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By mid-semester students’ time management routines have often weakened or collapsed.

Consider these four questions when giving your routines a makeover so that you can make it to the end of the semester with your grades and self esteem intact:

• First, do you have a weekly planning routine? This can be a helpful Sunday task to help you look ahead and plan for the week ahead.
• Second, do you have a daily routine to do right before and after your homework? This can be helpful to make sure you are adjusting your weekly plan as needed, with every new assignment your teachers give.
• Third, if the daily routine doesn’t work for you, are you doing a midweek check-in ritual? This enables you to check off items from your To Do list, add new items, and make a plan for the weekend, so that you take action rather than procrastinate during your “off” time.
• Finally, do you have a plan for accountability? Who else besides you can know about your plans and help make sure you feel a low-grade pressure to follow through?

Listen in to learn how to revamp your time management skills.

Believe it or not — raising your reading comprehension scores on standardized tests is often not about improving your reading skills!

Tune in as Megan outlines surprising skills to improve if you want improved performance on this section of your tests. Specifically she covers how to:

• Develop college-bound vocabulary
• Practice reading challenging material (fiction, non-fiction, archaic rhetorical style, complex scientific, detailed, etc.
• Learn to find details (open book skills)
• Practice analysis skills, and
• Understand that every word matters

Listen in as Megan outlines surprising skills to improve if you want improved performance on reading comprehension of your tests.

How much can a student’s behavior truly change after a semester of coaching?

In today’s episode, Gretchen walks us through a sixteen year old’s reflections about how he has grown as a result of academic coaching.

The following eight ideas resulted from a brainstorm during this young man’s final coaching session, during which he and Gretchen reviewed what he has learned and what habits he would like to maintain:

1. The Set Up Routine
2. Doing Spanish hw first
3. All the different study tools from the Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying
4. Self Advocacy.
5. Keeping a Planner.
6. Finishing homework by a reasonable hour
7. Take advantage of meds before they wear off.
8. Marking period supply clean out.

Tune in to the episode to hear more about each of these take aways!

The national average of number of AP classes taken by students admitted to top universities is five to eight total. That’s a lot!

Deciding whether to take (or not take) Advanced Placement classes is more complicated that simply taking as many tests as possible.

In this episode we discuss in detail the following considerations:

1. The importance of students choosing an appropriate level of challenge
2. The fact that AP classes (and the AP exams) can push students to learn at a higher level, which is great prep for college!
3. How to think through your priorities when considering AP
4. What does your family hope to get out of an AP class– higher learning, AP credit, boost to school GPA / rank, better teachers, taking class with peers, etc.
5. What are your alternatives?
6. What will the student have to give up to take these classes?
7. How to monitor appropriateness (grades, time spent studying, mental health)
8. When to go for it, and how to step down if you realize it’s too much

Listen in about AP courses to see if it’s right for you!

Sometimes small study tweaks can make a difference.

In this episode, Gretchen outlines seven small study techniques that can are easy to integrate into your homework time, and can help you be better prepped for tests.

We’re listing them here, though you’ll want to tune in to understand exactly how to integrate them into your study routine. They are:

1. Take 3-minutes to quiz yourself before every assignment.
2. Don’t use Google Translate to do your language homework, but do use it to assess yourself after you’re done
3. Eliminate silly mistakes on math tests by doing a “speed practice” when doing homework
4. Check your homework every night using www.slader.com
5. Use blue tape to put flashcards up around your house, so that you can study when you’re walking to and from different rooms
6. Draw a picture next to information that you’re having trouble remembering
7. Make a quizzable study tool before each chapter test and save those tools for the final.

Listen in as Gretchen outlines seven small study techniques that can are easy to integrate into your homework time, and can help you be better prepped for tests.

“Make time visible” is a favorite refrain of Gretchen’s, and it’s equally as true for college planning as it is for daily time management and organization.

In this episode, Megan walks students step by step through how to make the next four years visible…by making a 4 year plan for course selection.

Listen in as she walks you through the following steps, which you can apply to your high school or your college career:

1. Gather information about the courses at your school.
2. Start by laying out requirements and prerequisites on a calendar.
3. Add electives and “one off” classes.
4. Strive for balance.
5. Know your options and make sure you have a back up plan if courses aren’t available when you thought they might be.

Click here to listen in as Megan provides 5 steps you can use to apply to your college or high school career.

Sometimes nagging is necessary! So how can parents do it in a way that will make teens receptive to their reminders and prodding?

In this episode, Gretchen tells stories about how 3 different clients made agreements with their parents about how and when they are allowed to nag them.

These “family nag plans” can make a big different in terms of helping teens follow through and also preserving the peace at home.

Click here to find out more about how to create a family nag plan that will work in your unique circumstances!