The management layer
Knowing how to do something and being able to make yourself begin it are different jobs. Executive-function difficulties can create a frustrating gap between intention and action.
Common friction points
- Starting: knowing what needs doing but feeling unable to engage.
- Sequencing: deciding what comes first when a task has many steps.
- Switching: moving away from one activity and into another.
- Monitoring: noticing time, progress and whether the current approach is working.
- Stopping: disengaging once attention has locked on.
Design around the friction
Externalise the management layer. Checklists, calendars, visible timers, prepared workspaces, body doubling, smaller next actions and fewer simultaneous choices can all reduce the amount of executive work a task requires.