Eric Kaufmann

My recipe for a meaningful day: 1. Do something for my future self 2. Do something for someone else 3. Do something that brings me joy Today I… Invested $100 Showed up for my clients full-heartedly Snuck in a 45 minute surf

Trying to fix your whole life at once is why nothing changes. Executive function grows through focus, not volume. One goal. One month. Repeated execution. Consistency beats intensity every time.

If you rely on motivation, you’ll be inconsistent. If you rely on systems, you’ll compound. Executive function isn’t about trying harder. It’s about reducing what your brain has to hold. Design for follow-through, not intention.

Executive function isn’t about discipline. It’s about friction. Reduce the friction to start, remember, and regulate, and performance follows. Ignore it, and you’ll mistake capability for laziness.

You don’t lack discipline. You lack constraints. If everything is important, your brain picks what’s easy. Limit your day to 3 real priorities. Execution improves when decisions get smaller.

Sometimes, the smallest changes to our environment create the biggest shift in how we live. Charging my phone outside of my bedroom is one of those changes.

If your calendar is full but your thinking is slow, your executive function is overloaded. Success is not doing more. It’s removing what was never yours to carry.

If everything on your to-do list feels urgent, your brain can’t prioritize. Many neurodivergent adults weren’t taught how to define urgent vs important. Clarity reduces overwhelm. Prioritization is not discipline. It’s executive function.

Planning for your best self is a fantasy. Follow-through requires planning for your tired, distracted, low-motivation self. Anticipate friction. Design around it.

Overplanning is fear disguised as productivity. Your brain wants certainty. Action requires uncertainty. Set a timer. Pick 3 tiny steps. Start messy. Momentum comes from movement, not perfect plans.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. — Epicurus

Be messy, not Messi. Momentum, motivation, and confidence follow action, not planning.

When leaders don’t understand executive function, we end up with… Decision paralysis Back-to-back meetings Projects started, rarely finished Reactive communication Guilt and shame This isn't a systems problem. It's a lack of understanding of the what, why, and how of EF.

Humankind’s biggest flaw is rooted in executive function. We know what to do. Can visualize it. Can explain all of the steps. Understand the value. Yet we can’t get started.

In 1956, psychologist George A. Miller discovered that most people can only remember 5-9 things at a time. In short, we get smarter when we try to remember less and offload more.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Your suitcase doesn’t need to be unpacked in one either.

If you set goals and forget about them, it’s not a discipline problem. Your brain ignores what doesn’t change. That sticky note? Your brain stopped seeing it days ago. Writing down goals only works if you schedule time to revisit them.

@george__mack Charge my phone outside of the bedroom.

What's the single biggest thing you've done to improve your information diet?

If you didn’t accomplish your goals in 2025, it’s time to switch things up. Ask yourself this: During the first quarter of the year, who do I want to become? Make this your goal. It’s amazing what we can accomplish in three months when we focus on one thing.

Emotional regulation isn’t weakness. It’s strength. Avoiding emotions is easy. Feeling them without letting them run your behavior is hard. That’s a high-level executive function skill.

1/ Build stop signs by setting a timer before diving into a task or taking a break 2/ Put analog timers in every room of your home 3/ Group similar tasks from your to-do list 4/ Anchor your day, 3 intentional alarms 5/ Pad time by estimating and multiplying by 1.5

If you’re neurodivergent, there’s a high chance you struggle with time wisdom. Here are 5 ways to improve. This week, choose ONE strategy to try.