By the time summer has ended and the new semester has begun, many students need help adjusting to the rigor, pace, and organizational demands of school.

We asked City Smarts co-founder and executive functioning expert Danielle Florio to share some of her top tips for starting the school year right.

Create a calm, focused workspace.

I believe that a clear workspace equals a clear head. Try encouraging your child to declutter their workspace, and stock up on organizational desktop accessories like sticky notes and pencil-holders.

Be mindful of distractions like screens, pets, and even younger siblings. A scholarly environment is critical for doing good work.

Encourage your child to create a habit, but call it a ritual. Kids are all about vibes these days, right? Perhaps theres an aroma or sensory item to help them get into the right headspace to study: a scarf, a fidget spinner, a stress ball. Turning homework into a ritual helps the brain get ready to work.

Plan ahead.

Encourage your student to create an agenda before embarking on homework. Initially this may seem time consuming, but it will result in less time lost to dilly-dallying.

I highly recommend students of all ages use a physical planner, as it has proven time and time again to be the most effective (and notification free) way for students to organize their time and track their responsibilities – which include a lot more than just homework!

Get Motivated

Remind your student that even us adults have to find ways to motivate ourselves from time to time. Do they think we love running errands, cleaning, and nagging them to get stuff done?

Encourage them to create a system of incentives. Tell them to think of a reward –a bowl of popcorn or ice cream, 20 minutes on TikTok, an episode of their favorite show. The aim here is to create a dynamic where they reward themselves with their chosen incentive only after they’ve completed their assignments, chores, and errands for the night.