🧠 Executive Function Skill #1: Planning (Neurodivergence, ADHD, 2e / Twice Exceptional)

This is your brain.

What’s up, everybody? If you are a parent, a teacher, or a therapist who wants to help students with executive function challenges, this video is for you.

In this video, I’m going to talk about the 13 executive functions, but I’m going to hone in on one specific executive function—one skill set, however you want to look at it. Today, I’m going to talk about this essential, critical, and massively important skill set called planning.

I’m going to explain why this is so important for the kids you work with. I’ll give you my definition—because different experts define it differently—and I’ll put it in layman’s terms so it’s easy to understand. I’m also going to show you how to identify the most common planning-related challenges in kids with executive function difficulties.

My name is Seth Perler, and you can find me at sethperler.com and executivefunctionsummit.com.

Now, this is the brain—the prefrontal cortex, the front third of the brain, the frontal lobe right behind your forehead. This is where executive function takes place.

As I said, we’re going to talk about planning. I’ll define it first, and then I’ll show you some of the common problems we see.

Let’s take a look at my definition. I use every word very intentionally, and I’m going to break it down for you.

Planning skills are a massive set of time management, project management, and task management skills. These skills help us estimate a realistic perception of the time, energy, and steps required to accomplish a goal or complete a task.

In other words, planning is how we get things done—but more importantly, it’s how we perceive what we need to do.

Planning is about perceiving the steps or the process required to achieve a goal. That goal might be doing your math homework, finishing all your homework, cleaning your backpack, cleaning your bedroom, learning a song, getting a driver’s license, or even playing video games.

Planning is how the brain helps us conceptualize these steps. It’s how we break down—or “chunk”—tasks into manageable subtasks or baby steps.

It also includes planning your day using calendars, planners, agendas, and schedules. It includes planning how to write a paper or an essay.

Let’s take a deeper look at this.

When I say this is a massive set of time, project, and task management skills, I want you to think about the kids you’re trying to help. Everything they’re trying to do through executive function is essentially project management.

I like the term “project management” because things like completing a job application, doing homework, using a planner, cleaning out a locker, or even going to summer camp—all of these are projects.

When the prefrontal cortex struggles to perceive and execute these steps accurately, it creates significant challenges in life.

So think about the child you’re helping right now. Many of the things they struggle with can be understood as projects—and they are lacking the planning skills to manage those projects.

So how can we help them build those skills? That’s what we’re exploring here.

Now let’s talk about chunking.

Chunking means breaking tasks into manageable subtasks or baby steps. When a student says, “I’m going to clean my room” or “I’m going to do my homework,” that’s very vague.

For many of these kids, that vagueness creates resistance: “I don’t feel like it,” “I’ll do it later,” “I’m not motivated,” “Why do I have to do this?”

Without the ability to conceptualize smaller steps, the task feels overwhelming—physically and emotionally. Learning how to break things down is a core planning skill.

I also mention that planning includes using calendars, planners, and agendas—but it goes far beyond that. Planning can apply to anything, from daily routines to long-term goals like retirement.

Now let’s look at some of the most common problems I see in my work.

With schoolwork, students with planning challenges are often trying to catch up. They fall behind, have missing assignments, incomplete work, or zeros. They miss deadlines.

When it comes to events, they are often unaware of upcoming responsibilities. It’s simply not on their radar.

There is also a lot of avoidance. They might say things like, “I hate planners,” or “I don’t need a planner.” Planning feels like a burden.

By the time they’re teenagers, you’ll often hear, “Planners don’t work for me,” or “I’ll remember it”—even when the evidence shows otherwise.

Procrastination is another big one. They wait until the last minute because they didn’t plan ahead.

Sometimes they rely on the fact that assignments are posted online. While that can be helpful, it also means they’re not practicing planning skills themselves.

Execution is often chaotic. They approach homework randomly—grabbing whatever is in their backpack just to get something done, instead of thinking through what needs to be done, how long it will take, and what should be prioritized.

These students are often very inefficient. Tasks take them a long time because they lack a clear plan. This is painful to watch because they could be working more efficiently and still have time for rest and recovery.

Another issue is time blindness—an unrealistic perception of how much time, energy, and effort tasks require.

Planning also affects writing. When students start writing without a plan, their essays go in a million different directions. When it’s time to revise, they have to reorganize everything, which is overwhelming.

Over time, imagine how many hours, days, or even years are lost because they didn’t have a structured approach to writing.

So that’s what I wanted to share about planning skills.

My name is Seth Perler, and you can find me at sethperler.com and executivefunctionsummit.com.

If you find this helpful, please share it with someone today.

I’ll be continuing this series by covering executive function number two, three, and so on—all the way through the 13 executive functions.

Thanks again for being here.

I want to wish you peace in your heart, joy in your life, and connection with the people you care about—especially the kids in your life.

Have a fantastic day.