Executive Functioning: If a student is struggling with a class, it’s not necessarily the case that they’re having a hard time with the course material — sometimes, the course-load is the bigger obstacle. This is all too common in an increasingly competitive academic culture, where colleges are seeking well-rounded applicants with protean interests and abilities. By the time they are juniors and seniors, most students are juggling a large load of after school activities — sports, extracurriculars, student government, a job — and often, there simply isn’t enough time to put in one’s best work for everything.
Students with learning differences, such as ADHD, may struggle with this as well — even if they have high GPAs and high test scores. Common signs of neurodivergence are longer-than-usual study hours, fatigue, and sometimes even health problems associated with chronic stress. Along with medication and oversight from a medical professional, assistance with executive functioning can be crucial in these cases.
Whether your student is neurodivergent or neurotypical, there are countless tips, tricks and strategies out there that can increase their productivity while also ensuring they have enough rest and recreation in the mix. For students to focus deeply, to churn out their best writing, and to achieve their best test performances, they need to balance it with recovery time; otherwise, stress and overwhelm will dominate their psychology. Strategies towards this end can be as simple as determining low vs high priority tasks or as sophisticated as “Cognitive Load Management“. When it comes to improving academic performance, there are a variety of learning and comprehension practices that are available, such as spaced-repetition memorization techniques or “interleaving“.
Doing well in high school requires higher level study skills, solid work, and discipline. For students who are struggling with reading comprehension, dozing off 30 minutes into their reading assignments, or for those hopeless procrastinators who are finishing their papers minutes before the deadline, it can be very helpful to have a coach to provide guidance and accountability. Drawing from the latest research on productivity, habituation and time management, I create customized strategies for each student.This can make all the difference in a busy homework routine; it may also give a student that extra edge when applying to their reach school.
Contact: If you’d like to learn more, contact me for a free consultation, and we can discuss what a customized coaching plan would look like for your student.