Executive Function Skills
You Know What You Need to Do. So Why Is It So Hard to Do It?
You make the list. You buy the planner. You set the reminder. You promise yourself that tomorrow you'll finally get organized.
And then life happens.
For adults with ADHD, knowing what to do is often very different from being able to do it consistently. You may struggle to get started, underestimate how long things will take, become overwhelmed by competing priorities, get distracted halfway through a task, or have difficulty following through—even on things that genuinely matter to you.
These struggles aren't a reflection of your intelligence, motivation, or potential. They're often challenges of executive functioning—the skills that help us plan, organize, prioritize, manage time, regulate attention, and translate intentions into action.
My Approach
Executive functioning skills can be learned and strengthened.
My approach integrates professional ADHD coaching with structured, evidence-based strategies for managing adult ADHD. Rather than simply telling you to “get organized” or “stop procrastinating,” we'll look closely at where the process is breaking down and develop practical systems to help you move forward.
Drawing from evidence-based ADHD treatment programs, including Mastering Your Adult ADHD, we'll work on strategies for organizing and planning, managing multiple tasks, reducing distractibility, overcoming procrastination, and breaking overwhelming tasks into manageable steps.
The goal isn't to create the perfect system. It's to develop strategies that are realistic enough to use consistently in your actual life.
Together We Can Work On
Getting started instead of putting things off
Organizing tasks, belongings, and responsibilities
Prioritizing what needs your attention first
Managing multiple competing demands
Breaking overwhelming tasks into manageable steps
Planning your time more realistically
Using calendars, planners, and reminders effectively
Reducing distractions and improving focus
Following through and completing what you start
Creating routines and systems you can maintain
Accountability and consistency
Recovering when you get off track without abandoning the whole system
When ADHD Takes an Emotional Toll
Years of struggling with executive functioning can be frustrating and discouraging. You may know exactly what you're capable of while repeatedly finding that your performance doesn't reflect it. Over time, that experience can contribute to anxiety, shame, self-doubt, and sometimes depression.
That's one advantage of working with a psychotherapist who also has professional ADHD coach training. We can begin with the practical executive functioning skills that are getting in your way. As your functioning improves, you may find that some of the frustration and anxiety begin to ease as well.
When years of struggling have left a deeper emotional imprint, we can also address lingering anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or negative thinking patterns using TEAM-CBT, an evidence-based form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Why Work With Me?
For more than 25 years, I've helped people identify what's keeping them stuck and develop practical strategies for moving forward. My background combines psychotherapy, professional ADHD coach training, TEAM-CBT, and experience as an Academic Performance Coach at Hunter College working with individuals with ADHD, learning differences, and other disabilities.
I don't believe there's one organizational system that works for everyone. Together, we'll identify your particular challenges, build on your strengths, and find strategies that fit the way you think, work, and live.
Ready to Get Started?
If you're tired of knowing what you need to do but struggling to make it happen, we can work together to turn good intentions into practical, consistent action.
Schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation to learn how we can work together.
Contact Karen:
Phone: 212-734-4302