Constantly battling with executive dysfunction is one of the most disruptive things that can happen to your school career. Knowing that you need to complete a task in order to pass a class, succeed at your job or even do something simpler like having fun with your friends, but still being unable to do it, is a unique form of torture.
Despite how it sounds, it goes beyond mere laziness. It’s a cycle of irrational anxiety in regards to a task that leads to an aversion of that same task, which leads to more anxiety surrounding it as it goes longer without completion, which leads to further aversion. The issue of executive dysfunction is one that is constantly compounding on itself and it is incredibly difficult to break out of its trap. It’s especially problematic when it comes to managing schoolwork and the multitude of assignments that come with it, but there are ways to try and mitigate the effect that executive dysfunction can have on your life.
It differs from procrastination in a key way, this being that even if you mentally try and goad yourself into doing the task that you know needs to be done, you physically feel unable to do it. For me, this manifests in me sitting, doing absolutely nothing and getting anxious that I’m doing nothing despite knowing that if I completed the assignments that were due, I would be significantly less stressed.
It’s illogical, nonsensical and that’s precisely why it is such a pain to deal with.
In my personal experience, getting out of my standard environment to do online school assignments is what works the best. Physically getting up and removing myself from my current environment and moving to a Starbucks or a Panera and getting my work done there seems to almost “startle” my brain into doing the necessary things that need to be completed. Plus, rewarding myself with a coffee or a pastry is always a plus!
Another helpful way to break through the dysfunction is to go through and break down the steps into bite-sized chunks. Instead of just writing “do homework” on my calendar, I first break it down by class, and then list each homework assignment out by itself. This way, there’s already a built-in “reward” of crossing out each assignment when it is completed, and it makes it seem more manageable as each task is smaller and less complex when listed out like this.
Building better patterns of behavior can mitigate executive dysfunction, so attempting to start a routine could also help break through the mental block of this form of anxiety.
Executive dysfunction is difficult to manage, and it feels terrible to experience. There’s an urge to call it pure laziness even when it becomes apparent that it goes beyond mere laziness and a lack of desire to work. Chalking it up to a lack of care about work that needs to be done just results in more difficulty when it comes to trying to find a solution, as you’re working to fix the wrong issue.
Unfortunately, it’s one of those situations where for me, personally, I have to brute-force my way into completing assignments through a series of convoluted plans that should not be necessary.
One important thing to remember, though, is that it’s better to complete things partway than to let them sit and gather dust forever. It’s also better to submit assignments late, rather than ignore them entirely. A lower grade on school work is better than no grade at all. Complete work is better than entirely unfinished work.
Talking with professors, supervisors and even your friends and social circle can be helpful as well, and finding a support system for it outside of school can also be a boon for working through it! Executive dysfunction is not the be-all and end-all of your life, and while it is troublesome, there are a lot of resources available to help you get through it.