Returning to this ONE principle has significantly improved my effectiveness, reduced my overwhelm, and improved my home life. 📈
At EF Specialists, we make sure parents of neurodivergent kids start here when they are tired 🤷♂️ of the missing assignments, bickering, and cluttered desks.
I’ll explain…
A few weeks ago at my house, toys were scattered everywhere, dishes covered every surface, and there was no place to put food on the tables when dinner came.
Have you been there?
My wife was frustrated and this mess was causing communication flare-ups. 🆘
But instead of spiraling deeper into the issue and creating a divided house, I used lessons from my work as a special education teacher and executive function coach to solve the problem.
The ONE thing
I asked my wife, “What is the ONE most important skill we need to work on this week?”
WE decided our focus would be on picking up after ourselves.
We COMMITTED to hold each other accountable for this ONE skill that week.
Whenever things started to get messy, we reminded each other to clean up the play area BEFORE watching Bluey. 🐶
The result? Our house went from chaos to orderly and stayed that way for the whole week. 🧹
Don’t get me wrong.
We’ve still got a lot to work on including:
Bedtime routines
Tone of voice
Meal planning
Not falling off the wagon
But at least the house is clean while we tackle these issues. ⚖️
So here’s your reminder💡
When everything is going sideways, choose one top priority and focus on that for the week.
You can only do one thing at a time.
What will be your focus for the rest of the week?
Want to go deeper on my thoughts about how to improve executive function skills in your hours? Check out my YouTube video on the topic 👇
About the author
Sean G. McCormick is a former public school special education teacher who founded Executive Function Specialists to ensure all students with ADHD and Autism have access to high-quality online executive function coaching services.
With this mission in mind, he then founded the Executive Function Coaching Academy which trains schools, educators, and individuals to learn the key approaches to improve executive function skills for students.
He is also the co-founder of UpSkill Specialists, a business with a mission to provide adults with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, access to high-quality executive function coaching services that can be accessed through Self-Determination funding.