What The Heck Are Executive Function Skills??
- ihstudentsuccess
- Feb 27
- 1 min read
“My Prefrontal Cortex Is Still Cooking!”
Whenever I tell people I’m a Student Success Coach who specializes in executive functioning skills, there’s always that pause. Executive… what?
Executive functioning skills are the skills that help us execute our lives. They’re the behind-the-scenes managers of everything we do:
Choosing what to work on first
Planning ahead
Keeping track of deadlines
Staying focused
Pushing through when things get hard
Managing emotions when we’re overwhelmed
These skills live in the prefrontal cortex — right behind your forehead — and it’s the last part of the brain to fully develop. Some researchers say mid-20s. Some say even later.
Which brings me to one of my former students.
Every time he didn’t want to do something, he’d say,“Sorry… my prefrontal cortex is still cooking.”
And listen — he wasn’t wrong. It was still developing.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t usable.
Executive functioning skills aren’t an all-or-nothing switch. They’re skills. And skills can be practiced, strengthened, and improved at any age.
If you’re a parent watching your child struggle…If you’re a student feeling overwhelmed…If you’re an educator seeing bright students underperform…
There is nothing “wrong.”There are just skills that need support.
And that’s exactly what I love helping with. 💛
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