Adolescent Mind Lab

01/11/2025

Games ready to play

30/10/2025

27/10/2025

I wrote this message to myself today, and I wanted to share it with anyone out there who has a project, or a workshop, a book, a course, a dream that you deeply believe in… even if right now the world doesn’t seem to notice.

Here’s my story:

I used to take low responses really personally. If a workshop didn’t fill up, I would immediately think something was wrong with me. Especially when I believed so strongly in what I was creating.

But today, I can face the same situation with a totally different heart.

This latest workshop EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT hasn’t had the response I hoped for. And still I believe in it.

I’ve seen the difference this work makes. I’ve seen versions of this game, this process, this model change lives. I’ve seen how a similar workshop I ran for community-based organisations and small businesses actually helped them become sustainable. I know the power of this work because I’ve witnessed it.

So, a small response doesn’t mean it’s not good. It doesn’t mean the message is wrong. It simply means the right people haven’t seen it yet.

And I truly believe, I truly know whether it’s in a few months or a year - this work I am is going to take off. When it reaches the audience that needs it… it’s going to take the world by storm.

So if you’re creating something and the crowd isn’t here yet, please don’t give up.

The timing isn’t always ours to control.

Keep going. Your “yes” is coming.

26/10/2025

Creating my Superpower Cards 💪📱
Today I’ve been working on one of my favourite sets in theEXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT the Superpower Cards. These are some of the cards the teens receive when we explore advanced techniques to help them prepare for exams.

One of those techniques is called The Technology Shield and honestly, it’s just as useful for adults. Most apps on your phone weren’t designed to help you focus; they were designed to keep you scrolling. Every ping, pop-up, and red dot is crafted to grab your attention and hold it hostage.

So, to build your Technology Shield:
1️⃣ Don’t keep your phone beside you when you need to focus. Put it far enough away that you have to walk to get it.
2️⃣ Close apps that send notifications (Discord, WhatsApp, social media) before starting a task.

Protect your focus. Guard your brainpower.
That’s your real superpower. ⚡

24/10/2025

This isn’t just another study workshop EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT is a a gamified, brain-based experience that helps teens create a strategy to overcome both internal and external barriers to their exam success.

As they play, they face challenges like emotional fogs, Pointless Pit, and Overload Mountain, while exploring external barriers like Messy Mazes, Digital Diversions, and Social Static — all those sneaky obstacles that quietly block learning and motivation.

Through the process, they develop three essential life capabilities:
🧠 Self-regulation – staying calm and focused under pressure
💪 Self-efficacy – believing in their ability to overcome challenges
👀 Self-awareness – recognising what holds them back and using strengths to move forward

They also learn Energy Mapping for Success, the Drive-It-Park-It-Bin-It method, and practical tools for distraction management — advanced techniques that make studying smarter and stress lighter.

The goal: to move teens from feeling overwhelmed to feeling confident, capable, and in control — for exams and beyond.

📍 Pringle Bay
📅 Saturday, 01 November
🕘 09:00–16:00
💰 R500 per teen
➡️ Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/4edz8zwn

📲 WhatsApp Sarah: 063 091 5735

23/10/2025

Hi everyone,
Today’s challenge was to create the slides for my talk on helping teens understand the Teenage Brain Country.

The problem? I’m not a designer. Even with Canva and AI, this one tested my patience, because it’s not just a simple diagram. It needs provinces, cities, highways, and byways, and all somehow fitting into one brain, and the position of these cities and highways also needs to be accurate.

After many cups of coffee, wine-gums and far too much trial and error, I finally have the first slide ready.
So for anyone who thinks ChatGPT or Canva will replace designers trust me, they won’t.

Here’s my first Brain Country slide. 👇

22/10/2025

🎯 BEHIND THE SCENES: CREATION OF THE EXAM SUCCESS PHYSICAL GAME BOARD

Today I’m working on the next part of the Exam Success Game Board: the continent called the Outer World.

This section focuses on external barriers that can quietly block focus and motivation. Things like sensory overload, cluttered study spaces, and missing resources. These are often the unseen factors that make studying harder than it needs to be.

During the workshop, teens use their avatar to identify which of these barriers affect them most, place markers on their Game Map, and then find strategies to overcome them. It’s a creative way to help them build self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-efficacy – the real brain skills behind exam success.

EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT

📅 01 November 2025
📍 Pringle Bay
🕘 09:00–16:00
🎯 Ages 14–17
💰 R500 per teen

Only 2 spaces left

➡️ Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/4edz8zwn

📲 WhatsApp Sarah: 063 091 5735

21/10/2025

Our EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT series is coming to an end.

I’ve combined this week’s Brain Tip and Brain Tool into one final post on the emotional fog and how it affects learning and exam performance.

Thank you to everyone who’s been following along — your messages and shares have meant a lot. If you missed any, go back and watch the previous reels by clicking on my page

Tomorrow I’ll share some behind-the-scenes moments from the workshop prep, and next week you’ll get a glimpse of the Game Board, the Resource Cards, and the full process in action.

We still have two spots left for the workshop in Pringle Bay on 1 November.

➡️ Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/4edz8zwn
📲 WhatsApp Sarah: 063 091 5735

17/10/2025

The EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT is based on a strategic framework I originally designed years ago to help small businesses become sustainable, and it worked.

Over the last few years, I’ve adapted that same framework for teens. I first ran this workshop for learners back in 2017–2018, and the feedback was incredible.

Many of those teens have since gone on to become confident young adults who still use the same principles today.

Last year, I updated the workshop to include more about the adolescent brain — how it learns, plans, and handles stress — and the results were even better.

This is the final pilot before I take the full programme to market, and I’d love to see a few more local teens join us before it launches nationally.

📍 Pringle Bay | Saturday, 01 November | 09:00–16:00 | R500

📲 WhatsApp Sarah: 063 091 5735

17/10/2025

The Power of a Plan – Turning Barriers Into Building Blocks

In this week’s EXAM SUCCESS BLUEPRINT I’m sharing a simple yet powerful strategy that can help your teen uncover why studying sometimes feels harder than it should.

It’s a tool that helps them spot one or two key factors that may be quietly getting in the way of their focus and follow-through — and shows how a few small adjustments can make a big difference.
This one is practical, brain-based, and designed to build lasting study confidence.

📍 PRINGLE BAY | 📅 Sat 01 Nov | ⏰ 09:00–16:00 | 💰 R500

📲 https://tinyurl.com/4edz8zwn
For more info, WhatsApp Sarah at 063 091 5735