Want to Improve Your Executive Functioning? Try Subtraction.
The Problem of Addition
Your phone has so many productivity apps that you had to create a whole folder for them.
But somehow you STILL aren't organized.
So you head to the shops and throw another planner in your cart. You now have one for meal-planning, one for workouts, and one for family activities.
Finally, you think, you're about to be so organized.
You even spot some new organizational caddies and get excited about reorganizing your desk.
But even after all that - you feel more overwhelmed than ever, you didn't get a chance to meal plan, skipped a workout because you needed to run to the grocery store for last minute frozen dinner, and scramble to get your kids to soccer practice.
If this is you, it could be that you're trying to solve your problems through addition instead of subtraction.
After all, it’s kind of how brains are wired.
A study published by researchers at the University of Virginia found that subtraction takes more cognitive energy than addition.
In other words, brains default to more and more additive changes because it’s easier.
How to subtract to improve executive function?
Simplify Your Systems
Take the example of the overflowing pile of planners on your desk. Objectively, it’s odd to think that if you never truly utilized a basic calendar that adding a home-management planner and a habit-tracking system will make things easier.
Instead of acquiring more and more planners, how about combining your planners into one, simple one?
That way you can first establish the habit of regularly using a simple, universal calendar before expanding to specialized planning tools.
By consolidating your planning needs into a single, adaptable system, you avoid the clutter and cognitive overload of juggling multiple specialized tools.
I am a fan of flexible but streamlined systems, which is why bullet-journaling is my go-to. I only use the most basic functions of the system because that gets the job done and it doesn’t confuse me.
2. Zero-Sum Changes
This basically means if you add something, you need to eliminate something else.
Your life cannot maintain an equilibrium if you don’t match each new inclusion with an elimination. My family collects tea mugs and if I didn’t have a “one in, one out” rule, we’d be positively swimming in them!
If you’re wanting to go on more walks for your physical and mental health, but you don’t remove anything from your schedule, it’s not physically possible.
Try making a concrete goal, such as increasing from two to four walks per week.
Assuming each walk is a 30-minutes, what’s one hour of activities you can give up?
Maybe it’s as simple as reducing your TV time. Or it might be a little more complicated like reducing time spent on a work task or a personal project.
The benefits of subtraction outweigh the time sacrifice here.
3. Adjust Your Mindset
Sometimes it’s not possible to reduce.
You can’t get rid of the need to eat, or easily change your work hours, or put your kids in the care of someone else all the time.
But, you can have a subtraction mindset. (Or a “Minus Mindset” if the alliteration is helpful!)
Here’s an example:
Thursdays are my night to provide dinner. As much as I would love to cook from scratch and use the good dishes, it’s not always possible.
After a full week of parenting and work, sometimes all I have the energy to do is reheat leftovers or order takeout. I used to feel bad about this, but the goal of the family dinner is to provide food and foster connections. I subtracted the perfectionist expectations, still upheld my responsibilities, and was able to connect with my family.
What’s the key to making changes?
Ultimately, the key to improving your executive functioning and productivity is not about adding more tools and systems, but rather simplifying and subtracting the unnecessary.
Though our instincts may push us towards additive solutions, the most transformative changes often lie in what we're willing to let go of.
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