Help your child stay focused and hit long-term goals in sports, academics …. any area of life!

In this video, I share tips and tricks that help your child focus and stay the course until they reach their goals.

A diagnosis of ADHD isn’t necessary for someone to have trouble focusing. Lots of learners of all ages have trouble staying focused from the beginning to the end of a project. The amount of distractions (not to mention enticing screens!) around us these days is enough to get anyone’s attention!

Staying focused on one thing at a time (to completion) is a skill that needs to be practiced.

It’s a skill that even I need to work on. When I feel myself getting distracted in the middle of a project, it is a conscious effort to get back on track.

Check-In With These Focus Tips

• Are you using study time to study, or are you texting a friend? If you need to text a classmate about the task you’re working on, make sure you stay on topic!
• If the minutes feel like they are crawling, use a timer!
• Work to reduce distractions. Make sure the TV in your homework area is off, phones are put away, and outside conversation is kept to a minimum.

I hope these tips help you and your family! If you need more guidance on helping your student focus, you can check out more on my blog!

The secret to stopping mental overwhelm in its tracks? Support “working memory.”

Your working memory is like a whiteboard – it’s the part of your mind where you hold the information needed to go about your day (to-do lists, phone numbers, etc.)

You can lighten your mental load and get a clear head with my tried and true practices for getting information from your working memory onto paper.

Check out this video, follow my tips, and watch your focus grow!

What do you do when your head holds too much at one time? How about when your young person’s head is too full?

No matter how big or small the tasks are, too many of anything up in your brain can become too much very quickly. I call this working memory. When your “mental whiteboard” is too full, it’s hard to get any of them done!

I like to think of working memory as a whiteboard in the front of your brain where you are holding onto a variety of information, while working through your day. Once you use information in your working memory, you can release it and move on to the next piece of information. However, if your brain is not well-trained to stay focused, (i.e. you start and stop a lot of projects), you will be holding in your working memory your entire to-do’ list for the day.  Not a good use of anyone’s time.  

Here are some of my tips on how to clear your whiteboard

1. Do the quick stuff first. If it will take less than 5 minutes, put it at the top of the list! That way, they’ll be done.
2. Section off the things that will take longer. It’s a great idea to physically write them down in a calendar – one that you will see every day. Separating the tasks by difficulty and noting the deadline for each task.
3. Think about when you are going to have time to do the tasks. Do you have a study hall period in school? Is there a weeknight when you don’t have any activities? Do you have a day off of school soon? Maybe you can get a bunch of them done in that free time!

Remember to keep the calendar in a place where you will see it. This will set you up for success!

Tip: learn more about AET’s parent resources here

Parents – you can strengthen focus and attention in a way that does not feel like work.

If you want to have fun and help your child at the same time, then learn my favorite game for building these skills — the Metronome Matcher.

How to Play Metronome Matcher

All you need is a tennis ball and a metronome (the tool that is used to keep time in music). You can easily find a free app for a metronome – no trip to the music store needed. 

Set the metronome to a reasonable pace – start slow as you get started! Next, ask your child to try to match the bouncing of the ball to the click of the metronome. 

I encourage you to try it yourself, too! Making it a friendly competition may make it extra enjoyable for everyone. And it can help the game last longer!

As your child matches their bounces to the metronome beat, they naturally strengthen focus and attention.

Bonus points – if you play this game for the same amount of time repeatedly, your child will build time awareness, too.

Kids are prone to task-switching. Especially those with attention issues. The problem is that when they switch from task to task, they force their brains to work harder. The outcome is ultimately a lower level of quality. Plus, they exhaust their mental reserves.

Here’s a quick hack to reduce task-switching with three benefits.

Ask them to work for five more minutes and then take a break.

Three Benefits to the Five-Minute Extension:

#1 – You may actually figure out what’s causing the frustration, and more deeply engage with the activity at hand.

#2 – Even if they are still frustrated or bored, you’ve trained their brain that your first response to those feelings is to keep working. 

#3 – You will eventually expand the amount of time they can focus on challenging tasks. 

Good luck! I can’t wait to hear how this hack works for you and your child.

Your child needs homework breaks. Why? Because students who learn and think differently can have low stamina, frustration tolerance, and planning skills. And, research shows that brain breaks are helpful supports for these students.

You may think that relaxing with a video game or a YouTube video is a good homework break. But those are so fun and immersive that they’re hard to stop. Plus, they can cause long-term distraction and less interest in homework.

Effective homework breaks are quick, structured breaks.

They use physical movement, mindfulness exercises, or sensory activities. Remember – different minds and different moods call for different types of breaks.

Here are my top recommendations for refreshing and refueling your brain:

• A 20-minute walk, which increases blood flow to the brain, quickens reaction time, and sharpens decision-making
• A nourishing snack, like blueberries or pumpkin seeds.
• A water break
• Rest. Even a short nap (around 20 minutes) boosts your ability to concentrate by giving your brain a chance to restore depleted energy.  
• Daydreaming promotes creativity and consolidates learning. 
• Social interaction can boost mood and memory

If you would like more specific ideas for different times of day, check out this brain break bank from understood.org.

Enjoy!

The Pomodoro Technique is a great technique for keeping the mind alert and focused.  As author Dr. Oakley says, this technique trains you to focus and reinforces that relaxing at the end is critical to the process of learning.”

The Pomodoro Technique is the decision to pick one task and work on it distraction-free for 25 – 30 minutes. With a 5-minute break afterwards.

Benefits of the Pomodoro Technique include:

• Reduced anxiety, because you do not have to worry about finishing the task.
• Improved retention and skill development.
• It is simple! Any timer or Google Chrome extension will do. 
• You take a break before the brain is fatigued. Brain fatigue can be difficult to detect, and we tend to work longer than we should. 

If your child has focus issues, pay attention to when their attention starts to fade. Twenty-five minutes could be too big a work block for them. Start with a window of time in which they can achieve a small result with solid focus. That will build self-confidence. You can slowly increase the window of focused time as they strengthen their skills and self-esteem.

Enjoy! Let me know how it goes for you!