Re-entry anxiety is real, especially for neurodivergent adults. Discover how buffer days can protect your executive function and make travel truly restorative.

If you struggle with resistance, it’s not because you’re lazy, broken, or destined for mediocracy. It’s because no one ever taught you how to befriend resistance.

It’s nearly impossible to estimate how long something will take for two reasons. First, we fall victim to the planning fallacy–our tendency to underestimate time, cost, and effort, even when past experiences prove otherwise. Then, we forget to consider unpredictable obstacles like

In reflection, I’ve realized how low my confidence and self-esteem were in high school. A large part of that was because I constantly played a mental game I could never win. Every day, it chipped away at my self-esteem.

A dopamine menu is a list of activities that give you a healthy boost of dopamine (that’s the brain chemical that fuels motivation, energy, and focus). It's something I build with my adult executive function coaching clients.

Task batching means grouping similar tasks together and completing them in a dedicated block of time. Instead of replying to one email, starting a project, then bouncing back to Slack, you batch tasks into categories and handle them all at once.

The reason many neurodivergent adults "come alive" and become productive right before a deadline isn’t about laziness or incompetence. It’s tied to gaps in executive function—specifically, task initiation.

Feedback is about a task, not your worth as a person. If you have ADHD or autism, rejection sensitivity can make it feel unbearable. But when you notice it, use a calming strategy, and untangle the story, feedback becomes an opportunity to grow rather than a trigger to spiral After a few failed attempts, I devised a system that offloads the cognitive load of remembering to follow up using the snooze feature.

If you’re autistic or have ADHD, you probably know how precious your mental energy is. And, trying to remember to follow up on important emails only overloads it.  After a few failed attempts, I devised a system that offloads the cognitive load of remembering to follow up using the snooze feature.

Our brains love to catastrophize boring tasks. I was convinced cleaning my van would take two hours. It only took 31 minutes. The question that got me started is the same one that can break your procrastination cycle.

What if bouncing from one system to another, depending on the day, week, or season of life, was the best strategy to improve executive function skills for adults?

My client Dave was having the same thoughts. After months of nailing his morning routine and nailing deadlines at work, he lost steam. But in just one week, we got him back on track, proving he can be resilient.

After waiting for what felt like 30 minutes, she was finally at the checkout. The line behind her was long and restless. She swiped the card. Declined. Her face got hot. Eyes behind her started to shift. Her heart pounded. Hadn’t she just paid it off? Maybe? Her ADHD brain was spinning, too overstimulated and embarrassed to think clearly. That moment became her turning point. She realized her spending wasn’t just “bad habits.” It was executive dysfunction.

If you're in the cycle of setting big goals but never making serious progress, it’s not because you’re lazy or incapable. It's because the way you’re setting goals doesn’t work with your neurodivergent brain.

And after publishing my 100th post, I hit 1,000 subscribers (woohoo!). But honestly, the real win isn’t the number. It’s what I’ve learned about executive function, consistency, and follow-through.

The task avalanche is all the stuff that you suddenly feel the need to do at the very last minute. It’s always unplanned, stressful, and often makes us late. This experience is incredibly common for neurodivergent adults, especially those with ADHD who face executive function gaps.

But that all changed when I learned about implementation intentions. See, cognitive flexibility is a skill. Implementation intentions are how you build it. Now, I teach this strategy to all of my clients.

Even though we were all clearly into the same thing, I found myself frozen. I know how to start conversations. I have a toolbox of openers, bridges, and even strategies to manage social anxiety. But in that moment, none of them came out…classic executive function shutdown.

A few years ago, I was convinced that I could become a part-time photographer. But by month two, that camera was collecting dust. Not broken. Not returned. Just abandoned. Many of us with executive function challenges are too familiar with this painful cycle. This month, I’m making a change. I will spend 10 minutes, each Friday, reflecting. I’m pushing back on the feeling that if I’m not working, I’m failing. 

Between our to-do lists, work, and family, pausing to reflect feels like a waste of the little amount of time I have each day.  This month, I’m making a change. I will spend 10 minutes, each Friday, reflecting. I’m pushing back on the feeling that if I’m not working, I’m failing.