Executive Functioning Skill: Self-Monitoring

The last of the executive functioning skills to talk about is self-monitoring. This makes sense to do last because it is perhaps the skill that is often lacking even with adults whose other executive functioning skills are on point. Self-monitoring specifically is “the ability to pay attention to your thoughts, processes, and behaviors, and to keep track of what you are doing to improve practices and productivity.” This skill requires the ability to critique yourself and make adjustments. The best way to start building this skill is to encourage students to observe the world around them. It’s easier to notice patterns with other people’s behavior first. Then you need to learn how to take that lens and turn it to yourself. There are lots of different productivity apps and hacks out there, but I find the best way to improve self-monitoring is to have a plan each day and to reflect at the end of the day (usually with a journal) the things that went well and the things that didn’t. This is also why meditation is helpful. It lets you focus on your inner world and just observe without judgement. The two impairments to self-monitoring are perfectionism and ignorance. Perfectionism will have you missing the forest for the trees because you didn’t do something perfectly. Ignorance will have you not even knowing you're in a forest with trees. Set goals and observe without judgement. Also learn to take criticism because sometimes the observations of others will help clue us into the areas we need to work on. Ultimately, stay curious and keep working towards improvement.