It’s already back-to-school time again and with that comes all the preparation and excitement for the new year. Decisions around the house will once again revolve around choosing between schoolwork versus video games, getting homework done amidst a fully scheduled calendar and deciding whether to prepare lunches the night before or in the morning. For some, these decisions will be easily made, work first, play later. For others procrastination may be the name of the game, putting off work until the last minute, which can often lead to lack of sleep and endless parental nagging.
And yet there is another subset of the population who struggles with what neuroscientists have called “executive function.” Executive function refers to all the cognitive processes that allow us to achieve goals- prioritizing, managing time, separating the big picture from details, shifting from one task to another (often called flexibility), checking as you go and reflecting on your outcome (self monitoring).
For individuals challenged with executive function skills, it is not a question of motivation or effort, but rather, they just don’t know where to start and how to proceed. Without specific teaching, getting organized is not all that easy. As with many other life skills, like skiing, reading, singing – some of us have more intuitive talent than others.
by Laurie Caswell Burke
Distractions have crept their way into our lifestyles for
better or for worse. And as great as
they are in connecting us with the world at large they can present challenges
when it comes to study habits for our teen population. Would you rather come home from school and
tune into myriad of distractions, tackle
the stack of books facing you, do a few physics
problems, or write that English essay?
Because of the widespread use of electronics which can become very
addicting, it is important to develop good study habits early on. These will
transfer to good work habits as our teens enter the employment arena.
