What Actually Works for My Brain

Executive function — starting tasks, holding a plan in mind, managing time — isn't about willpower or laziness. It's neurological, and it gets harder under stress, overload, and burnout. The way through isn't trying harder; it's finding the outside supports that fit your particular brain, and keeping track of what works.

Externalize, don't memorize: The single most-backed strategy is to move things out of your head and into the world where you can see them — lists, timers, sticky notes, a note to your future self. If you have to remember it, it's already at risk.

Part 1 — The strategy log

Over the next while, log strategies as you try them. Be honest about what flopped — a strategy that didn't work is useful data, not a personal failure. (The first row is an example.)

Example — Strategy I tried: Phone timer for transitions · What I used it for: Stopping a task before I lose the whole evening · Did it help? (yes / sort of / no): Sort of — I ignored it twice · Keep, tweak, or drop?: Tweak: add a second, louder alarm

Row 2

• Strategy I tried: ____________________
• What I used it for: ____________________
• Did it help? (yes / sort of / no): ____________________
• Keep, tweak, or drop?: ____________________

Row 3

• Strategy I tried: ____________________
• What I used it for: ____________________
• Did it help? (yes / sort of / no): ____________________
• Keep, tweak, or drop?: ____________________

Row 4

• Strategy I tried: ____________________
• What I used it for: ____________________
• Did it help? (yes / sort of / no): ____________________
• Keep, tweak, or drop?: ____________________

Row 5

• Strategy I tried: ____________________
• What I used it for: ____________________
• Did it help? (yes / sort of / no): ____________________
• Keep, tweak, or drop?: ____________________

Other strategies I want to remember (in case the table fills up):

______________________________________________

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Part 2 — Build your toolkit

From what's worked, pick the supports worth making permanent. Tick the ones you want to set up.

• [ ] A whiteboard or visual dashboard I can see (not buried in an app)
• [ ] Sticky notes placed where I'll actually look
• [ ] Phone timers and alarms for starting and stopping
• [ ] Body doubling — working alongside someone, in person or on a call
• [ ] Breaking tasks into the smallest possible next step
• [ ] A capture-anywhere habit (notes app, shower notes, voice memos)
• [ ] A visual or analog timer so time feels real
• [ ] A brain dump on paper to clear the mental clutter
• [ ] Planning backward from the deadline

My top 3 supports to set up this week:

______________________________________________

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Part 3 — A note to future me

Write instructions for the version of you who's overwhelmed and can't think where to start. Be kind and specific.

When I'm stuck, here's what past-me wants me to do first:

______________________________________________

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Your brain isn't broken: These differences are real and they intensify under stress and burnout. If everything has felt impossible lately, that may be burnout rather than a strategy problem — the answer there is fewer demands and more support, not a better to-do list.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Executive Function and the Mental Load, from The Autistic Woman. Why 'simple things' are hard: autistic inertia, working memory, time blindness — and the gendered mental load.
• Your ADHD Operating Manual, from The Adult ADHD Course. The capstone of the Adult ADHD Course: turn everything into one personal page — your strengths, watch-outs, tools, people, and a one-line reminder.
• Systems, Habits, and Self-Compassion, from The Adult ADHD Course. How to make self-compassion the engine that keeps your habits and systems running.