Preventing Procrastination in Teens and College Students | Leslie Josel | Episode 160

Procrastination in teens can cause problems for them and frustration for you. You clearly see what they need to do and can’t understand why they aren’t doing it. Maybe they look lazy or ambivalent. And procrastinating has real consequences. Nagging and pushing hasn’t helped so what can you do? Expert Leslie Josel talks to Mighty Parenting host Sandy Fowler to help parents understand why teenagers procrastinate and simple things they can do to help their child get un-stuck. 

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A Favorite Quote from the Show: 

During Covid, the thing to focus on to help get teens motivated is their environment. They’ve been in the same place for months and those 4 walls are not motivating.

High Points From Our Conversation on Procrastination in Teens:

Preventing procrastination in teens starts with seeing time.

Time is something we all have in common. We have the same amount of it but we all do something different with it.

We can externalize time using analog clocks, tick-down timers, phone timers, paper planners, and calendars. The more we externalize time, the more we internalize it.

An analog clock allows you to see time move, to see time tick forward. This anchors us.

A timer holds future time so you can be present in the moment, focused on what you’re doing and experiencing.

The planner is a tool/strategy to get there. It’s not the actual goal. Your goal is to be on top of your tasks, to have future awareness. 

A planner is not a to-do list. Writing in a planner lets you know when you have time to do something. It isn’t about showing you what, it shows you when.

Procrastination is about lack of skills.

When a teen is procrastinating, there’s always a reason behind it. We can help them by getting curious and fully understand what’s getting in our teen’s way. Some of the issues can be: disorganization, time blindness, decision fatigue, and improper environment.

During Covid, the thing to focus on to help get teens motivated is their environment. They’ve been in the same place for months and those 4 walls are not motivating.

Our teenagers’ cognitive load is heavy. When it gets too heavy it can crush them.

When they’ve been in the same space for so long, their environment doesn’t give them clues. This is forcing them to rely on their personal motivation more and that leads to procrastination in teens.

Movement helps lay down learning. It can help with motivation which eliminates procrastination in teens.

A simple routine and change of scenery can direct the brain. 

Kids are working in the bathtub, under the table, in the back seat of the car, and outside. A change of scenery helps and so does any kind of kinesthetic activity. Get them outside and moving whether it’s with sidewalk chalk, bouncing a ball, walking the dog or anything else, movement helps lighten the load.

While learning at home, have kids wake up, get dressed, grab their backpack and walk out the door. They can take a quick walk around the block then walk back in another door and go to their work space for the start of the day.

Movement helps lay down learning. Let them walk around the kitchen table, do push ups, head outside and it will help them solidify information.

Don’t discount fun and funny. They’re actually very motivating right now.

Switching subjects is highly motivating and helps teenagers stay motivated. This isn’t multitasking. It’s a full switch. Do math for 20 minutes (finish the current problem), switch for a while then go back. It helps avoid brain fade.

The maximum time for any one subject for teenagers is about 45 minutes to an hour.

If your student can’t see what done looks like and know where the finish line is then it’s very difficult to activate and procrastination kicks in. They need to be able to see a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Procrastinators always need to work time over task.

Instead of saying, “Why don’t you finish your homework before dinner?” Try “Why don’t you go work for 20 minutes until dinner is ready?”

When our teens are doing something they don’t want to be doing they need to be able to pause, picture and pace to stay the course.

Eliminate barriers to entry. Getting as much as possible out of their way helps teenagers avoid procrastination.

Resources:

Parenting Problem — The Surprising Solutions Might Be Time Management for Teens | Leslie Josel | Episode 21

Parenting Tips: Ending Procrastination Once And For All | Leslie Josel | Episode 51

Our Guest Leslie Josel:

Leslie Josel, an ADHD academic and parenting coach, is an award-winning entrepreneur, having founded Order Out Of Chaos – a company whose mission is to help parents guide their students to success in learning and in life. She is also the award-winning author of three books including, How To Do It Now Because It’s Not Going Away: An Expert Guide to Getting Stuff Done (Lerner Publishing, 2020).  Leslie is the creator of the award-winning “Academic Planner: A Tool For Time Management,” a planner that helps students master time management skills, and an internationally acclaimed speaker.

Leslie has been named as one of the top time management experts in the world by Global Gurus four years in a row, and speaks to students and parents to help them utilize their resources to best navigate the task-driven world in which they live. She continues to learn from her audiences, sharing her observations with readers of ADDitude Magazine in her weekly column, “Dear ADHD Family Coach” and other print and broadcast media.

Leslie is also a Golden Circle member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and received its distinguished Founder’s Award in 2018.

To learn more or connect with our guest visit https://orderoochaos.com/ 

Show Support:

Sandy Fowler—Struggling to work, volunteer or follow another passion while still loving your family? Sandy Fowler shows you how you can follow your passion while loving your family and do it without guilt and stress. Click here for the free video.