Brain Hacks

by Lara Honos-Webb (Althea Press, 2018)

Five Executive Functions

Brain Hacks describes five categories of executive functioning, the prefrontal controls we use to steer ourselves through life: focus and attention (including working memory), planning and organization, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and impulse control. The hacks range from basic healthy living (walk to the lobby for five minutes to wake up your brain) to larger projects that themselves require sustained executive function (set up an organized "command center" at home).

Who Is the Author?

From the outset, readers are given no information about the author's background. Thinking about my own practice of sharing biographical information, this helps me appreciate how a student feels when that connection is absent. When the author finally mentions her therapy practice, it lends authority in a human-to-human way, instead of leaving me wondering whether the book is early AI slop. Compared with this book, I also appreciate the humor and specificity of Attack of the Teenage Brain; narrowing the audience makes information more engaging and memorable.

Putting the Hacks to Work

Because the book is such a laundry list of good advice, it could be most useful if a mentor reads it and selects a few key pieces to share with a mentee. As a teacher, I might point students more explicitly to how we manage time in class, and connect that to productive work blocks of 20 minutes (or 2 hours) at home. Related hacks include "Steal your time back from people" (saying no) and "Steal your time back from media and devices" (the myth of multitasking). The exercise "how do you spend your time?" also connects to the calendaring exercise promoted by Foothill's Retention Services office. For me, the book's value lies less in its list than in these lessons about authorship and selection.

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