Photo by Brett Jordan
Have you heard of executive functions? No, I’m not talking about black-tie galas. I’m talking about the management staff of the brain, which keep your thoughts and emotions and impulses in line. One leading researcher described executive functioning as “the ability to plan and carry out many day-to-day tasks.” This same researcher, Thomas Brown, PhD, has identified six main “clusters” of executive functions.
The first cluster, Activation, has to do with organizing tasks and materials, prioritizing tasks, estimating the time required and getting started on the work. (from an article by Julia Solarz, MA, here)
Great googly moogly! That has “Lori” written all over it.
Brown acknowledges that everyone has executive function issues at some point, but that in some people, deficits severely inhibit their ability to act in an organized and efficient manner.
Organized and efficient… efficient and organized… It’s what I have always dreamed of. It’s Patti. It’s Deb. It’s Nicole. Why are so many of my friends efficient and organized? I guess opposites really do attract!
What about you? Are you efficient and organized, or inefficient and disorganized? Do you “work better under pressure” (or only work under pressure)? Do you need to schedule a party to get your house cleaned up? (I’m getting past that stage, finally, as long as people stay on the main floor and give me 15 minutes notice before they come over.)
- {Procrastination} released: Still plowing through the papers for the Getting Things Done Master Task List. You can see half the floor of my office!
