BRAIN HACKS: Life-Changing Strategies to Improve Executive Functioning

by Lara Honos-Webb PhD

Overview

Filled with actionable strategies proven to improve focus, increase productivity, and promote well-being, Brain Hacks will help you transform the way you work, live, and feel by tapping into the power of your executive functioning skills.

Modern life requires a lot of our brains. We need to stay organized, manage our time wisely, and make important decisions. These essential skills—known as executive functioning—affect every aspect of our lives, from how we function at work and home to how we manage stress.

Written by clinical psychologist and author of The Gift of ADHD book series, Dr. Lara Honos-Webb, Brain Hacks offers powerful guidance and strategies that will improve your executive functioning and help you work smarter, feel better, and achieve more of your goals.

With chapter-by-chapter concentration on the main areas of executive functioning—focus and attention, planning and organization, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and impulse control—Brain Hacks: Life-Changing Strategies to Improve Executive Functioning offers:

• An overview of executive functioning and self-assessments to identify which executive functioning areas pose your greatest challenges.
• Explorations of the 5 core skills of executive functioning, including summaries, techniques, and brain hacks to make them stronger.
• Real-world strategies and exercises to strengthen your executive functioning skills and apply them to everyday challenges.

Using the proven, life-changing strategies in Brain Hacks, anyone can significantly enhance their executive functioning skills. Even those who have struggled with executive functioning in the past can transform from being controlled by their brain to being in control of it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641521611
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	11/20/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	152
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

LARA HONOS-WEBB, PHD, is a clinical psychologist licensed in California. She is author of The Gift of ADHD, The Gift of ADHD Activity Book, The Gift of Adult ADD, The Gift of ADHD Workbook for Teens, and Listening to Depression. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, The Chicago Tribune, and Publisher’s Weekly, as well as newspapers across the country and local and national radio and television programs. She completed a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at University of California, San Francisco, and has been an assistant professor for graduate students. She has published more than 25 scholarly articles. Visit her website at www.addisagift.com.

Table of Contents

1 What is executive functioning? 1

2 Attention & Focus 23

3 Planning & Organization 45

4 Cognitive Flexibility 67

5 Emotional Regulation 85

6 Impulse Control 105

7 Your Road to Success 125

Resources 132

Further Reading 134

References 136

Index 140

Editorial Reviews

Rarely do we find texts so clear and full of practical examples as Brain Hacks, which serves both the layperson and the professional. This is my position as a psychologist who works with autistic people and as the father of an attentionally divergent daughter: the theme of "executive functions" occupies my reflections daily. The work of Lara Honos-Webb has advanced in the field of neurodiversity.”—Ernesto Reaño, author of The Return to the Village; Neurodiversity, Autism, and Electronality

“Brain Hacks is enlightening, positive, comforting, encouraging and action-oriented, with the goal of improving our attention, focus, and executive functioning. Lara Honos-Webb guides the reader with strategies on how to get in touch with—and celebrate—achievements, improvements, and strengths in our executive functioning. Not a subject or topic for self-improvement is left out.”—Robin Goldstein, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

“Brain Hacks is a godsend for our fragmented, attention-deficit-disordered culture. Dr. Honos-Webb describes the role of our executive functions, which people absolutely must have in order to stay on track and above the fray. Her book is filled with practical strategies, checklists, questionnaires, and vital information to help readers stay cool and calm under pressure, set goals, maintain focus, and keep their heads on straight when all around them are losing theirs. Buy Brain Hacks and get your life under control at last!”—Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. author of The Myth of the ADHD Child: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion

"I am loving Brain Hacks! This efficient little book offers the clearest descriptions of the executive functions that I've read, and contains a treasure trove of ideas and strategies for helping you become "the boss of your life." This book isn't just for people diagnosed with executive function problems or ADHD, but for anyone who wants to bring more sanity and mastery to our frenetic world. This book would make a perfect graduation present!"—Heather Clague, MD, Psychiatrist

"Written in a clear, accessible style and full of useful tips, Brain Hacks brings much-needed help and creative advice to people who want to understand and improve their executive functioning skills. Each chapter offers easy, useful exercises and quick tips to make changes right away without feeling overwhelmed. It's a valuable resource that I highly recommend."—Dr. Sharon Saline, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life

“I found many gems of good insight and right action in Brain Hacks. I’m following Lara Honos-Webb’s suggestions and grateful for them.”—Joshua Shenk, author of Lincoln's Melancholy and Powers of Two

"Executive functioning is a big deal. It determines how much control you have over your life and whether you'll be able to live up to your maximum creative potential. The genius of Brain Hacks is that it breaks down the ambitious project of improving executive function into manageable, memorable, and supremely practical steps. Brain Hacks will enable you to become a more effective version of you."—Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

“Lara Honos-Webb’s clever book Brain Hacks will increase your happiness, productivity, and success while reducing stress along the way. My favorite brain hack: "Take a Nature Break." A must-read for anyone seeking to defeat inner roadblocks and accomplish goals.”—Eric O'Neill, author of Gray Day

“I found many gems of good insight and right action in this book. I’m following Lara Honos-Webb’s suggestions and am grateful for them.”—Joshua Shenk, author of Lincoln's Melancholy and Powers of Two

“Dr. Honos-Webb has written a wonderful book to help people identify which areas of executive functioning they want to improve, and then teaches them strategies to do just that. With its straightforward language and exercises, Brain Hacks provides us all with ways to develop helpful building blocks to improve our lives at work and at home.”—Dr. Robin Rosenberg, The People Expert Executive Coaching Services

“Brain Hacks is easy-to-read and understand; it explains so much and inspires even more. As a psychotherapist, I thought I fully understood executive functioning, and was pretty happy with my own, given my ADHD challenges. But Brain Hacks offers a whole new world of opportunity to address those nagging issues that limit your personal effectiveness and life satisfaction. Regardless of the individual issues that challenge us, strategically improving our executive functioning empowers us to make real progress. I’m keeping this book with me and will consult it regularly as I move beyond my previously held self-limiting beliefs and behaviors. Thank-you, Dr. Honos-Webb!”—Neil D Brown, LCSW, author of Ending The Parent-Teen Control Battle, and host of the Healthy Family Connections podcast

From the Publisher