3 More Smart Back to School Items for Teens You Haven't Considered

August 04, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

In a recent post I discussed 3 Smart Back to School Items for Teams You Haven't Thought Of.

The items have one thing in common. They support your teens' learning by supporting their brains.

The following are 3 additional items that improve focus, productivity, and sanity of kids when doing school work. Again, I explain the science, how the item helps, how to use it, and give you an inexpensive or free but effective recommendation.

1. Exercise Ball (Chair)

How does $23 for an office chair, gym, and therapy all-in-one sound?

Put it right next to that adjustable standing desk or use instead of a chair with a sitting desk and get an instant core-strengthening, blood flow-increasing, focus-promoting, and brain fatigue-fighting device. The pump is free.

It is perfect for home or the classroom, which reminds me - I need to get a few more of these because my high school students always fight for the one I bought 2 years ago.

Here's the best option in my opinion >>

I like this ball because it is well reviewed by 1,200 people, is sturdy, and comes in 5 cool colors. And, the largest size costs only $23. Get it here.

2. Productivity and Relaxation Playlists

Can you get behind zero dollars?

Show your smartphone-wielding teens the productivity and relaxation playlists on YouTube. Have them check out a few and bookmark one productivity and one relaxation playlist.

When selecting a productivity playlist, avoid lyric-rich songs as they distract. The key is to find something your teen likes and has a rhythm (60 beats per minute is optimal) that helps keep their work flow flowing. This here is a good one.

Choosing a relaxation playlist is easier. Tell them to pick pleasant sounds that make them want to take a nap. Naps are good but when your kid is stressed out or angry their relaxation playlist will work nicely to calm the heart and slow the blood. Here's a good one that's not lame or weird.

3. Brain Nutrition

Forget the nootropics and other such supplements. Some of them work but you might have to dip into those money bags you have buried in the forest (or the desert if you’re more of a Walter White type) to consistently procure them.

Instead, give your child fish oil capsules that studies prove increase brain function and focus when taken consistently. I buy this one for $29.98 on Amazon, because it contains the highest concentration of brain-boosting Omega-3 Fatty Acids, doesn't have the fishy aftertaste, and lasts me 3 months. I call it "sharper brain for $10 a month."

Buy magnesium which stimulates melatonin production and improves sleep quality. It will prove valuable during all those late nights of studying for tests and completing last-minute school projects. I buy this one for $6.35 on Amazon.

And don’t forget vitamin C. While it helps the immune system, it is known to reduce cortisol so your child can stress less. I usually buy mine over-the-counter, but I just found Amazon sells 250 tablets for $10 here, which is hard to beat.

Popping pills might never sound this good again and you don’t risk overdosing.

4. Bonus for Parents

I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon due to my mall and department store aversion. I like the convenience and the fact that I can get free shipping on most items with Amazon Prime.

Don't worry, I will not try to get you to buy all your stuff on Amazon. I just figured a little Back 2 School hack you might not have thought about.

To get free shipping on Back 2 School items such as the one's above, do a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial, order what you need, and cancel within 30 days. You can get it here and save time shopping and a lot of money on shipping.

This is what I did to watch Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid spinoff of YouTube Red for free. Hey - if they let you hack the system - do it.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

In case you wanted to but haven't gotten around to it, my new book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier is now available on Amazon.

BUY CRUSH SCHOOL STUDENT GUIDE

Hi! I'm Oskar.

I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

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categories / Parenting
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

3 Resources for Learning New Skills Faster (for Teens, Teachers, and Other Pros)

August 01, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

School or work can be a grind. This is true if you’re just starting out a new journey or if you’re a seasoned pro. It’s rare to be able to automate whatever you do, spend 4 hours a week working, and make a decent living doing so. But while you have to put in the time, it’s important to learn how to put in smart time, not more time into your school, job, or business.

One of the most effective ways to do that is to learn. Learn about learning, learn about working, learn about the business, the trends, the people… Learn and apply what you learn constantly and you will get ahead of the curve.

Here are the three learning resources that will help you learn quicker and make your grind easier.

1. Videos on Steroids

You know YouTube and other video platforms offer a lot of learning in the area you are currently developing more expertise in, but chances are you don’t always have the time to watch thirty, forty, or fifty-minute films. Check out the hack below you might not have thought of to save you time and speed your learning up.

Your Time-Saving, Faster-Learning Hack

Click on the Gear icon next to the CC button on the bottom right of the YouTube video you’re about to watch. Change the speed from “Normal” to 1.5x. You will still easily understand the content but receive it 50% faster. A 30-minute video just became a 20-minute one.

But if you increase the speed to 2x and really focus, you will be able to make 1-hour long videos into 30-minute learning sessions. It will sound like you’re being taught by Alvin and the Chipmunks at first and might require some getting used to, but you will reach a point at which listening at twice the speed is seamless. This is because the human brain is capable of absorbing information much faster than it usually receives it.

2. Blinkist

“Big ideas in small packages.”

Blinkist is a company that takes the best nonfiction books on all topics imaginable and turns them into “blinks” or short chapters filled with only the key content of each book. All you have to do is download the Blinkist app, subscribe, and start reading text or listening to audio that summarizes books in your field of interest in 15-minutes. Try it free for 7 days here.

Blinkist is my secret super weapon - this is how I learn about a variety of topics (but mostly the brain and learning) faster.

Listen to these quick devoid-of-fluff audiobooks in your car or while doing chores and increase the speed to supercharge your learning.

3. The Kwik Brain Podcast

Jim Kwik is a guy who survived two brain injuries, learned to read 2 years after his peers did, and struggled in school. Then, he discovered accelerated learning and started teaching his college peers how to learn faster. Now, he teaches everyone to read faster, remember better, and many other accelerated learning techniques via his website and podcast Kwik Brain.

Give it a listen at 1.5x to 2x the speed and get a little smarter in under 10 minutes for free.

Jim is a hero of mine. I learned many of the things I teach my students and write about to help their teachers and parents from him. In fact, I use several Kwik Brain episodes to teach teens how to learn more effectively in my book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier.

And if you buy my book here before midnight Friday, August 3rd I will give you an extra copy and a gift that supports your child's learning further for FREE. Just pay $7 for shipping. This offer is gone in less than 2 days.

And if you already purchased one, or simply value the work I do, you can help me get the word out about the Crush School Student Guide to other teachers and parents of teens.

Here are the 3 easy ways you can help:

Simply tell others who can benefit from the book about it - teachers who need lessons to teach study skills and parents of teens.
Tweet. Super easy - just click: Share on Twitter below.
Share on Facebook. Easy. Click on Share on Facebook below and Copy/Paste this text: Check out this book to help teach teens how to crush it in high school. Free Bonuses Inside.
Do all three! You will have my gratitude forever :)

Share on Twitter

Share on Facebook

Thank you and I appreciate you!

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

Buy on Amazon

Hi! I'm Oskar. I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Buy on Amazon

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categories / Learning, Parenting
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

How to Read 50% Faster [Free Lesson for Teens]

July 31, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

How fast do you read?

Fast?

Medium?

Slow?

Chances are you never measured your reading speed. Experts say we read 200-250 words per minute on average. But whatever your reading speed is you probably learned to read at the speed you read at now before you entered middle school.

Unless you intentionally tried to increase your reading speed in between then and now, it hasn't changed since you were a pre-teen.

Typically, we get instructed on how to read in elementary school, and once we're fluent and most of us can go through a reading without major stumbles, it is deemed that we know how to read.

And we do.

But guess what? You can read much faster.

All you have to do is know how to train. And fear not - this does not involve some sketchy skimming (and not understanding or remembering anything) tactics.

Don't believe me?

Fine.

Pick up a book you're currently reading and a timer. Read it for 60 seconds. Count the number of lines you read. Write it down.

Now, start where you left off. This time, read faster.

It sounds really weird, I know. Trust me. Start the timer and read at a pace that is faster than your usual pace. Make yourself read faster! Do it!

Now, count the number of lines you read. Write it down.

If you did this without the skepticism I sometimes get from students I do this presentation with, you read faster. What happened is that you just realized that you always read slower than you're capable of.

The title says 50% faster but it's an underestimation. I did not want to overpromise. I wanted to overdeliver.

From experience, I know there were several readers out there who read 50% faster than normal just now with the same or better comprehension and memory.

You see, the human brain is capable of processing information at a much higher rate than most of us feed it at when reading. In fact, when we read faster we tend to focus and engage more, which improves comprehension and memory.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, to make sure you keep reading at your new, faster pace, you must do it every time you read until you internalize it. For some, it will become a habit in 2 weeks, while it will take more like 2 months for others.

Reading just 50% faster will allow you to read 3 books in the same amount of time it took you to read 2 before.

But you can do better. Much better.

Just do the lesson I developed for my new book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier.

It involves using a visual pacer, which is a fairly basic speed-reading technique.

But it works.

Here's Read Faster #1.

There are 2 more lessons on fast reading in the book.

Just a quick reminder that Crush School Student Guide, my new learning how to learn book for teens, is now available on Amazon.

If you buy it here before Friday, August 3rd I will give you an extra copy and a gift that supports your child's learning further for FREE. Just pay $7 for shipping.

And if you already purchased one or simply value the work I do, you can help me get the word out about the Crush School Student Guide to other teachers and parents of teens.

Here are the 3 easy ways you can help:

Simply tell others who can benefit from the book about it - teachers who need lessons to teach study skills and parents of teens.
Tweet. Super easy - just click: Share on Twitter below.
Share on Facebook. Easy. Click on Share on Facebook below and Copy/Paste this text: Check out this book to help teach teens how to crush it in high school. Free Bonuses Inside.
Do all three! You will have my gratitude forever :)

Share on Twitter

Share on Facebook

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

Hi! I'm Oskar. I teach, write, and speak to make learning better.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Buy on Amazon

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Learning
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids