What to Do When You’re Stuck

(a 2-pager!)

This is a worksheet for teens to help them identify WHY they get stuck with projects/tasks and WHAT to do about it.

I hear time and again, “it’s hard” or “it’s boring” - and both of those things are a signal to investigate what some of the barriers might be. This worksheet jumpstarts the problem-solving process! (It’s by no means an exclusive list but can get the ideas flowing!)

I haven’t yet developed this for younger students. When I work with my students, I talk them through the steps:

“What part of the task seems hard?” “What parts are easy?”

We can then talk through and create a personal mind map of steps to try. So, for younger students, I’d recommend an adult taking the lead and talking through each of the categories to find out what is relevant for a particular challenging task. Discuss only those strategies which are appropriate for the student’s age/level of metacognition/work autonomy. Together, make a personal list of strategies to try when they get stuck and post this somewhere visible!