By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Getting good grades in school is about way more than being smart. In fact, being smart doesn’t have much to do with it. Students with the highest grades tend to have the most efficient systems for doing school. When your systems …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. School can feel overwhelming for a million reasons, most of which have to do with the fact that school is hard. I’m dead serious. AP physics can feel challenging because AP physics is challenging. Advanced economics can feel difficult because advanced …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. A personal operating system is a set of habits, routines, processes, tools and self-maintenance strategies that we use to manage our lives. Just like a computer needs an operating system (OS) to run programs and process information efficiently, students need a …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Disorganization can make everything around you feel out of control. You don’t know where things are, you don’t know when assignments are due, and your external environment signals chaos. The opposite is also true. When we’re at least somewhat organized, everything …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Thriving in school takes more than raw intelligence. While it’s true that school success requires discipline, good study habits, regular attendance, and curiosity, there’s something far deeper behind it all. And what is this mysterious “something”? Self-awareness. Self-awareness is the single …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. There are many reasons why a class might feel boring. You could have a low-energy teacher, it could be a topic you don’t find relevant, or you may be in the wrong level course for your ability. Regardless of the reason, …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Summer break is for family, friends, part-time jobs and all the things you do when you’re not in school. But summer is also the perfect time to get a few areas of your life in order so you feel better about …
Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. If you’re a student, working over the summer is a great way to earn money, make connections, build skills, and enjoy your school break doing something other than sitting around. But if you’re a student with ADHD, working over the summer can …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. The ability to focus is at the core of nearly everything you’re asked to do in school. You can’t read a book if you can’t focus. You can’t follow along with a science lecture if you can’t focus. You can’t solve …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Being a disorganized student makes school so much harder than it needs to be. School is hard enough, is it not? But it gets so much more difficult when you can’t find your notes to study from, you turn in your …