Dr. Montminy suggests that, instead of asking a child, “How are you feeling?” which can overwhelm them, you could say, “It’s okay to feel sad or scared. I’m here to listen.”

I’ve spent years studying resilience—the science of what makes people withstand adversity. I wrote an entire book about it. But resilience is often misunderstood. It’s not about bouncing back to what was; it’s about learning to live with what is.

This book by Dr. Zelana Montminy helped put things into focus for me (pun intended). It not only helps break down why many of us (with or without ADHD) feel increasingly more distracted in our day-to-day lives.

I’ve pared this list down from thousands and thousands of books that are coming out. You'll find titles I’m excited about by month and category. Some are books I already love. There’s a huge range. You’ll be hearing from many of these authors on my podcast, now called Totally Booked with Zibby, in the coming months. Ready? Dive in!

The behavioral scientist’s new book, “Finding Focus: Own Your Attention in an Age of Distraction,” offers advice on how to retain focus in a busy and distracting world.

“So often,” begins Dr. Montminy, “the invisible load isn’t just about scheduling, it’s about holding the responsibility in your head. By asking your partner to take the mental lead, you’re not just delegating tasks, you’re shifting ownership.

According to behavioral scientist Zelana Montminy, it’s the ultimate parenting hack — no nagging, no fights, just instant load-sharing when you feel like you’re truly spent. 

Behavioral scientist Dr. Zelana Montminy told PureWow there’s a sentence that can break that pattern: Can you take the mental lead on this one? It doesn’t mean “Can you help?” or “Can you do it?” It means “Can you hold the weight the way I do, from beginning to end?”

The classroom was almost empty when she finally came up to me. I had just finished guest lecturing a group of graduate students at UCLA on burnout, resilience, and the science of focus, and the room was buzzing down to a hush.

Our capacity for focus, once a cornerstone of human achievement, is disappearing. Buried beneath an avalanche of to-do lists, we flit between tasks like lab rats in a maze of digital distractions, each notification a flickering promise of a reward.

Welcome to Waking Up Well, a column where we hand-select people we admire and ask them to share how they start the day. We think morning routines are a crucial part of an intentional wellness journey and we’re fascinated by the practices of our favorite figures.

A lot of people confuse boundaries with control. A boundary is not, “You can do this, you can’t do that.” It’s more, “Here’s what I will do if this happens.” It’s about your own behavior, not managing someone else.

It hit me in the middle of a grocery store aisle in Los Angeles. I was standing there, frozen in front of the shelves, phone in hand, scrolling through food lists that led to recipes that sucked me into the latest health trends.

The curtain rose and the kids filed onto the stage, scanning the crowd. They weren’t just looking for applause. They were looking for us, their anchors, their people. But instead of meeting our faces, they met a wall of glowing rectangles.

The important thing is not to mindlessly surrender to the distracting world around you. “Every act of focus is taking your power back,” says Dr. Montminy, who emphasizes the vital importance of regaining our focus

“We are in a crisis of distraction,” she says. “We are constantly task-switching. Our attention has been hijacked in so many ways. And no matter how many hacks we’re doing, we are exhausted.

Delaying the morning phone scroll — even by just a few minutes — could do wonders for your brain. The big picture: We know staring at a screen all day isn't healthy. But even if a full digital detox isn't realistic, an offline morning can still go a long way.

Fortunately, none of this is irreversible. To strengthen concentration, you have to practice, deliberately, consistently, and often in spite of discomfort. Here’s how to begin.

One of the hardest elements of her mental fitness regime has been “building up my boredom tolerance, trying to let myself be idle without filling the gap.”

If your focus feels fractured, if your mind feels foggy, and if your days feel like a blur, know that you’re not broken, failing, or alone.

We live in a world that is quietly, relentlessly unraveling our attention and, with it, our capacity to think clearly, feel deeply, and live purposefully. Finding Focus is about how to come home to yourself and what matters most.

I wouldn’t have authored my story this way, certainly not this year, and not like this. I remember it vividly. On Jan. 7, a friend called as she was driving toward where I lived in the Pacific Palisades.

The days between Christmas and New Year’s tend to open up in a way the rest of the season doesn’t.

“Most people think it’s just devices,” she explains, “but it’s also about our addiction to the escape. We fill our days with things to do so we don’t have to sit with discomfort.”

You sit down at your computer ready to tackle the work you’ve been promising yourself you’d do. But inevitably, your inbox pings and your phone rings. Then, just as you’re about to dive in, you reflexively reach for your phone, scan headlines, and scroll social media — your focus fragmenting with each digital detour.

“In eating well and exercising more, we are telling our brain and body ‘I am worth it’ which goes so far for affecting our moods positively and spurring us all on to keep up as many healthy habits as possible.

She points to a 2014 study from Imperial College London that suggests eating starchy foods first (foods rich in glucose a.k.a. carbs) can help you feel full faster and avoid overeating.