pages cm "Are you smart, scattered, and struggling? You're not alone. Cutting-edge research shows that today's 24/7 wired world and the growing demands of work and family life may simply max out the part of the brain that manages complex tasks. That's especially true for those lacking strong executive skills/m-/the core brain-based abilities needed to maintain focus, meet deadlines, and stay cool under pressure. In this essential guide, leading experts Peg Dawson and Richard Guare help you map your own executive skills profile and take effective steps to boost your organizational skills, time management, emotional control, and nine other essential capacities. The book is packed with science-based strategies and concrete examples, plus downloadable practical tools for creating your own personalized action plan. Whether on the job or at home, you can get more done with less stress. See also the authors' Smart but Scattered parenting guides, plus an academic planner for students and related titles for professionals. "-- "Meeting a huge demand, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare (authors of the bestselling Smart but Scattered books focusing on kids and teens) now provide a state of the art resource specifically geared to adults. Drs. Dawson and Guare offer expert guidance for boosting executive skills--the core brain based abilities needed to get more done with less stress. Readers will be drawn in by realistic examples, self quizzes, and science based tools for strengthening time management, organization, emotional control, and more. And what you can't change, you can work around! The book is packed with simple yet effective strategies for maintaining focus, conquering clutter, staying on top of work demands, and taming the chaos of family life. Numerous worksheets and forms (which purchasers can download and print in a convenient 8 Includes bibliographical references and index Machine generated contents note: I. Understanding the Executive in Your Brain -- 1. Are You Smart, Scattered, and Stressed? -- 2. Your Executive Skills Profile -- 3. Managing Executive Skills by Modifying the Environment -- 4. Improving Your Executive Skills -- II. Understanding the Impact of Executive Skills in Your Daily Life -- 5. Executive Skills in the Workplace -- 6. Executive Skills in the Home -- 7. Executive Skills in Relationships -- III. Strategies for Individual Executive Skills -- 8. Controlling Impulses: Response Inhibition -- 9. Keeping Track of It All: Working Memory -- 10. Being Cool: Emotional Control -- 11. Avoiding Procrastination: Task Initiation -- 12. Staying Focused: Sustained Attention -- 13. Defining a Path: Planning/Prioritizing -- 14. Clearing Clutter: Organization -- 15. Sticking to the Schedule: Time Management -- 16. Shifting Gears: Flexibility -- 17. Learning from Experience: Metacognition -- 18. Reaching the Finish Line: Goal-Directed Persistence -- 19. Rolling with the Punches: Stress Tolerance -- IV. Looking Ahead -- 20. Aging without Losing Your Edge: A Prescription for Preserving Executive Skills -- Resources