD or depression.
If you believe that you are experiencing executive dysfunction, it is best to reach out to a medical or mental health provider to discuss your concerns and the next steps. However, in the meantime, there are some things you can do to try and help improve your executive functioning. A few ideas include typical organization and memory strategies:
Try to build and keep a daily routine
Set alarms and/or reminders for important events or deadlines
Keep an updated calendar, planner, or similar system to keep track of important events and dates
Make a to-do list in an easy to access area (your phone, a notepad/whiteboard on the refrigerator)
Use your phone’s notes app or a notepad to jot down thoughts and ideas to come back to later
Break down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable ones
Make specific spots in your home to keep your important belongings consistently in one, easy to remember place
Practice mindfulness or meditation
Exercise your executive skills by engaging in low stakes tasks that require their use (a sports game with friends, a phone call while going on a walk or cleaning)
Resources used:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4455841/
https://add.org/executive-function-disorder/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/executive-function
https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/executive-function