Executive Functioning at Work: Why Everyday Tasks Can Feel So Difficult

You may be confident in your professional knowledge but find the surrounding administration exhausting. Switching between messages, meetings and unfinished work can require more management than the main task itself. The answer may involve changing the working conditions, not questioning your competence.

Where everyday demands build up

Work often leaves executive processes invisible. “Deal with this when you can” requires interpreting urgency. An interruption requires remembering where you were and returning to it. A shared project requires tracking dependencies, deadlines and changing information.

These experiences are not specific to dyslexia or ADHD. Some people have longstanding difficulties; others encounter them when workload, uncertainty or fatigue increases. An individual explanation matters more than a label or a generic adjustment list.

Make priorities a shared decision

• •Ask which outcome matters most today and what can wait.
• •Agree how urgent requests will be identified, rather than treating every message as equally urgent.
• •Keep one usable action list with a next step, owner and deadline for each active task.
• •When a new priority arrives, ask which existing commitment should move.
• •Allow time for reading, preparation and checking, not just the visible meeting or final submission.

A useful conversation is: “I can complete the draft this afternoon or handle these two requests. Which takes priority?” This makes the workload visible. A task system cannot create time that is not available.

Protect the return to a task

Before switching, leave a brief restart note: what you were doing, the next action and where the relevant file is. Where the role allows it, group similar work or agree periods without routine interruptions. For roles where interruptions are essential, a handover checklist or quick capture method may be more realistic than uninterrupted blocks.

Allow a moment to finish capturing an instruction before the conversation moves on. Our guides to meetings and verbal instructions cover those situations in depth.

Allow a moment to finish capturing an instruction before the conversation moves on.

Choose support that fits the role

• •Request short written actions after discussions, with clear deadlines and responsibilities.
• •Use templates or checklists for recurring processes, leaving room for exceptions.
• •Agree a brief review of priorities with a manager when the workload is changing.
• •Consider accessible reminders, dictation or reading support where they address a specific barrier.
• •Check workplace approval, confidentiality and data handling before using transcription or AI tools. Do not upload client or employer information to unapproved services.

Review whether a change actually reduces errors, overload or lost time. If it does not, adjust it. Tools should serve the person and the work, not become another system to maintain. See our assistive technology guide for further considerations.

Reasonable adjustments: the UK context

In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 requires employers to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled worker would otherwise be substantially disadvantaged. Whether a person meets the legal definition and what is reasonable depend on the circumstances. Northern Ireland has different disability legislation. A diagnosis does not automatically secure a particular adjustment.

Describe the barrier and a proposed change: “When several tasks arrive verbally, I lose the order. Could we confirm the priorities in writing?” You can discuss practical changes without waiting for a diagnostic assessment, although an employer may seek relevant information to understand formal adjustment needs.

The ACAS reasonable-adjustments guidance explains the duty and practical process. Our articles on reasonable adjustments for dyslexic employees and telling your employer provide more context. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which support question are you trying to answer?

A workplace needs assessment focuses on barriers within a role and possible support. An adult diagnostic dyslexia assessment explores whether dyslexia is present and the individual learning profile. They answer different questions; neither guarantees workplace provision.

If you already have useful diagnostic evidence, you may not need another assessment. Start by checking whether existing evidence is sufficient. Persistent or newly worsening difficulties may also warrant advice from a GP or another appropriate professional, especially where health or wellbeing is involved.

Explore the executive functioning series

• •Part 1: What Is Executive Functioning and Why Does It Matter?
• •Part 2: My Child Knows What to Do but Cannot Get Started
• •Part 3: Why Do I Leave Everything Until the Last Minute?
• •Part 4: Organisation Difficulties: When Being Told to Try Harder Does Not Help
• •Part 5: Executive Functioning at Work: Why Everyday Tasks Can Feel So Difficult — this guide
• •Part 6: Dyslexia, ADHD and Executive Functioning: Understanding the Differences