Learn and Work Smarter

Katie Azevedo
  • 5.0 (22)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Whether you're a student or a working professional, the Learn and Work Smarter Podcast delivers the clarity, strategies, and encouragement you need to stay focused, organized, and on top of your tasks.  Hosted by Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.—a private executive function coach with 20 years of teaching experience and a deep background in ADHD and cognitive science—this show is your practical guide to building the real-life skills that school and work demand but rarely teach. Episodes cover a range of topics, including time management, productivity, studying smarter, focus strategies, task initiation, and executive function habits. Each topic is approached through a lens of neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and deep compassion. You’ll learn systems that are teachable, sustainable, and immediately actionable. No fluff. No hype. Just real strategies for getting things done, reducing stress, and showing up as the most capable version of yourself.

  1. 121. Frustration Tolerance: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Build It

    1D AGO

    121. Frustration Tolerance: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Build It

    Send me a message!🤓 Frustration tolerance is one's ability to sustain attention, endurance and emotional composure during frustrating tasks. While we all get frustrated from time to time, having a low frustration tolerance can have a serious impact on our work, school and personal lives. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I dive deep into frustration tolerance, its connection to ADHD, and how to improve your own frustration tolerance level so you can achieve your goals with less drama. What You Learn: What frustration tolerance is and why it matters a tonThe connection between frustration tolerance and ADHD (we get a little science-y here)The roles that emotional regulation, past experiences and personal narrative play in our ability to handle hard tasksHow to make tasks less frustrating in the first place (so you don't hit your max capacity so soon)What to do when you do hit your maximum frustration tolerance and you still have work to doThe ultimate mega strategy for improving your frustration tolerance so you can learn and work more peacefully and with way less drama🔗 Resources Mentioned: ⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Handle School Like a ProEpisode website (https://www.learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/121)Episode 38: How to Be ResourcefulEpisode 55: How to Use Body Doubling to Improve Your FocusEpisode 64: How to Do Hard ThingsEpisode 84: How to Fail SmarterEpisode 118: The Real Reason You Have Test Anxiety ❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterest✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    38 min
  2. 120. Note-Taking During Phone Calls, ADHD Accommodations at Work and School, and Supporting College Students (Q&A)

    APR 2

    120. Note-Taking During Phone Calls, ADHD Accommodations at Work and School, and Supporting College Students (Q&A)

    Send me a message!🤓 In this Q&A episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I answer three questions submitted by listeners of the show. Question 1: How to take notes during phone calls. Question 2: How to support a struggling college student Question 3: How to ask for ADHD accommodations (in graduate school and work) What You Learn: Why capturing notes is only half the job, and what the more important second step actually isA simple pre-call habit that makes note-taking significantly easier (and less stressful)What parents of struggling college students usually get wrong about why their kid is falling behindThe legal protections available to students with ADHD or disabilities in grad school, and how to actually use themWhy people with ADHD sometimes feel totally fine, then suddenly overwhelmed again, and what to do when it happens 🔗 Resources Mentioned: ⭐Free Parent Training⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)Episode website (https://www.learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/120)ADHD accommodations https://askjan.org/disabilities/Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder-AD-HD.cfm❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterestSubscribe on YouTube✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    24 min
  3. 119. My Top 10 Favorite Tools for Productivity and Organization

    MAR 26

    119. My Top 10 Favorite Tools for Productivity and Organization

    Send me a message!🤓 The work we do is more important than the tools we use. But that said, having the right tools can make a difference in how productive and organized we are. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m sharing with you my 10 favorite tools that I use nearly every single day to manage a busy business, family and life.  No affiliate links or promotions here … just an honest peek behind the curtain of what’s on my desk and on my computer (oh, and on my nightstand!). What You Learn: The most critical web-based tools that I depend on for managing time and tasksWhat I keep on my nightstand that makes my mornings smootherMy favorite tool that goes beepA tool I made for myself that improves my productivity just as much as any other toolMy favorite productivity/tool of all that’s…well…not really a tool🔗 Resources Mentioned: Episode website with transcript⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 52 - How to Make and Use SOPs for Better ProductivityEpisode 76 - Google Calendar Power MovesEpisode 101 - Digital Declutter StrategiesEpisode 117 - How to Create a Personal Operating System ❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterestSubscribe on YouTube✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    34 min
  4. 118. The Real Reason for Test Anxiety — And Why It Has Nothing to Do With Nerves

    MAR 19

    118. The Real Reason for Test Anxiety — And Why It Has Nothing to Do With Nerves

    Send me a message!🤓 Sweaty palms. Racing breath. A pit in your stomach. And the worst one of all, a blank mind. Test anxiety does not feel good, and it most certainly doesn’t help your grades. But in this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I make the (controversial?) case that test anxiety is the result of something you have complete control over. What You Learn: The most common misunderstandings about test anxietyWhat people THINK causes test anxietyWhy there’s no such thing as a bad test takerThe REAL cause of test anxiety (you might not like hearing this)How to prevent test anxiety on your very next examHow to decrease the physiological symptoms of test anxiety when it’s too late to prevent it🔗 Resources Mentioned: ⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 20 - What is Active Recall and How to Use ItEpisode 104 - Why Your Study Systems Stopped WorkingEpisode website with transcript❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterestSubscribe on YouTube✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    27 min
  5. 117. Building a Personal Operating System to Manage Information

    MAR 12

    117. Building a Personal Operating System to Manage Information

    Send me a message!🤓 The way I teach it, a personal operating system is a set of systems and routines we use to manage the information that comes at us all day long. Whether we're students or professionals, we're constantly bombarded with information we can ignore, information about tasks we need to act on, and information we might need in the future. And if we don't have a way to capture, track, and manage these bits of info during the day, we become overwhelmed, stressed out, and forgetful. That's why we need a personal operating system. In this episode, I teach you the four simple components of a good personal operating system and exactly how to set yours up today. What You Learn: The negative impact of being bombarded all day long with information you don’t want to forget, but always doWhat a personal operating system is and why exactly you need oneThe negative impact of NOT having a personal operating systemThe 4 components of a solid personal operating system2 real-life scenarios of personal operating systems in action (student and professional examples)Exactly how to set up your personal operating system and what step to begin with if you’re overwhelmed with the process🔗 Resources Mentioned: Episode website with transcript⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 5- How to Create a Task Management SystemEpisode 31 - How to Take Notes at MeetingsEpisode 28 - Tips for Organizing PapersEpisode 94 - How to Simplify Your Task Management SystemEpisode 102 - The Friday Review: A Weekly Habit for Calm Productivity❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterestSubscribe on YouTube ✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    43 min
  6. 116. Understanding What You Read and How to Know If You're Performing Well at Work (Q&A)

    MAR 5

    116. Understanding What You Read and How to Know If You're Performing Well at Work (Q&A)

    Send me a message!🤓 You're putting in the work. You're doing the readings. You're showing up. So why does it still feel like you're missing the mark? In this month's Q&A episode, I'm answering two listener questions that are completely different on the surface, but have the same root issue. Question One is from a grad student who's annotating and highlighting every reading but still feels lost in class discussions Question Two is from someone two years into their first corporate job who keeps getting decent reviews but can't shake the feeling they're underperforming. Different situations. Same root problem. And today I'm giving you the strategies to solve it. What You Learn: The 3 levels of reading comprehension and why most students are stuck at level oneWhy annotation only works when it has a specific purpose (and how to set one)The two self-check questions to ask after every chunk of reading that will tell you exactly where your comprehension standsWhy "priming your mental schema" before you read dramatically improves how much you understandWhy the transition from school to work is harder than people give it credit for — and the cognitive distortion that makes it worseThe 4-question audit for collecting real data about your actual performanceHow to reverse-engineer the rubric your workplace will never hand youWhat a personal performance dashboard is and how to build one that  helps you self-evaluate over time 🔗 Resources Mentioned: Episode website with transcript⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 71 - Grad School OverloadEpisode 37 - How to Accept Feedback (and What to Do With It) ❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterestSubscribe on YouTube✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    38 min
  7. 115. How to Be Dangerous at School and Work (10 Traits of People Who Are Hard to Overwhelm)

    FEB 26

    115. How to Be Dangerous at School and Work (10 Traits of People Who Are Hard to Overwhelm)

    Send me a message!🤓 The most dangerous people in school and work aren't always the smartest in the room or the ones grinding the hardest. They're the ones who are steady, focused, and nearly impossible to knock off course. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm sharing 10 characteristics of people who are hard to overwhelm — and spoiler: underneath all 10 of them are really just four foundational concepts: how we manage our attention, whether we finish what we start, keeping our word, and acting from our values instead of our moods. This is a really important one. Grab your pens. What You Learn: Why dangerous people aren't the most talented, motivated, or hardest working4 foundational concepts underneath all 10 traitsHow dangerous people engineer focus Why clarity is the byproduct of action Why a packed calendar is not a sign of successWhat real resilience looks likeWhy waiting to feel motivated is holding you back🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned: Episode website with transcript⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 5 - Task ManagementEpisode 12 - How to Know If Your Systems Are BrokenEpisode 15 - Email ManagementEpisode 55 - Body DoublingEpisode 64 - How to Do Hard ThingsEpisode 72 - How to Finish Unfinished ProjectsEpisode 80 - Work SprintsEpisode 89 - Task Completion StrategiesEpisode 104 - Why Your Study Systems Don't Work❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterest✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    30 min
  8. 114. Working Late AGAIN? 5 Reasons Why You're Still at the Office that Have Nothing to Do With Workload

    FEB 19

    114. Working Late AGAIN? 5 Reasons Why You're Still at the Office that Have Nothing to Do With Workload

    Send me a message!🤓 It's 5 PM, everyone is leaving the office, but you’re staring at your to-do list thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be here all night.” When we regularly can’t get our work done within typical office hours, we’re quick to think it’s because we have too much work. And while that might sometimes be the case, usually there’s another reason (or 5) at play. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share the top 5 reasons you can never leave the office on time and what to do about it. Believe it or not, none of them have to do with work overload. What You Learn: Why staying late usually isn't about workloadThe 5 hidden operational mistakes adding hours to your dayHow poor task clarification costs you time and sanityThe real reason deep work doesn't happen until 6 PMHow to figure out if you genuinely have too much workSix strategies to fix your workflow and leave on time🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned: Episode website with transcript⭐SchoolHabits University ⭐Note-Taking Power System⭐Assignment Management Power System ⭐Free Training for Parents of Teens and Young Adult StudentsEpisode 3 - Admin Block SystemEpisode 18 - Batching StrategyEpisode 38 - How to Be a Resourceful Person Who Can Figure Things OutEpisode 45 - Are You Doing Too Much?❤️ Connect: InstagramFacebookPinterest✏️Get my $47 Note-Taking Course: collegenotetakingsystem.com Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

    38 min
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Trailer

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About

Whether you're a student or a working professional, the Learn and Work Smarter Podcast delivers the clarity, strategies, and encouragement you need to stay focused, organized, and on top of your tasks.  Hosted by Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.—a private executive function coach with 20 years of teaching experience and a deep background in ADHD and cognitive science—this show is your practical guide to building the real-life skills that school and work demand but rarely teach. Episodes cover a range of topics, including time management, productivity, studying smarter, focus strategies, task initiation, and executive function habits. Each topic is approached through a lens of neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and deep compassion. You’ll learn systems that are teachable, sustainable, and immediately actionable. No fluff. No hype. Just real strategies for getting things done, reducing stress, and showing up as the most capable version of yourself.

Information

  • Creator
    Katie Azevedo
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    121
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Learn and Work Smarter
  • Show Website
    Learn and Work Smarter

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