Executive Dysfunction Workbook

I created the Executive Dysfunction worksheets because it is something I've struggled with since I became an adult and probably even before that. When I wrote about it in 2019, I called it the Impossible Task. An Impossible Task is a task that feels hard to do even though logically you know it isn't. The time and energy you take obsessing about it, planning it, thinking about it, worrying over it, beating yourself up for not doing it - takes longer than it does to do it.

Now we have a word for that - Executive Dysfunction. When we talk about executive function we mean a series of steps your brain takes to get something done.

Things like task initiation - being able to start a task without being asked. Organization - having everything you need to do a task. Time management - knowing how much time a task will take. Working memory - remembering all of the elements of what you're supposed to do.

If our brain struggles with one of these things it throws the whole system off and then we struggle to do things that look simple on paper.

I created the executive dysfunction worksheets to break it down in an easy-to-understand way and also give you tools and ideas that might help you find a way around the things that you struggle with!

The executive dysfunction worksheets are a bit planner focused which I can understand might not be your thing BUT I tried to showcase several different planner types, so hopefully, you'll find one that works for you!

What's Inside the Worksheet Packet!
- What's in the Executive Dysfunction Workbook?
- A 48-Page PDF (with a black and white version for easy printing and a WINZIP file of single PDF pages)
- What Executive Function and Executive Dysfunction look like
- Why Executive Dysfunction is not procrastination
- You Are Not Lazy
- A detailed breakdown of all 8 aspects of Executive Dysfunction, what they look like, and tips that might help you manage them
- Journaling prompts for each dysfunction to help you flesh out your feelings and experiences
- Other factors that factor in like time-blindness, anxiety, depression, and chronic illness
- A big list of 36 tips that might help
- Analyzing which aspects you have trouble with
- Focusing on what works for you
- Make a detailed plan for a task you're struggling with
- Make a list of appointments, phone calls, projects, and tasks you've been putting off
- List your 'Avoidables' boxes, bins, bags, and baskets that you avoid going through
- Several planning templates that switch from planning your month by splitting up tasks, planning one week at a time, one day at a time by the hour, time blocking, time boxing, and deadline focusing
- A template for focusing only on the next step or the first step
- A template for creating a reward system

This is a digital file that you can print from your home computer or have professionally printed. Nothing will be sent to your home. You can fill this in digitally (using Adobe Reader, Xodo, or Goodnotes) or you can print it out from your home computer - whichever works best for you!