Happy New Year! Many people use the first part of a new year to revise their goals, reflect on the past year or plan for the upcoming year. For some young adults with executive function (EF) deficits staying on track for a whole year to complete goals seems impossible. It’s not that they don’t want to accomplish their goals; it’s just that they can’t seem to keep themselves on track.
EF skills can be split into cognition and behavior skills.In the cognition (thinking) category there is working memory, planning, prioritizing, organization, productivity (time management) and metacognition. In the behavior (doing) category there is response inhibition, emotional control, sustained attention, task initiation, goal-directed persistence, and flexibility. Having trouble with one or two of these skills would be hard enough but people with diagnoses that affect EF skills usually have trouble with most of them. Making it difficult to navigate life.
So if you are having EF issues, how do you make long-term goals and get through the today to today details to accomplish your goals?
Here is a list of 5 must-haves to accomplish goals no matter what your goal is:
- Support– from family, friends, teachers or anyone else who thinks you have potential. Build a support team around you. People who you have agreements with to take your phone away from you, or are will to be a body double so you to get tasks completed. Support also could include hiring out tasks you can’t get a handle on like laundry, house cleaning or yard work. Or a life coach, therapist or professional organizer.
- Habit-forming– everyone’s brain will always choose to do what it knows and has done over and over again. If that a bad habit, it will be hard to break but it can be done therefore replacing the old bad habit with a new good habit. The best way to form a new habit is to tie it to a well-formed habit. For example, if remembering to take afternoon medication is something you struggle with then tie it to anything you do every afternoon. If you are a student that might be snack time after school, if you are a working adult, maybe afternoon coffee or right before or after picking up the kids from school.
- Fun– Yep! That’s right. If it is not fun you probably have an issue with task initiation. Novelty is the key. Make everything you can into a game or a competition to motivate yourself to complete the most mundane tasks to reach your goals. Can you get a better grade than your friends in a friendly competition? How fast can you do the dishes?
- Downtime– take the time to recharge by doing something you enjoy, plan a time by putting in your calendar.
- Technology– Technology often gets a bad rap. Some people are easily distracted by technology but there are apps and software that can make live easier. There are calendars, note taking apps, to-do list apps, timers, alarm clock for those who have a hard time getting up, voice to type, audio books, Livescribe pens, RE-vibe bands and media blockers so much more. Learn to use technology to your advantage.
Good luck in reaching your goals!
