I have a hard time focusing, and I end up procrastinating assignments because I don’t know how to start them. I submit a lot of late work and get overwhelmed/stressed in the end of the semester. I don’t know what to do, I feel so out of control.

Lots of kids and teens have trouble focusing on school (and other daily tasks) too! You’re right, when we don’t know how to begin a task, it’s hard to get started, and then it becomes a vicious cycle. The longer we avoid the task, the more work/questions we have, and then we feel really stuck/overwhelmed. It might be helpful to speak to your teachers or school counselor/psychologist to see what learning supports your school offers. Because this is a problem that lots of people have, chances are your school can help! In the meantime, you might find it helpful to create a daily routine for homework/projects, break tasks down into small parts, tackle harder/longer tasks first, set reminders/deadlines, and reward yourself for hard work!


Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.