Imagine you preparing for your office holiday party. Besides for regular work, there’s this additional stress and it’s not doing anyone any good.

You might be struggling with this if you have any weak cognitive function, and you lack strategies to help you deal with them.

Thinking is not one big thing.
Thinking is made up of 28 parts, called cognitive functions.
They are thinking skills. 

They're kinda like the center of the web of your daily activities.
Cognitive functions, you're thinking skills, sit in the center of the web and effects all the lines coming out of it, all the activities you do.

If we all have weak cognitive functions, then how do we reduce stress and overwhelm? 
By collecting strategies and tips that have helped you in that past and using them again in the future.

When you do something challenging - or even easy, take a moment to ask yourself, "What did I do to help me figure it out?"
Your answer should be a strategy. 

For example, if you were just looking for an important paper and found it, ask yourself, “What did I do to help me find it?”
Don’t answer by saying I started by going through all my draws in my desk on the left side, started in the top draw and went through each paper. Rather say, I did a systematic search.

Another  example, if you are lying in bed after an accomplished day were you got a lot done, and you’re answering the question to how you were able to do it, don’t say, “ Last night I went through all my tasks, prioritized the needed to get done, delegated other parts of it and blocked out my calendar from the minute I woke up till I went to sleep.” Instead say the strategy. “I planned.”

By saying the strategy, by giving what you did a name, your brain will remember it much better.
This way, next time you're in a stressful situation, you can mentally go through the strategies you’ve used over and over again in the past and pull out the one you need now.

You’re planning a holiday party on top of all regular work; make a plan.

You'll want to keep a running list of strategies that you can look back at any time.
Do it now.
Open your notes app on your phone and create the list. 


Just one more thing -

If you don’t know the name to the strategy you did, just make one up. It doesn’t matter what the actual name is, as long as your brain understands it.