Help Teens Relieve Stress With These Hacking Tricks
As a teenager in 2018, I don’t know how this is done. Imagine having the same list of problems that you had in high school – school, extracurricular activities, chores, social life, often filled with anxiety – and then add the constant pull of social media, alerting you to everything that you do not . (“Did you see Gigi building houses in Africa this summer and that Jonah is doing an internship at Snapchat?”) According to the National Institute of Mental Health , it’s no surprise that 32 percent of teens suffered from anxiety disorder.
Teens are overwhelmed, in part because they don’t yet have the skills to manage the unprecedented amount of things that go into their brains every day. (Yes, adults struggle with this, too, and so do I.) Fortunately, their age is on their side, according to David Allen, the man behind the Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity system that many of us know and may not function without . According to Allen, “Most adults think they can think. Children are in the place where they can start learning. “
He writes about this in his new book, How You Doing Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracted World , co-authored with Mike Williams and Mark Wallace. In it, they adapted the GTD methodology for young people, providing them with a set of tools to help them worry less and get more done. These methods are simple, practical, and instantly applicable – as I read them, I find myself jotting down productivity tips to try out for myself, and regret not having learned them in school. (Instead, I remember sleeping a lot, drinking too much Dr. Pepper, and flashing pimples.)
As adapted from the book, here are five distraction exercises that parents can teach their teens. The idea is for students to experiment with them, notice if their daily routines and anxiety levels change, and keep what works.
If your teen is struggling to think while driving, try …
Walking on your mind What to do: Walk outside (10-15 minutes may be enough). Take a notebook with you. Take a walk and relax, let your mind wander. If you come across something that requires your attention, write it down. Continue throughout the walk. What it does: Eliminate distractions and clear your mind.
If your teen is having trouble falling asleep, try …
Analyzing thoughts before bed What to do: Before bed, take a pen and paper and write down everything on your mind. Don’t try to resolve anything – just get it out of your head. In the morning, take everything you see on this list and decide what action you can take. What it does: Helps to get rid of thoughts. Once your brain sees something on paper, it can relax.
If your teen has thoughts or ideas that will wake him up at night, try …
Bedside Grip Tool What to do: Place a pen and paper next to your bed. If a thought wakes you up, write it down and try to fall asleep again. In the morning you can decide what you wrote. What it does: After you have done this exercise for a while, your brain will begin to believe that it will see what it needs to see in the morning, allowing you to rest at night.
If your teen has an out-of-control clutter (like a closet, car, gym bag, drawer, or locker), try …
“Grab” into a large bucket What to do: Get a large bucket, such as a laundry basket or plastic tub. Instead of “clearing” a space by walking one item at a time, remove anything that doesn’t belong to it and throw it into the bucket. Don’t organize or postpone anything yet. Once you clear the space, you can take the things you see in the bucket and make decisions about them. What it does: Cleans up a chaotic area with minimal effort.
If your teen is struggling with procrastination, try …
Timed “Doing” Sprints What to do: Set a countdown timer of five, 10, or 15 minutes. Select an action (for example, read). Start your timer. Focus on the action until the timer rings. Take a short break when the sprint is over. Do the second sprint. Keep sprinting until you run out of time or energy. What it does: Helps you focus on “doing” for short periods of time rather than completing.