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ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis | Blog

Answers to the Top 10 Questions About Adult ADHD
ByMarla Cummins October 21, 2016 ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

It can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when seeking out facts about adult ADHD. Learn more below. So you can be sure you’re on the right path! #1 What is ADHD? I’ve heard the statements below and more in my conversations with ADHD adults. “My therapist says I’m too successful to have ADHD.” “I got by for a long time and then all of sudden I start struggling. I had no idea I had ADHD!” “I was never impulsive or hyperactive. So, it never occurred to me that I might have ADHD.” There is a lot of confusion and misinformation about ADHD… In simplest terms ADHD is a neurological condition that is usually genetically transmitted, characterized by distractibility, impulsivity and restlessness…

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ADHD Time Management | Blog

How to Fix These 5 Common ADHD Time Management Mistakes
ByMarla Cummins October 13, 2016May 18, 2025 ADHD Time Management, Blog

I know you likely make some of the ADHD time management mistakes below. Do any of the following phrases sound like ones you’ve used recently If you find yourself uttering variations of the above on occasion, like many adults with ADHD, time can be an elusive concept for you. More often than not your orientation is in the here and now. That is, your tendency is to think of time as now and not now — sometime later. Why Time Can Feel Endless and How to Motivate Yourself to Start Now One of your challenges can be that time feels endless, like you have all the time in the world. And, as a result, you have a hard time working consistently on long term projects….

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How ADHD Adults Can Stay Focused on Long Term Projects
ByMarla Cummins September 28, 2016June 26, 2025 Blog

I recently received the comment below asking how ADHD adults execute big projects. I am interested in how to maintain interest and progress for long projects. I am great at starting projects (lots of enthusiasm, love the creativity in planning a project), but then I lose interest and I get boooored and start avoiding it. Once I am bored I am easily distracted (by writing this email, as an example). As a result I usually do it all in the last few days under an adrenaline rush, and am often late. I am good at organizing, I try to do lots of small projects instead of large ones, I can break projects down into smaller tasks, but occasionally I must work on a long writing…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

ADHD and 8 Strategies You Can Use To Control Your Emotions
ByMarla Cummins September 14, 2016 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

Managing ADHD emotional dysregulation is possible. Really. Think back to the last time you did something when you felt angry, hurt or frustrated and later thought, “I wish I wouldn’t have done that!!” If you have ever thought that, it may be, like many Adults with ADHD, you have difficulty regulating your emotions. Managing ADHD emotional dysregulation is possible. Really. It is not that you have different feelings than others or that your feelings are wrong. Rather, the challenge for you is that because of your ADHD you may get triggered quickly, stew for long periods of time and act on your feelings before you’ve had a chance to think. Sure, feelings are feelings. But you don’t need to let them run the show,…

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How ADHD Adults Can Do What Is Important But Not Urgent
ByMarla Cummins September 1, 2016 Blog

Wonder how ADHD adults can prioritize when it seems so hard right now? Maybe you’re just trying to get through the day. And it seems like you’re often in a reactive mode. Sure, you’ll want to adopt the skills, strategies and habits you need to get a better handle on your day-to-day tasks But I bet you don’t want to wait until you have everything under control before you act on your longer-term goals, right? Below are strategies you can use to work toward your big vision now. Even if your days are not going as smoothly as you’d like. # 1 – Create a List of Your Projects The first step is to create a list of all your active projects — any task…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

How to Deal With Setbacks When Trying To Work With Your ADHD
ByMarla Cummins August 17, 2016June 15, 2025 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

Wonder how ADHD adults deal with failure? One mistake we often make when we are learning new skills, adopting new strategies or changing our habits is we think there is a destination. That is, we think we will get to a place and be done, home free, fixed… But the truth is we never get “there.” Rather, we have to work on maintaining the progress. On some level I know you get this… But, like me, I bet you forget, especially when you hit the occasional speed bump along the way. So, when you are working hard at creating the change you want, and you have some sort of setback, you may be tempted to give up. In the moment, you think, “Whatever! I tried,…

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Adult ADHD and 3 Scheduling Commitments You’ll Want To Keep
ByMarla Cummins July 21, 2016 Blog

ADHD adults need to use certain time management routines. Clearly defining your work in advance makes it easier for you to start and follow through on your tasks. And the time to do this is during your Weekly Review, which I outlined in my last post, The ADHD Adult’s Guide To The Weekly Review. The question that naturally comes to mind for many after reading that post is: “Well, ok, but after I figure out what I need to do, how do I figure out when I am going to do the work — all the tasks and projects I just reviewed?!” For Adults with ADHD figuring out when to do your work can definitely be a challenge. Below are a few time management routines…

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How ADHD Adults Avoid These 4 Mistakes and Execute Better
ByMarla Cummins June 27, 2016February 21, 2024 Blog

When you are having a hard time starting and following through on a task it is possible you have not clearly defined the task and/or the outcome you are seeking. So, because of your uncertainty you may: Below are 4 mistakes you can avoid so it is easier to start and follow through on your tasks Mistake #1 – You Don’t Know What You Want To Accomplish As an Adult with ADHD you know making decisions about how to do a particular task can be challenging. One way to minimize the difficulty is to begin by visualizing your desired outcome. As David Allen of Getting Things Done notes, when you have clarity on your outcomes you can: For example, when I visualize an outcome for…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

How To Become Shame Resilient When You Have ADHD
ByMarla Cummins June 13, 2016June 26, 2025 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

When helping my clients figure out how to work with their ADHD and create a life that works for them the topic of shame inevitably arises at some point. In fact, shame is common for ADHD adults. I can’t think of another emotion that is as ubiquitous as shame. And, while everybody feels shame, many ADHD adults don’t acknowledge or address it. And, if this is true for you, it is unfortunate. Because it may be holding you back from reaching your goals. While, try as you might, you can’t prevent it from arising on occasion. However, you can become more shame resilient. Ready to learn how to manage it and minimize its negative impact? The Difference Between Shame and Guilt First, it is important…

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

How Play Helps ADHD Adults Be More Effective At Everything!
ByMarla Cummins June 1, 2016 ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

As you know, if you have followed my writing, I write a lot about productivity for adults with ADHD — how to get your important stuff done. And, judging from the responses I’ve received over the years, I know you really want and need this information. But ADHD adults also need to have fun! Sure, we all need to be productive, check tasks off our list. However, it shouldn’t be an end in itself. After all, I’d like to think you are using the information I provide to create the life you want — a life that reflects all your values. If I asked you to list your values quickly, right now, play may not show up on your list. But I’m also guessing that,…

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