Executive Function: The Hidden Skills We Rely on Every Day

We don’t often think about it, but every day we’re quietly relying on a robust set of mental tools called executive functions. These are the skills that help us focus, plan, shift gears, manage emotions, and remember what we’re doing long enough to finish it. Whether you’re a student trying to track assignments, an adult managing projects at work, or someone remembering to grab that one item at the store, executive functions are running the show behind the scenes. One of the most important,  and often overlooked, is working memory.

What Is Working Memory, Really?

Think of working memory as the brain’s temporary desk space. It’s where we lay out the tools we need right now, including dates, directions, steps, or reminders, so that we can work with them effectively. Without enough desk space, everything feels cluttered and overwhelming.

Researchers like Baddeley and Hitch (1974) break working memory into two central systems:

• Verbal working memory (the phonological loop): our inner voice, the way we rehearse instructions, sounds, or ideas. It’s what lets you hold on to what your boss said in a meeting just long enough to write it down, or keep a list in your head until you can jot it in your planner.

• Nonverbal working memory (the visuospatial sketchpad): our mind’s eye, our mental GPS. It allows us to picture a map, remember where we parked, or visualize the steps in a process.
  

Russell Barkley (2012) describes these clearly: verbal working memory provides the “voice” that gives directions, while nonverbal working memory provides the “map” to navigate tasks. Both are essential. And holding it all together is the central executive, the brain’s manager, which coordinates attention, filters out distractions, and oversees those voice-and-map systems.

How Working Memory Shows Up in Daily Life

Working memory is constantly at work in everyday situations. Consider how often you rely on it:

• Remembering dates, deadlines, or assignments while juggling other responsibilities.

• Holding onto what a teacher just explained during a lecture or what your boss just outlined in a meeting.

• Remembering to pick up that one thing at the store- without a list.

• Keeping track of the rules of grammar and spelling as you draft an essay or email.

• Sequencing steps in a process, like logging into a system, pulling data, and formatting it correctly.

• Organizing your ideas long enough to shape them into a paper, presentation, or report.

When working memory is overloaded, tasks become more challenging. You might lose track of directions, forget instructions mid-task, or feel overwhelmed by trying to hold too many pieces in your head at once. What appears to be “forgetfulness” or “not paying attention” is often simply a result of an overloaded system.

Offloading: Freeing Up Cognitive Space

Working memory doesn’t have to do everything alone. One of the most effective supports is offloading, which is externalizing information so your brain doesn’t have to carry it all.

Think of it this way: our working memory “desk space” is limited. Every sticky note you write, every reminder you set on your phone, every calendar entry is like moving clutter off the desk to make room for other thinking. By externalizing, we lighten the load our brain carries, leaving more mental energy for higher-level tasks, such as problem-solving, creativity, and reflection.

Awareness and Perception: The Missing Ingredients

Offloading works best when paired with awareness (noticing how your brain works) and perception (understanding what helps and what gets in the way). Together, they allow you to identify when your working memory is strained. 

Without awareness, we often just “try harder,” which rarely helps. With awareness, we can lean into supports that reduce that cognitive load.

The bigger picture of executive function goes beyond working memory. It’s a comprehensive system that encompasses attention to stay focused, inhibition to resist distractions, planning and organization to break down goals into manageable steps, and self-monitoring to identify mistakes and make adjustments. When these skills work together, daily life can feel more manageable and less overwhelming. 

Every day, our executive functions quietly do the heavy lifting, holding thoughts, juggling steps, and shifting between tasks. Feeling stuck isn’t about “trying harder”; it’s about noticing what works for your brain and building systems that support it. Offloading information extends working memory, freeing mental space for clearer thinking and less stress. Coaching can help by exploring executive functions and developing awareness. If you’re curious about how executive function and working memory show up in your daily life, schedule a complimentary get-acquainted session with one of our Center Coaches to explore what support might help you.

References:

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). Academic Press.

Barkley, R. A. (2012). Executive functions: What they are, how they work, and why they evolved. Guilford Press