If your autumn diary already feels heavier than your summer one, executive function coaching in London might be a phrase worth knowing. October is ADHD Awareness Month, the clocks go back on 25 October, and the new term, new projects and shorter days all land at once. Greek List member Anna Daphna works in exactly this area from her office in Marylebone and online worldwide.
General information only, not medical advice. Coaching is not a medical service or a diagnosis. Anna Daphna is a Greek List member and this article is part of her membership.
Executive function is the set of mental skills we use to plan, start tasks, switch between them, manage time and follow through. When it feels hard, people often describe it as knowing exactly what to do and still not doing it. The NHS notes that adults with ADHD can find it difficult to organise their time, follow instructions and finish tasks, and that symptoms usually begin before the age of 12. You can read the full description on the NHS page on ADHD in adults.
Executive function difficulties are not the same thing as ADHD, and plenty of people have trouble with planning and follow through without any diagnosis. That is one reason the coaching and the clinical sides are best kept separate in your head.
Anna describes herself as a coach, mentor and psychologist, and her Greek List listing presents her as an executive function and high performance specialist. Her business, Anna Daphna Coaching, is based on the first floor of 85 Great Portland Street, W1W 7LT, and she works with adults, students and organisations, in London and online. Her website lists programmes including ADHD coaching, academic coaching, autism and dyslexia coaching, workplace and leadership coaching and Access to Work coaching.
Her approach, as she describes it, rests on three areas: the nervous system (staying clear and steady under pressure), executive function (planning, self regulation and follow through) and identity (acting at the level you know you are capable of). One line from her listing sums up her angle: many intelligent people are not disorganised, they are dysregulated. Whether that framing speaks to you is personal, so read her pages and decide for yourself.
If your symptoms affect your studies, work or relationships, the NHS advises booking a GP appointment. Your GP may then refer you to a specialist for an assessment, which looks at your symptom history, your life now and your medical history. Waiting times can be long, and the NHS says you may be able to choose a clinic with a shorter wait through the Right to Choose scheme.
Coaching sits alongside that, not instead of it. A coach does not diagnose or treat anything. What a coaching conversation can offer is structure: working out routines, deadlines and habits with another person. If you are unsure which route fits you, a GP is the right first call for anything health related.
Whether or not you ever work with a coach, a few small habits are widely used for time and task management. These are general ideas, not advice for any individual:
A proper break is one of the easiest anchors to keep, and Anna’s office is a short walk from some of the best known Greek tables in London. She would not be the one to tell you what to order, but a planned lunch is a good reward for a morning of focused work.
Getting there: Great Portland Street and Regent’s Park stations are the closest Underground stops to 85 Great Portland Street. Check TfL for live service updates before you travel.
Ask any practitioner about their qualifications and professional memberships before you book, whatever the field. Check what is included in the fee, how long sessions last and whether they are online or in person. Anna’s site says she offers private coaching through a contact form, with online sessions available worldwide, which can help if you are outside London.
If you are curious, her website also hosts free online tools, the Executive Function Predictor and the Vagal Tone Detector. They are self check tools for interest, not a diagnosis.
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