You'd love to help your teen achieve more this year—but motivating teens can be so hard. And you have limited time and energy for trying anything fancy. Here—2 sentences that can help your teen achieve more this year. Throw these sentences into family conversation...
Academic Achievement Articles
My 1/2-Day STRATEGIC COLLEGE STUDENT Class Changed This Kid’s Life
It was 8:35 am on a Saturday, and I was standing at a whiteboard in a large classroom—drawing diagrams I'd need for the class I was about to teach. From behind me I heard a young male voice. "Hi, I'm early. I wanted to say hi to you." I turned to see a high school boy...
How to Use the Full Focus Planner
How can college students keep themselves focused and organized, so they're in the best position to get the highest grades possible—preferably while studying less than most other people? My recommendation to students is, use the Full Focus Planner. The Full Focus...
How Important is High School Homework—Really?
Today I'm featuring an important guest post by Dr. Charles Fay of LoveandLogic.com. Charles' book From Bad Grades to a Great Life! Unlocking the Mystery of Achievement for Your Child is one of the most highly recommended resources on this website. You can get wise...
Achieve More While Doing LESS Part 1 (AUDIO)
We've all had those days. You have a mountain of work in front of you that you genuinely want to get done, but you find yourself procrastinating. Struggling to focus. Failing to get tasks completed. What's the problem? It's probably not that your time management...
To Increase Academic Success, Ask Your Teen This, Now
Many teens believe deep down that academic success is only for "smart people." For kids that got lucky at birth and were granted more brainpower than others. Nothing could be further from the truth. Research by experts such as Stanford's Carol Dweck tells us that the...
Reduce Study Time By Putting Your Laptop Away
Ask any student, "How'd you like to study less—while still getting the highest grades possible?" The response will be a resounding, "Are you kidding? Yes!" A student who figures out how to reduce study time while still achieving high grades is freed to pursue paid...
Tee Your Kids Up For Career Success (In Just 2 Min.)
You desperately want your kids to succeed academically in school and in college so they can have a shot at lifetime career success—but cajoling and hovering and pushing them is just so exhausting. Here’s fantastic help that will take you under two minutes to...
3 Reasons Every Teen Needs A Part-Time Job (AUDIO)
This episode also includes a hilarious idea for making your teen want to go out and get a part-time job!Join me, Jeannie Burlowski, for episode 4 of the Launch Your Teens podcast, and you'll learn: 1. How working a part-time job increases the odds that a teen will be...
Could Graduating High School With an AA Degree Hurt a Kid?
Today I'm writing on topic I never, ever thought I would. Could graduating high school with an AA degree in any way do a student more harm than good? My eyes are bugging out just writing that. Could graduating high school with an AA degree HURT your kid? For many moms...
Secret Weapon for Multiple Choice Tests
Which of these multiple choice testing strategies have you never heard of before? That's your new secret weapon. Share this article with a student you care about. 1. Before you start, note the structure of the test and plan your timing. Here's a nightmare you want to...
Top 9 Books I Most Love for Parents and Students
Books make great gifts. Why? Because a carefully chosen book can literally change a life. In this short article I share the top 9 books I most love for parents, 20-somethings, and students ages 12 and up. (Are you worried that your teen won't read a non-fiction book?...
The Meme Every Kid Needs to See
Here it is—the meme every kid needs to see. Copy and forward this meme to the kids you love right now. Tweet this meme out to the people who follow you! [Tweet "Here it is—the #meme every #kid needs to see. #parenting #selfcontrol #boundaries #academics #k12 Thx...
The Sweaty Truth About Sports Scholarships
Parents of athletes fork out thousands to cover sports expenses over the years. Many wonder, "Is all this time, effort, and money going to pay off big when this kid gets to college?" Here, the sweaty truth about sports scholarships. 1. The truth about sports...
5 Ways Parents Head Off College Anxiety
This article is for you whether you've got a high schooler or a college student experiencing college anxiety. When Samantha was in 10th grade, her Dad offered her a great suggestion. "Sam, why don't we get your guidance counselor to sign you up for...
The Most Important Furniture Item for College Students
What's the most important furniture item for college students besides the dorm room bed? It's not the dorm room desk (since quiet library study carrels tend to be far better for intense and focused studying than a dorm room will ever be.) The most important furniture...
The Most Important Thing About High School? It’s Not Grades
Many families mistakenly believe that the most important thing about high school is getting good grades—so students can "get into a good college when they graduate." Not true. What is the most important thing about high school? In my work as an academic strategist,...
My Best Debt-Free College Interview Yet
To listen to my best debt-free college interview yet, click here. Listen while you're driving or getting ready in the morning, and you just might change the life of a student you love. In March of 2018 I was interviewed by Andy Earle, a Loyola Marymount University...
Why and How to Stop Multitasking
On the surface, it seems as though multitasking would make a great productivity tool. After all, if you can book a plane ticket and quickly shoot off an email while you're on a phone meeting at work, why not? Haven't you just masterfully killed two birds with one...
Is It True You “Can’t Look At Your Kids’ College Grades”?
You're bleeding money to pay for your son's college. You hope he's attending class, studying for exams, and getting help when he's stuck. But is he? Some people say that you can never know for sure, because, "parents aren't allowed to look at their kids' college...
5 Things Parents Must Know About “Senioritis”
You've nursed your child through bouts of the flu and strep throat, but "senioritis" is different. "Senioritis" symptoms include not doing homework, "forgetting" to study for tests, and getting oddly low grades on homework assignments, papers, and projects that your...
1-Minute Trick Helps Overcome Laziness
You've got a mountain of work in front of you, but no energy to tackle it. You've already slept well and eaten energy-producing food, so exhaustion's not the problem. You're just feeling lethargic, avoidant, and lazy. We've all been there. Some of our kids seem...
5 Questions to Ask Every Kid Every September
There's one thing parents long for far more than straight A report cards. Parents want kids to do their own homework in a quality manner without the parent needing to prod, nag, oversee, or push. Want to increase your chances of having academically independent...
How to Inspire Underperforming Students
Your middle schooler or high schooler tends to underperform in school -- and it drives you crazy. What's a caring, involved parent to do? You know how high the stakes are. Is it your duty to strictly supervise and control homework so that your son or daughter gets...
Key Difference Between Teens Who Succeed in School and Teens Who Don’t
You desperately want your teens to succeed in school, but cajoling and hovering and pushing them is just so exhausting. Here's fantastic help that will take you under two minutes to implement. The difference, according to world-renowned Stanford University...
7 Reasons Your MIDDLE SCHOOLER Needs A College Study Skills Class
You already understand why college students and grad students need a high-quality college study skills class. You can even see why it makes sense for high school students to take one. (Especially if they'll be taking dual enrollment college classes in 11th and 12th...
What Should Students Eat Before Testing?
If you're about to take the SAT or the ACT—or a big test for a class—or the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, or GRE exam—and you just want fast advice on what to eat before testing, zoom to the numbered points below. It was my happiest phone call of the day. "Guess what!?!" said the...
Could Your Kid’s College Texting Habit Cost You $28,000?
Quick. Picture your son sitting in a college class. Got that picture in your mind? Let me guess what you just imagined. You pictured him absorbed in his college lecture. You pictured him paying close attention to every word the professor is saying. You pictured him...
3 Reasons Rested, Relaxed Teens Are More Successful
Mary's father entered the library through heavy glass doors and started looking through the stacks for his daughter. He finally found her, bleary-eyed and exhausted, surrounded by books, notebooks, a laptop, and a half cup of cold coffee. "Honey, it's late," he said...
Does Part-Time Work Damage College GPAs? Surprising Answer Here
Your college-age daughter calls you, sobbing, at 10:00 pm. She's feeling overwhelmed by exams and paper deadlines, and she's begging you to let her quit the part-time job she's been working while taking her full load of college classes. You want her to be happy, of...
Sprint—Then Rest. 9 Surprising Ways to Achieve More by DOING LESS
We've all had those days. You have a mountain of work in front of you that you genuinely want to get done, but you find yourself procrastinating. Struggling to focus. Failing to get tasks completed. What's the problem? It's probably not that your time management...