Taking Initiative: Encouraging High School Students to Start Tasks with Confidence

Posted In Discussion On May 24, 2025

Taking initiative is a foundational executive function skill that can transform a student’s academic experience. For high school teachers, fostering this skill through thoughtful conversation and structured executive function instruction is one of the most powerful ways to improve student performance, reduce procrastination, and increase student engagement. When students learn to take initiative, they build confidence, regulate their emotions, and participate more actively in class.

At its core, executive function refers to a set of mental skills needed to complete tasks and meet goals. When students master these skills, they can plan, focus, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks effectively. Teaching executive function skills, especially task initiation, supports both academic growth and personal development. Below are five discussion prompts designed to engage your high school students in reflective conversations while simultaneously teaching task initiation skills.

1. Reflecting on Focus and Distractions

Discussion Prompt: Staying on track can take time and effort. Think of a time when you lost focus and struggled to complete your task. For example, maybe you became distracted by your phone notifications or did not use a checklist to help you stay focused. Describe your thoughts before and after you returned to your task and finished it.

This question prompts students to identify internal and external barriers to task initiation. By having students recall a personal moment of distraction and recovery, you are guiding them to recognize their own capacity and building awareness of strategies that help them re-engage. These reflective conversations are effective components of executive function instruction and support student confidence by showing how setbacks are normal and recoverable.

2. Creating a Culture of Initiative in the Classroom

Discussion Prompt: Task initiation is essential for students to use during class. Task initiation includes breaking projects into manageable pieces, overcoming procrastination, and using motivators to follow through and finish tasks. Explain how your classroom environment would improve if students used more task initiation, and why task initiation is sometimes difficult to use.

Use this question to encourage students to connect their behavior to the learning environment. This is an opportunity to highlight how executive function learning contributes to group success. Students begin to see how taking initiative can improve not only their academic performance but also their peers’ experiences.

3. Creating a Starting Point

Discussion Prompt: How can taking initiative feel difficult when the starting point is unclear, and how might creating a plan help provide the direction needed to get started?

Many students delay beginning a task because they don’t know where to start. This discussion allows you to teach executive function strategies like brainstorming, outlining, or using visual planning tools. When students have a system for starting, the fear of failure or confusion diminishes.

4. Solutions for Feeling “Stuck”

Discussion Prompt: What are some helpful solutions students can use when they are feeling “stuck” on an assignment or task?

When students talk about feeling “stuck,” they’re often experiencing mental fatigue or fear of making a mistake. Use this prompt to generate class-wide strategies such as asking for help, re-reading the directions, breaking tasks into smaller steps, or temporarily switching to a different section of the assignment. This conversation helps normalize the struggle and equips students with strategies that address this executive function challenge.

5. The Power of Incentives

Discussion Prompt: How can incentives be used to help students stay motivated and follow through on finishing their tasks?

Motivation plays a huge role in taking initiative. Discuss both external rewards, like privileges or recognition, and internal motivators, like pride in finishing or reaching personal goals. Help students identify what truly motivates them and encourage them to use these incentives to jumpstart their efforts.

Wrap-Up and Resources for Teachers

Helping students develop the skill of taking initiative is a key step toward improving students’ academic performance. Through executive function lessons and regular discussion, students learn not only to begin tasks but to do so with purpose, clarity, and confidence. When students feel empowered to start, they also build the skills to persist and succeed.

Looking for more appropriate age discussion prompts for taking initiative?

• Task initiation discussion questions for grades 1–4 and 5-8.
• Sign up for our newsletter to receive tips, resources, and exclusive updates on our executive function tools and strategies.
• Discover the value of our executive function curriculum for educators.

By embedding these conversations into your classroom routines, you’re not just solving executive function challenges—you’re building a classroom culture where taking initiative is the norm.