New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

mikecarrie01 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:06:20 GMT

I thought this was a good site to explain problems with Executive Function and how to manage it: www.ncld.org/content/view/865/391/

Normally, features of executive function are seen in our ability to:

make plans

keep track of time

keep track of more than one thing at once

meaningfully include past knowledge in discussions

engage in group dynamics

evaluate ideas

reflect on our work

change our minds and make mid-course and corrections while thinking, reading and writing

finish work on time

ask for help

wait to speak until we're called on

seek more information when we need it.

Problems with executive function may be manifested when a person:

has difficulty planning a project

has trouble comprehending how much time a project will take to complete

struggles to tell a story (verbally or in writing); has trouble communicating details in an organized, sequential manner

has difficulty with the mental strategies involved in memorization and retrieving information from memory

has trouble initiating activities or tasks, or generating ideas independently

has difficulty retaining information while doing something with it; e.g., remembering a phone number while dialing.

What Are Some Strategies to Help?

General Strategies:

Take step-by-step approaches to work; rely on visual organizational aids.

Use tools like time organizers, computers or watches with alarms.

Prepare visual schedules and review them several times a day.

Ask for written directions with oral instructions whenever possible.

Plan and structure transition times and shifts in activities.

Managing Time:

Create checklists and "to do" lists, estimating how long tasks will take.

Break long assignments into chunks and assign time frames for completing each chunk.

Use visual calendars at to keep track of long term assignments, due dates, chores, and activities.

Use management software such as the Franklin Day Planner, Palm Pilot, or Lotus Organizer.

Be sure to write the due date on top of each assignment.

Managing Space and Materials:

Organize work space.

Minimize clutter.

Consider having separate work areas with complete sets of supplies for different activities.

Schedule a weekly time to clean and organize the work space.

Managing Work:

Make a checklist for getting through assignments. For example, a student's checklist could include such items as: get out pencil and paper; put name on paper; put due date on paper; read directions; etc.

Meet with a teacher or supervisor on a regular basis to review work; troubleshoot problems.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Keikukaren — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:36:13 GMT

Thank You Aaltrude!! It WORKED! Switching to Mozilla Fire Fox was the answer. You made my day better!

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Keikukaren — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:08:48 GMT

Like Patty D at the top, I too, haven't been able to vote, reply, or view profiles for anyone. I feel like I am missing out! The IT people have told me to delete my cookies and other things which I have tried with no luck. Is it just a handful of people with these computer problems? I really LOVE this website so I will try Aaltrude's advice and switch my browser.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Julia Owens — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:19:48 GMT

My frustration at not being able to respond with the reply button is depleting my "executive function"! SusanVF has made a great point. You can deplete what I have heard called your reserve of grey matter function. This is why, for example, surgery is so much harder on older patients. Surgery on elderly have been known to cause short term confusion and dementia.

We are under constant pressure in our modern world. Kimberly Wenger jokingly said "I'm using up all my executive brain power trying to choose the right foods!" Yes! Just trying to locate and choose the healthiest products and balance that within the parameters of your families household food budget can be exhausting! I hate grocery shopping now because of this. The only time I feel at ease is when I know there is a great sale on organic provisions. Is this how our anscestors felt when they were hunter gatherers:-)?

Speaking to SusanVF: I am blessed with an astoundingly competent husband. But I can relate somewhat to your story in that the last 2 years he has had to relocate his office from a suburban area about 20 minutes from our home to downtown Seattle. Traffic is horrific and parking expensive so he now has to take a very crowded (and smelly!) bus 26 miles to work (which incidentally can take from 50 minutes up to 90 each way). He has to leave the house much earlier and gets home much later, which means less sleep (He's happy when he actually gets 6 hrs!). Working downtown is stressful, busy, crowded and smelly as well. All this has made my once laid back husband what I call "growly" He also doesn't want to recreate very much and hates having to make any decesions in our life. He realizes this and tries his best to cope. But this shows the effect our modern world is having on us and how a daily routine can deplete the reserve capacities in our brains.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

EarthWindFire — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:37:00 GMT

Well there you have it! The scientific proof that we need "big brother" to step in and limit our choices. We have too many freedoms and choosing between them all is taxing our brain. Oh yes! please save us!

tongue in cheek of course. lol

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Algents — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:35:32 GMT

This executive function article is quite timely and explains why my brain feels so tired while trying to make decisions about buying a business and which business. It is always important to do your "due diligence" and research all you can about a particular business. In the process of doing this I have been on an incredible learning curve. I have looked at 6 to 8 businesses that sounded so very interesting but then during my research discovered all the flaws, the lies from the owners and brokers, the hidden facts, and so on. It has been exhausting. I am now just sitting back for a while to recover while I do my casual work.

I think this is the problem today we have in making decisions. WHO CAN WE TRUST?

If everyone was honest, life and decision making would be so much easier.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

CarlWatts — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:40:10 GMT

Soirry but the brain does not make decisions nor is it anything more than a relay between the person and the body.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Sheree du Bois — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:13:48 GMT

Actually, one tends to have a set amount of "attention units" to deploy. In decision making, one should just DECIDE clearly (be it right or wrong) and without reservation. Where one half-decides or cannot decide, attention units get stuck in that indecision now past, This leaves less attention units available for the present time decision making process. One's mental capacity is an issue of the mind, not of the brain. The brain is a switchboard to the body. It is not the mind. This is why psychiatry is a very dangerous psudoscience. (See Thomas Szasz's work and information as co-founder of the Citizen's Commission for Human Rights, www.cchr.com)

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

CindyLouMarie — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:26:03 GMT

My dear mother in law has Huntington's disease and her therapist recently told us that she is losing her executive function. She seems rather well because her social graces are intact but she needs constant assistance because she can't decide whether to get up or go back to bed or what to wear or what to eat. It is very sad because it is very frustrating for her. This article was very helpful to me.

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

SusanVF — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:32:09 GMT

There is one post on this thread that tries to (and does a good job of) describing executive function. As an ex-spouse of a man who does not have the ability to use his executive function well, I can tell you that is IS like living with a teen every day. Our counselor used to talk about my ex's inability to make executive decisions all the time, and why it would be frustrating for me and unsafe for my kids--and quite frustrating for him, too. Over time, his abusive traits got worse and worse because he was always frustrated with himself (but of course took it out on others). He eventually was physically abusive, and I got out.

Why could he not make exective function decisions well? At work, he was OK. He chose work as a place to function decently (not well, but decent). He also chose a job where there are not immediate measurable goals to be measured against (lobbying).

But, he depleted himself all day: he ate junk food (no fruits or vegs), slept about 5 hours of fit-full sleep at night, never exercised...you get the picture. To those who want to know how to replenish your ability to make executive decisions: SLOW DOWN. Take care of your body--which includes your brain! Nourish your body (and brain) with good food and rest (yes, to those who posted about neurons, when your brain is sleep deprived, making decisions is much harder). Take some time to "veg out" "be peaceful" "pray" whatever it is that will give your brain rest.

This article is not the joke everyone made it out to be. Yes, executive function could have been better explained...it is top-level decision making. It's not "what should I have for lunch?", it's "should I focus on the business plan due Monday or reading the Wall Street Journal (more fun)" (aka procrastination and overloading with more information). "Should I allow my daughter to drive a car without a license because it's fun to teach her?" Dr. Mercola, please add more so folks can understand. We live and work with a lot of depleted people

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Kimberly Wenger — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:25:06 GMT

I'm using up all my executive brain power trying to choose the right foods!

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

thinley — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:41:06 GMT

I have noticed this phenomenon. When shopping for clothes my daughter and I always make two trips... one to look, one to buy. It seems to be the origin of the expression.used at times of difficult decision making.. 'sleep on it'

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

davewom — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:13:38 GMT

The ability to focus sounds rather like what Buddhists and others who practice the 'Awareness of Breath' meditation try to develop. However, the meditation doesn't emphasize decision-making.

One instructor likened the meditation to building muscles thru weight training. Judging by the research findings, and what you say in your comment, it was probably a good analogy.

I wonder if there's a meditation or mental exercise that helps to develop decision-making?

Immediately after weight training, the muscles become smaller and weaker, before building up to a slightly increased size and strength over the next 48 hours. I wonder, does that happen with the meditation too?

Muscle builders are usually advised to wait 48 hours before attempting to train the same set of muscles again. Perhaps I should be doing Awareness of Breath every two days rather than every day! (We are generally advised to alternate Awareness of Breath and Development of Loving-Kindness meditations if practising daily.)

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

HealingMindN — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:40:37 GMT

So, what do you guys think of activities that add new neural pathways like the multiple mentality course by Harry Kahne or "How to develop a super power memory" by Harry Lorayne? From my experience, these neural exercises increase the capacity of my executive functions. I haven't gotten to the point where I can write forwards and backwards with both hands and recite poetry while calculating algorithms in my head, but I feel less stress and fatigue with regular multi-tasking - something I wish I had during college...

re: New Research Helps You Make Better Decisions

Rockjumper16 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:26:44 GMT

I feel like for this article to be useful, executive function needs to be defined or explained. That's not something that is normal enough to assume as people's base knowledge.