If you’re a neurodivergent freelancer or small business owner, chances are you’ve heard the term executive function used to explain everything from missed deadlines to burnout. Sometimes it’s framed as a deficit, in fact I read the term executive dysfunction frequently online. But in reality, executive function is simply the set of mental skills that help us manage, organise and direct our attention and behaviour, and they can show up very differently depending on how your brain works and the environment you’re in.
For many neurodivergent people, self-employment can feel like a relief and a constant challenge. Understanding executive function helps make sense of why.
So what is executive function?
Executive function is an umbrella term for the mental processes that help you:
- Start tasks
- Plan and prioritise
- Manage time and deadlines
- Remember what you’re supposed to be doing
- Regulate emotions and motivation
- Switch between tasks or ideas
It’s not about intelligence, ambition or effort. You can be highly capable, creative, skilled and still struggle to send invoices on time, reply to emails or break a big project into manageable chunks.
Executive function also isn’t static. It changes depending on stress, energy levels, health, novelty, interest and environment. Many neurodivergent people function brilliantly in the right conditions and get completely stuck in others.
How executive function can impact freelancers and small business owners
Running a business places heavy demands on executive function, often in ways that aren’t obvious at first. Common pressure points include:
Time and task management
Freelancers are responsible for setting their own deadlines, estimating how long things will take and juggling multiple projects. If your sense of time is unreliable or you struggle to prioritise, this can lead to last-minute panic or chronic overworking.
Starting and finishing tasks
Task initiation is an executive function skill. You might know what needs doing, want to do it, and still feel unable to start, especially if the task is boring, emotionally loaded or poorly defined.
Admin, money and systems
Invoicing, bookkeeping, emails, contracts and follow-ups are uninspiring tasks for many neurodivergent people. They require sustained attention and working memory and they rarely provide immediate reward.
Context switching
Switching between creative work, client communication, marketing and admin can be exhausting. Each switch uses executive function capacity, even if the tasks themselves aren’t difficult.
Emotional regulation and overwhelm
Rejection, uncertainty, client feedback and financial instability all increase cognitive load. When you’re overwhelmed, executive function often drops further, creating a vicious cycle.
Why executive function differences may have led you into business
Interestingly, many neurodivergent people didn’t choose self-employment despite executive function challenges, but partly because of them.
Traditional employment often requires fixed schedules, supervision, frequent interruptions, office politics, unspoken rules and performing ‘professionalism’ all day. For someone with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or other neurodivergent traits, these environments can be deeply draining. Business ownership offers an alternative to this:
- Autonomy over how and when you work
- The ability to build around your strengths
- Fewer social demands (or more control over the ones you do have)
- The option to hyperfocus on meaningful work
In other words, business can reduce some executive function demands while increasing others. So while you escape the bits that you found really hard, you can also find yourself responsible for things that other people used to manage for you.
Strategies for working with executive function, not against it
There’s no single fix for executive function challenges, but there are ways to reduce friction and increase support.
Externalise everything
Don’t rely on memory or ‘I’ll remember later.’ Use written checklists, visual boards, calendars, alarms and templates. If it lives outside your head, it uses less executive energy.
Reduce decision-making
Decision fatigue is real. Standardise where you can: fixed admin days, repeatable workflows, default responses, pricing tiers. Fewer choices means more energy for meaningful work.
Break tasks down smaller than feels reasonable
‘Do my accounts’ is too big. ‘Open accounting software’ might be enough to get started. Taking one small step might give you the momentum to keep going and get the job done.
Design for energy, not hours
Pay attention to when you can focus, not how long you should work. Short, intense bursts may be far more effective than long stretches of forced concentration. On the other hand, if you get ‘into the zone’ and can work for a long period (and it doesn’t have any detrimental effects on you) then don’t feel you have to stop.
Use accountability , as long as you feel comfortable with it
This might be a body-double, a coach, a co-working session or a gentle check-in with someone you trust. External structure can substitute for internal executive function.
Get support where possible
Coaching, virtual assistants, bookkeeping support, or Access to Work funding (for UK-based business owners) can offload tasks that drain you the most.
Stop trying to ‘fix’ yourself
Improving executive function isn’t about becoming neurotypical. It’s about creating systems, environments and expectations that work for your brain.
A more compassionate way to think about executive function
Executive function challenges are not a personal failing — they’re a mismatch between how your brain works and what your role demands. Many neurodivergent freelancers are exceptional at strategy, creativity, problem-solving and empathy, while struggling with structure and consistency.
When you stop seeing executive function as something you’re bad at and start treating it as something that needs support, business becomes more sustainable.
Find out more about how I can help you work with your executive function on my services page.