December 13, 2022

Executive Function:
Goal-Directed Persistence

Goal-Directed Persistence is December’s executive function! And a great one to be thinking about this time of year. Goal-Directed Persistence is our “stick-to-it-iveness.” It’s our perseverance and drive to follow all the way through to complete something and not be swayed by other demands or competing interests. 

Here are a few examples of when we use Goal-Directed Persistence:

  • Completing and turning in a homework assignment
  • Reading a novel
  • Going back to what you were working on after being interrupted
  • Writing and presenting a dissertation
  • Developing expertise over time, such as in music, art, dance, or sports

Here are a few ways to persist and persevere toward a goal:

  1. Acknowledge what’s hard. Trying to persist toward a goal, not making progress, and telling yourself, “this is easy, just DO it,” is quite confusing for our brains. If it were easy, we’d be doing it! Acknowledging something is difficult helps to take the pressure off so you can pause and get curious about what’s getting in the way.

  2. Look for ambiguity. If I had a nickel for every time a client talked about calling their insurance provider in session, I’d be able to cover my insurance! Oftentimes they are worrying about all the future possibilities when really they don’t have enough information yet. Questions to ask yourself: “Do I have the right phone number?” “Do I actually need to call your doctor’s office first?” “ Where is that claim sheet of paper?” Look for clarifying the *next* action to keep you moving forward.

  3. Set expectations for your unique ADHD self. When I got married this year, one thing I was dreading (even way before the wedding) was writing all the thank you cards. I envisioned sitting down with my future husband and writing them all in one afternoon while we laughed, reminisced, and drank wine. Reality check! My heart goes into any thank you note I write, so I take extra long to do them. Completing them in one afternoon was a gross underestimation. What I did get right was predicting I would need to do them with another person. My neurotypical husband got his done in one sitting (he’s got Goal-Directed Persistence in spades), but I needed to body-double with a friend for 4 Sundays in a row to complete mine. My way was different, not better/worse.

  4. Enlist others for support. This really is a crucial one. Just like I did for my wedding cards, asking another person to help you work toward your goal is perfectly okay. I had a college student once who used to buddy up with his most studious engineering friend every time finals came around. When the friend went to the library to study, so would my client. He reduces the ambiguity about “when” or “how much” to go to the library and instead lets another person’s schedule make that decision. And it worked!

Remember, Goal-Directed Persistence is an executive function, and ADHD is an executive function disorder. So if you’re having difficulty in this area, it’s your *symptoms* showing up. It has nothing to do with your character. Lean into the ADHD-friendly ways of completing goals, as shown above, and watch your ability to finish improve!


Riley Karbon
ADHD Coach | Center For Living Well with ADHD, LLC

More about Riley

Cool Resource

A New Years' Digital Detox?

Plenty of evidence is reporting we need to unhook ourselves from our screens and get comfortable with not always using technology to keep us entertained and engaged. Is our dopamine being exploited by social media and high-tech corporations to keep us tapping and clicking? Many experts on brain functioning have been sounding alarms for a while now. One of the first articles to explore this issue was written in 1996. One doctor in the piece said they thought we were “about a year away from having people recognize it’s really a problem. It’s out there, and there’s no question.” 

So to help you and yours start this off-the-grid and device-free lifestyle, I will direct you to a plethora of information on the why and how of a digital detox. And yeah, it will be on a screen and using an app. However, this could be attention time well spent. 

My favorite app to keep me from going down the rabbit hole of information is Pocket. I come across fabulous information on ADHD frequently. Pocket allows me to save the article links for later reading - it’s almost like having a second brain. And I can attach tags to help in finding the article later. In fact, that’s how I retrieved this collection of articles to fuel your mind and create some boundaries. When you have time to spare of course!

Have a read and consider if this is something to add to your 2023 goals of creating an even better life. There are some good tips about accomplishing a digital detox and not losing your mind. Actually, you might uncover your mind again and show Silicon Valley who is absolutely in charge. 

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