Monthly Tips

Each month, a Thinking Organized tip is emailed to our growing list of educators, parents and students who want to improve their executive functioning skills.

Subscribe to our Monthly Tips

smortoMonthly Tips

Executive Functioning and the Winter Holidays

December 12, 2019

With the winter holidays about to roll around, children (and even adults!) are looking forward to days of pure relaxation. While it is important for students to use this time off to recharge, it is also crucial that they continue to strengthen their executive functioning skills so that they will seamlessly transition back to a regular school day when the new year starts.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiExecutive Functioning and the Winter Holidays

Flexible Thinking for the School Year

November 7, 2019
We are a quarter of the way through the academic year, and everything is just starting to fall back into a regular pace for kids, where they have to manage their homework while simultaneously juggling their extracurricular activities. In the midst of all the chaos, parents can use this opportunity to help their children hone their flexible thinking skills.
 
Flexible thinking is the ability to shift attentional focus and strategic problem-solving approaches from one aspect of a complex stimulus to another and to move freely from one situation, activity, or aspect of a problem to another as the circumstances demand. This skill is crucial to social development, as it helps children get along with others even if they have differences and makes group work more effective. 
 
Some children with learning and attention issues have trouble seeing other viewpoints and alternative ways of doing things, so it’s important for them to practice strengthening their flexible thinking skills by incorporating them into everyday tasks and activities.  

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiFlexible Thinking for the School Year

Making the Most of Study Time

October 16, 2019
In a world with ever increasing automation and a new smart technology arriving every week, we never have enough of the one thing we’d all like more of: time. With the rigors of school, homework, sports practices, rehearsals, and ever-expanding options for after-school activities, even kids feel they never have enough time. You’re probably not going to have much luck convincing the soccer coach to end practice early (unless you are the soccer coach), but homework is one mountain that can be conquered. However, in order to effectively complete their homework, students need to be able to pay attention to the task at hand.
To help your children build this essential skill, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiMaking the Most of Study Time

Time Management and Academic Planners

September 20, 2019
Welcome back to another school year!
To start the year off right, it’s important for your children to develop strong time management skills so that they can avoid late-night study sessions, last-minute projects, and incomplete assignments. Students who do not manage their time well may feel like they are always playing “catch-up,” and procrastination may become a habit that leads to stress, reduced learning, and poor grades. Learning how to properly manage time can enable your children to plan ahead, prioritize tasks, and distribute the correct amount of time needed to complete projects and homework.
While there are a variety of methods to help your children practice time management, one crucial tool is the academic planner. Planners come in various forms and sizes, so it is important that students find the one that works best for them.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiTime Management and Academic Planners

Teaching Students How to Self-Regulate

August 20, 2019
As adults, we tend to tell our children that something is not as bad as they think it is. Even if they have three hours of homework, two tests to study for, and a project to complete, this does not even compare to the “real world.” However, when we trivialize the frustrations that our children face regarding their academics, we inadvertently dissuade them from  learning how to self-regulate. Our children begin to wonder why they are unable to keep up with their workload, and this may lead to a loss of motivation, resistance to completing their work, or emotional outbursts. With the school year fast approaching, summer is the perfect time to teach and practice self-regulation strategies with your children.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiTeaching Students How to Self-Regulate

Executive Functioning Skills Matter Every Day

July 23, 2019
Strong executive functioning skills are essential in academic settings, but they are equally as necessary for everyday living. Thinking Organized seeks to teach organizational strategies that will help students learn to focus on being more organized in school and in life. Summer gives parents a great opportunity to model and practice these skills with their children in a real-life context, when academics are not necessarily the primary concern.
Take a look at our ideas below in order to get the most out of practicing executive functioning skills with your children this summer.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiExecutive Functioning Skills Matter Every Day

Reflecting on the School Year

June 18, 2019
Summer is finally upon us, and many students are ready to toss their backpacks in the closet and not look at them again for two months. However, it is important for students to engage in self-reflection so that they can make adjustments for a successful return to school. This exercise can help your children identify strengths and weaknesses while also helping them think through the best approaches to tackle both easy and difficult tasks.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiReflecting on the School Year

Let Your Children Make Mistakes this Summer!

May 21, 2019
As we reach the end of the school year, a number of “standards” start to be compromised. With the pressures of exams and end-of-the-year projects, parents might find themselves taking on some of their children’s responsibilities or helping them with schoolwork a little more than usual. However, your overall goal as parents is to raise independent individuals who can effectively negotiate the rigors of life as well as academics. To do this, children need to develop executive functioning skills, the cognitive processes that control and organize goal-directed behavior. When an exam is looming, it is hard to not step in and help your child prepare for that test.
With the stress of school out of the way, summer is a wonderful time to work on improving your children’s executive functioning skills.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiLet Your Children Make Mistakes this Summer!

When to Look for Additional Support

April 16, 2019
Thinking Organized has helped hundreds of parents and children strengthen their executive function skills. These crucial skills enable an individual to set goals, organize a plan to meet those goals, and effectively complete tasks within a given time frame. Executive functions are the skills that an executive uses to run a busy office, a parent uses to manage the morning rush, and a student uses to successfully complete academic assignments and responsibilities.
However, what happens if you are consistently using the Thinking Organized strategies and your children are still struggling?

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiWhen to Look for Additional Support

Succeeding in the Second Half of the School Year

March 14, 2019
 
It’s no surprise that as the school year progresses, students start to lose motivation. With the lure of spring break and summer break so close, many students struggle to focus on their academics during the second half of the school year. For those with executive dysfunction, this disparity between their performance in the two halves of the year can be even more apparent. It’s important to help your children regain momentum so that they can finish the year on a strong note, and there are several actions you can take to help them find success.

To subscribe and receive the full versions of our monthly tips, please send us your email address here.

Erica MechlinskiSucceeding in the Second Half of the School Year