Ep 53 Are you accidentally playing on hard mode?

Hey, Team! Our guest, theater director Jocelyn Greene has good news for all of us: PLAY can develop executive function! Jocelyn has great strategies on how to make play part of your every day, encouraging flexible thinking, problem-solving, and promoting self-regulation. You will love these uplifting ideas! All my love, Sarah More about Jocelyn: Jocelyn Greene is the founder and executive director of Child’s Play NY, an award-winning theater education company based in New York. She partners with dozens of schools to connect social-emotional learning (SEL) with academics through residencies and professional development. Jocelyn founded Child’s Play NY in 2009, drawing from her work as a student (MFA, NYU graduate acting; BA, Wesleyan University), an actor (The Public Theater, LA Shakespeare Festival), and a teacher (Will Power to Youth, Oddfellows Playhouse, Epic Theater) to develop the rigorous curriculum and imagination-based games that ignite the program today.  She is a contributor with Mt. Sinai Parenting and writes about the intersection between theater and child development at Child's Play in Action. Jocelyn lives in Brooklyn, NY with her actor husband and naturalist kid! Connect with Jocelyn: Childsplayny.com childsplayinaction.com @childsplaynewyork - IG Jocelyn Greene on Linked In

Hey team, JD Barker is an incredibly talented and prolific author who has uncovered great strengths in his autism. We talk about self-perception, strategies for writing (and managing many projects at once), and the hope for ALL of us who struggle with executive function. You don't want to miss it! All my love, Sarah More about JD: J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is a New York Times and international best selling American Author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. Connect with JD: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website

Hey Team! Join us to explore the experience of children (and adults) with ADHD, with author Fabian Grolimund. His book, Charlie Are You Daydreaming Again?, gently teaches children strategies for managing attention and shares the very relatable experiences of Charlotte, or Charlie. The warmth and hope of this episode will fill your bucket, I promise! All my love, Sarah To order Charlie Are You Daydreaming Again? About our guest: Fabian Grolimund is a Swiss psychologist, author, ADHD expert and, together with Stefanie Rietzler, heads the Academy for Learning Coaching in Zurich. His book “Charlie, are you deadreaming again?” uses the form of an exciting novel to teach children how to concentrate better and why daydreaming is also valuable.

Hey Team,  Eating consistently and healthy-ish, cooking meals, remembering to bring lunch and snacks…it all takes executive function. Nearly every one of the amazing humans I work with struggles in some way with eating. My friend and Dietitian-Nutritionist Dana Monsees shares perspectives and strategies for making eating easier and more consistent. You’re not alone if feeding yourself is harder than you want it to be. Let’s team up and explore ideas! All my love, Sarah About Dana: Dana Monsees is a Dietitian-Nutritionist (MS, CNS, LDN) and Body Image Coach who specializes in helping women with gut issues and burnout from a HAES, non-diet approach. Her philosophy combines neutral nutrition, weight-inclusive care, and her training in integrative and functional nutrition to help women heal their relationship with food and their bodies as a root cause of chronic health conditions. Dana hosts the Whole-Hearted Eating podcast and has been running her recipe + nutrition blog, Real Food with Dana, since 2014. Connect with Dana: Instagram @danamonsees_cns  Podcast: Whole-Hearted Eating  Website: www.realfoodwithdana.com  Work with Dana: https://www.realfoodwithdana.com/nutrition-counseling/  Book a Free Discovery Session: https://p.bttr.to/36VNOay

Hey Team, Whether you love or hate math, this episode with author and educator Ben Orlin is for you! We talk about problem solving, the purpose and process for getting stuck, and how to support yourself when faced with challenges. You will love Ben's humor and outlook! All my love to you, team, Sarah Get Ben's Book Additional article links: What It Feels Like to Be Bad at Math, The Math Ceiling: Where’s Your Cognitive Breaking Point?, The State of Being Stuck More about our guest: Ben Orlin is a math teacher who can't draw. His books include Math with Bad Drawings (2018), Change is the Only Constant (2019), Math Games with Bad Drawings (2022), and most recently, Math for English Majors (Sept 2024). His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Popular Science, Slate, Vox, and The Los Angeles Times; he himself has appeared in the lines to ice cream stores everywhere. BBC star and leading mathematician Hannah Fry once described him as "terribly bad at drawing" before kindly adding “he’s also fantastically clever and charming.” Join us at Brain Tools School

Hey team! You know how sometimes it takes about 1000 steps before you actually start on the intended task? That's work to do work! On this week's show, learn how to recognize and reduce work to do work. It will be a game changer! Pep talk at 15:52 All my love, Sarah Read my Psychology Today articles! Join us in Brain Tools School

Team, You know that excited feeling you get when you get new tools or make a new plan that you hope will make things all easy? Yeah, I do, too. And then, sometimes that excitement goes away and we kind of lose steam for doing the plan? Join me today to learn how to plan for and overcome the challenges that stop us from using strategies. You're sure to find something that really helps! All my love, Sarah Hey Human Pep Talk at 14:06 <3 Want to join Brain Tools School? We'd love to have you!

Team, 1 in 4 college students has a disability! This episode teachers you how to maximize success as a student with a physical or learning challenge. Guest Elizabeth C Hamblet has done the leg work and knows how to empower young adults to thrive on campus! All my love, Sarah Learn more about Elizabeth! Buy her book here. Use code RLEGEN20 for 20% off! Learn more about Brain Tools School's Life After High School coaching community!

Hi, Team! Join us to explore the process of planning and paying for college--there are some surprises and lots of hope in this episode! As with any process, getting ready to manage college tuition involves a lot of executive function, and my guest, college funding specialist Brad Baldridge and I share concrete ways to lower stress--and possibly even lower the cost! All my love, Sarah Join us at Brain Tools School! Visit Brad's website, Taming the High Cost of College, and find him on Facebook More about Brad: Brad Baldridge is a College Funding Specialist who has helped thousands of families plan and save for college with smart and proven strategies to save time, money and stress. As a financial expert, blogger and host of the Taming the High Cost of College podcast, Brad has been sharing his college planning insights with clients, subscribers and listeners for nearly 20 years. He teaches parents the best ways to save and pay for college, including how to find the right school, maximize financial aid and scholarships, avoid student loan debt, and make your children’s college dreams come true without wiping out your finances or retirement. Since 1998, Brad has become one of the nation’s leading college planning and college financial experts. He offers life-changing advice through his private practice, his online platforms, and at numerous workshops, seminars and events each year.

Hi team! Executive function is tricky enough, and some of us accidentally make it harder by doing (or not doing) things that challenge our brains in unnecessary ways. This week, let's uncover some easy wins so you're not accidentally making life more challenging! Brain Tools School: Life After High School program opens summer 2024! Here's the link to secure your invitation! There are many things that make EF extra tricky. Things to consider this week: Hydration. One study showed that dehydrated participants made 12% more mistakes on a test of cognitive flexibility (which is an EF) and re-hydrating brought EF skills back to their baseline levels. Location. Try to find a match of energy levels, the right amount and type of noise, activity and visual stimuli, closeness or distance from others, and the specialness of a space.  Attend to your bodies: think about movement, fuel, breaks, comfort...and remember that sitting and staring is an indication that you're stuck. Social Conflict or needs: Emotional pain=physical pain as far as our brains are concerned. Make peace with the person OR about the conflict (write a letter, schedule time to think about it again, ask for help) Keeping distractions around: consider removing the things that steal your brain, when you really need to focus. Not asking for help: remember to know your personal signs of “stuck,” keep a list of where/who can help you, and plan for help for the harder things. You got this! Let me know how these help! All my love, Sarah  Brain Tools School: Life After High School program opens in just a few weeks! Here's the ⁠link ⁠to secure your invitation!