My Brain is a Messy Desk: 7 Executive Functioning Hacks from Someone Who Actually Gets It

If this image feels familiar, you're in the right place. This isn't a moral failing; it's an executive functioning challenge.

If you wanted to understand my brain as a child, you only needed to look at my desk: papers crumpled inside, pencil shavings scattered about (yes, I know I'm dating myself), and crayons (often 2 of one color and missing another) in disarray. Meanwhile, I was typically gazing out the window, subconsciously whistling whatever song was stuck in my head. I was the student who, after the teacher gave detailed instructions for a group project, would turn to my team and ask, “So, what are we doing?”

These moments weren't a sign of a bad student; they were my first encounters with the profound gap that can exist between intention and action. It’s the chasm between knowing you need to pay attention and your brain’s ability to actually do it. If this resonates with you, you’ve likely encountered the standard advice—"use a planner," "avoid distractions," "just get started"—and found it insufficient for a brain that operates differently.

So, let's change the conversation. This article is about moving beyond generic tips to explore actionable strategies grounded in real-world experience. These are the methods I have personally developed and professionally refined to help navigate the daily challenges of executive functioning. They are designed to help you work with your neurobiology, not against it. Here are seven professional strategies for enhancing your executive functioning.

Strategy 1: The "Just One" Principle to Lower Activation Energy

The Challenge: A task, like a sink full of dishes or an inbox of unread emails, feels so large that the "activation energy" required to start is insurmountably high. This leads to avoidance.

The Strategy: Radically lower the barrier to entry. Commit to doing the smallest possible unit of the task. Wash one dish. Answer one email. Pick up one item of clothing. You are then free to walk away.

The Psychology: This principle isn't about tricking yourself; it's about momentum. The most difficult part of any task is the initiation. By making the first step minuscule, you bypass the brain's threat response to overwhelm. I can't count the number of times I've used this technique, genuinely giving myself permission to stop after one task, only to end up completing the entire thing. More often than not, once the inertia is broken, continuing feels significantly easier.

For those who struggle with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)—also understood as a Pervasive Drive for Autonomy—this strategy is especially powerful. You are essentially reframing the task from a high-stakes demand ("Clean the entire kitchen") to a low-stakes choice ("Can I wash just one dish?"). This subtle shift can prevent the activation of the nervous system's threat response, preserving your essential sense of autonomy.

Strategy 2: Externalize Your Working Memory

The Challenge: The brain's working memory is like a computer's RAM—it has a limited capacity. For those with executive functioning challenges, this capacity can feel especially fleeting. Relying on it to store reminders, ideas, and to-dos is an unreliable system.

The Strategy: I learned this lesson the hard way. As a college freshman, it became a running joke among my friends (and likely others) how often I could be seen sprinting to the campus bus in mismatched pajamas, late to class. My internal clock and memory simply couldn't be trusted. It was during that first year that I discovered a non-negotiable tool for my success: a large, visual calendar hanging on my wall where I could see my entire week at a glance.

That college calendar taught me a lesson I still live by, even in a digital world. While most people use their phones, I still stick with paper. Why? Possibly because I'm old, but also because paper cannot disappear into thin air like my digital calendar once did! There is something about seeing an entire week in a medium larger than a phone screen that is immensely helpful for a visual brain.

Over the years, I’ve perfected this into a system. Here’s how it works:

• Be Deliberate About Your Planner. I am very picky. My planner must show the week at a glance, with each day in its own column. Most importantly, it needs a dedicated column for "Notes."

  
  

• The "Notes" Column is Your To-Do List. This is the key. Everything, and I mean everything, gets written on this list for the week. Once a task is completed, I get the satisfying reward of crossing it off in pen.

  
  

• Rewrite and Reinforce. Any task not accomplished that week gets carried over and physically re-written on the next week's list. This isn't a punishment; it's a feature. The act of rewriting carves the task into your long-term memory, making it harder to forget.

  
  

But externalizing your memory isn't just about planners; it's about shaping your physical environment to do the remembering for you. I use this principle of creating unmissable external cues daily. For example, I have my water delivered, and they text me a reminder the day before. The moment I receive that text, I immediately gather the empty bottles and place them directly in front of my front door. That way, the task isn't stored in my memory; it's physically embedded in my environment, impossible to ignore.

These strategies all serve one core principle: Stop treating your brain as a storage device and start using it as a processor. Create a trusted, external system to hold information.

Here are a few other essential tools for your toolkit:

• The Digital "Unread" Button: This is a non-negotiable rule. Anytime you read an email or text that requires action but you cannot respond at that moment, immediately mark it as unread. This simple action transforms your inbox from a source of anxiety into a reliable to-do list, offloading the "don't forget" task from your working memory.

  
  

• The Immediate Capture: For urgent, in-the-moment needs when your other systems aren't available, write on your hand! It’s a temporary but foolproof method you cannot misplace.

  
  

Strategy 3: Overcoming "All-or-Nothing" Thinking

The Challenge: A common cognitive trap is the belief that a task must be done completely or not at all. A home must be perfectly clean, or it's a disaster. A project must be finished in one sitting, or there's no point in starting. This perfectionism leads to paralysis.

The Strategy: Re-wire this cognitive pattern through consistent, incremental progress. Instead of scheduling a four-hour cleaning session, commit to one five-minute cleaning task daily. Wipe down the kitchen counters. Take out the recycling. Over a week, these small efforts compound into significant results, proving that progress can be gradual and sustainable. This creates a powerful positive feedback loop. Your brain starts to associate these small, consistent actions with the immediate reward of reduced overwhelm, and that feeling of relief becomes the motivation to continue.

Strategy 4: Prioritize by Impact to Reduce Overwhelm

The Challenge: When faced with a chaotic environment or a long to-do list, the sheer volume of stimuli can cause cognitive overwhelm, making it impossible to decide where to begin.

The Strategy: Ask yourself one question: "What single action will make the biggest positive impact on my environment or mental state right now?" This often means addressing the primary source of visual or mental clutter—the pile of mail on the counter, the overflowing trash can, the most pressing unanswered email. By neutralizing the most significant stressor first, you immediately lower the overall sense of overwhelm, making subsequent tasks feel more manageable.

Strategy 5: Leverage Motivational Waves

The Challenge: We often try to force ourselves to do non-urgent but desired tasks (like organizing a closet) when we have low motivation, leading to frustration and negative associations with the task itself.

The Strategy: Differentiate between tasks that are deadline-driven and those that are aspiration-driven. For aspirational tasks, wait for a natural wave of motivation or a burst of energy. When this state-dependent productivity arrives, leverage it. By engaging with the task when you feel genuinely inclined, you build positive neural associations, making you more likely to enjoy and repeat the activity in the future.

Strategy 6: Practice Strategic Acceptance

The Challenge: We expend enormous amounts of mental and emotional energy fighting our own limitations on low-capacity days, leading to guilt and burnout.

The Strategy: On days when you "just can't," give yourself permission to stop fighting. This is not giving up; it is a strategic conservation of energy. Acknowledge that you have an emotional and functional threshold. Allowing things to be messy or undone until you cross that threshold—the point where you become sufficiently motivated by the discomfort—is a valid and often necessary self-regulation technique.

Strategy 7: Reframe Procrastination as "Pressure-Prompted" Focus

The Challenge: The guilt associated with procrastinating on a major project often ruins the very downtime it creates, leading to a state of being neither productive nor restful.

The Strategy: Honestly assess your working style. If you consistently produce high-quality work under the pressure of a deadline, it's time to accept that as your unique productivity rhythm. Reframe it. You are not procrastinating; you are allowing for the conditions required for your brain to achieve hyperfocus. Make a conscious decision: "I will complete this project on X date. Until then, I am officially not working on it." This allows you to enjoy your downtime guilt-free, knowing the work will get done when your brain is primed for it.

From Awareness to Action

Navigating the world with executive functioning challenges is not about forcing conformity to neurotypical standards. It is about developing a personalized toolkit of compassionate and effective strategies. It begins with understanding your brain and giving it the support it needs to thrive.

To help you implement these strategies, I am currently developing The Executive Functioning Survival Kit, an interactive workbook with trackers and worksheets designed to help you turn these principles into practice.

This workbook will be completely free. To get it delivered directly to your inbox the moment it's ready, sign up for my newsletter below. You'll also receive more practical strategies just like the ones in this article.

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