The Simple Chart that transforms Executive Functioning tasks
Plus it works for adults too ;)
The other day, my friend
messaged me asking “how can I help my kiddo track what they’re doing in a game so they can reach the goal they want to and not yell at me?”It’s a very relatable question- it made me think of when my child one day wanted to make an object out of cake, a la “is it cake?” and seemed shocked that I said we needed to draw the cake they were thinking of making, make a list of required ingredients, and go to the store.
Being able to break tasks down and understand the steps and sequence to achieve them is a big part of executive functioning, and while some people have an easier time with those skills than others, they are largely learned skills, not some inherently granted ability.
So, I told Crystal “have you tried a “ready, do, done” chart? Turns out that’s a relatively common thing in education but not elsewhere.
“Ready, do, done” charts are a way of helping kids not only break tasks down into smaller steps, but also planning backwards with the goal in mind. A simple example would be getting ready for school. “Done” would have a list or picture of things like a backpack, snack, water bottle, jacket, etc. “Do” might have the steps necessary to achieve the goal, like “brush teeth,” or “put on clothes” or “get lunchbox from fridge”. “Ready” would have the steps that have to happen FIRST- packing snack, choosing clothes for tomorrow’s outfit, putting homework in the backpack, etc.
Many kids actually do these steps innately in activities they enjoy such as video games- we can harness that. If their goal is to build a certain building in Minecraft, they may make a list of the required materials and plan where to mine them. Those are the same backwards design and executive thinking skills, and by making that clear to kids, we’re showing them that not only do they HAVE the skills they need, they can easily pivot those skills to other parts of their lives.