ADD and Acceptance: Accelerating Your Progress
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ADD and Acceptance: Accelerating Your Progress

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, ADHD Tools & Strategies, ADHD Treatment Options, Blog

Recently, I was talking to someone about marketing my business. Below is an adapted version of our conversations and email communications. Me: I think that for business owners with ADD, they would be drawn to a biz coach who specializes in ADD and can help them focus on making more money. For many business owners with ADD, it is all of the executive functioning challenges (planning, prioritizing, making decision, organizing…) that are getting in their way of making money. Without the understanding of ADD, people may not get the support they need to implement strategies and build skills that will last. What do you think? J:  The ADD is the process, you can use it; however it may be limiting and even people with ADD…

Knowing your Weaknesses – Operating From Your Strengths
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Knowing your Weaknesses – Operating From Your Strengths

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    Part 2 of Series on Moving Forward Last week, I wrote about choosing to focus on what is important to you. If you haven’t read the post, Stop Keeping Up With The Jones, I suggest you read it now. Knowing Your Weaknesses Can you think of a time when you’ve been so engaged in something that just felt so right that the time simply flew? It felt easy. It felt fun. I bet you were working with your strengths. Alternatively, have you ever done work that felt so arduous that you thought your head was going to explode and you wanted to escape through the floor?  Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. Maybe, instead, you just tried…

Stop Keeping Up With The Jones
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Stop Keeping Up With The Jones

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    Part 1 of Series on Moving Forward I should keep a cleaner house, work more hours, be more organized, make more money, go on more vacations… What should you be doing? Whenever I say, “I should,” I know there is a great possibility that the “Jones” are lurking in the corner. I can’t see them, but I know they are there. Perhaps you have the Smiths in your house. It is probably a safe bet to assume you do when you find yourself judging yourself against some external standard.

Are You Being Productive or Just Working?
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Are You Being Productive or Just Working?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD in the Workplace, ADHD Time Management, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

  Sometimes I find myself sitting at my desk with no particular objective in mind. It is what I call, Seat Time O’Rama. You know. It is when you are just kinda hanging out because you feel you should be working, but you are not really getting anything done. When I catch myself, I stop, try to figure out what I need in the moment and change course, so that I am not wasting more time. Sometimes what I really need to do is eat, exercise, read, call a friend or family member, take a nap, do housework, take care of finances, make appts or, yes, do another business related task. Being productive isn’t always about doing work.

You Have a Plan: How Do You Change Course?
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You Have a Plan: How Do You Change Course?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

  When you think about attempting to reach your goals, what image comes to mind? Does it look like the image above? For those of you who have read my book, you know that I write about SMART Goals.To be sure, setting SMART Goals is a critical part of getting to where you want to go. After all, if you don’t know where you are going, you just might get there. 🙂 Are You Too Attached to Your Goal? At the same time, being too attached to and too focused on your goals can get in the way of doing what is right for you at any given time.

Are You Ready to Face Your Fears?
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Are You Ready to Face Your Fears?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

Everyone experiences times of peaks and valley. And, of course,  we all hope that we can stay on the peak as long as possible. But, inevitably, there are times that we are going to stumble and down we go – to the valley. I’ve been there, in the valley, for a month. I don’t know when or exactly how I got here. Nor do I know exactly how I will climb out. And I don’t like it here! But I know that I will be in a better place, sometime. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. How do I know I will get to a better place? I only know this based on past experience. The beauty of getting older. However, I only know this intellectually,…

ADHD and Mail: 9 Steps To Streamline Your Mail
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ADHD and Mail: 9 Steps To Streamline Your Mail

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

What do you do when you bring your mail into the house? If you are like many of us, you put it in the pile – the pile that you  are going to deal with later. And the pile gets bigger and bigger, until you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of going through it. So, you leave it for later- whenever that is. After a while you don’t even know what is in the pile – out of sight out of mind. What Is Wrong With A Pile O’ Mail? You can’t find financial statements when you need them. Bills don’t get paid on time, and then you have to pay extra fees. You don’t respond to invitations on time. You are surprised when events…

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Knowledge Can Empower You

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

According Sir Francis Bacon, “knowledge is power.” A few weeks ago I wrote about a free web based financial tool, Mint.com. It truly is an amazing tool in that it gives you tons of information. Using this tool you can view all of your financial accounts in one location. And they are updated instantaneously when you log into the site! The potential impact of this tool can be seen in the comment below. changed my life (in that it shows me how i spend badly, not that i actually changed my spending). BUT I DO LOVE IT! As this comment succinctly illustrates, information can only empower you to the extent that you use it; the reader did not use the information to make any changes….

Do You Have The Highest Rated Personal Financial Tool?
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Do You Have The Highest Rated Personal Financial Tool?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

This is the first time I can ever remember being so excited about a  financial tool. Personal finances just is not a subject that gets me really fired up. But when I used mint.com, I was floored by its potential to help people, like my clients with ADD, who struggle to get a  handle on their finances. Highlights of my experience: All bank, credit card, loan, mortgage and investments accounts are updated daily and visible in one place Using the information from your accounts, the program breaks down your spending by category If you set budget amounts, you can instantly see  if you meeting your budgeting goals Sends you automatic alerts Gives you all the information you need, like the interest rate on loans or…

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Do You Want To Know What Is Not Serious About ADHD?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

It is time to take a break from the seriousness of AD/HD and share a funny story. While it certainly helps to be resolute in tackling the challenges of our AD/HD symptoms, it also is beneficial to approach them with a sense of humor. I'll offer a story of my own. Yesterday, as we were leaving the house to run some errands, I noticed that I was becoming anxious that I would forget to do all of the errands; there were three. So, I wrote them down and slipped them into my pocket. Feeling much better, I joined my daughter in the car, where she had been waiting for me. By the way, she often waits in the car, so that I have a chance…