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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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Awarded Best ADHD Blogs of 2016
ByMarla Cummins May 17, 2016June 9, 2025 Blog

Excited and honored to be named Best ADHD Blog of 2016 by Healthline. Thank you Healthline for the recognition!

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

6 Ways To Reduce Overwhelm By Adding Buffer Time To Your Day
ByMarla Cummins May 9, 2016 ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

For Adults with ADHD it can feel like many days consist of putting out one fire after the next. If this is true for you, maybe you have been operating this way for a long time. So, you don’t know there is another way. But there is a way to reduce your ADHD stress. A key strategy is implementing more buffers in your day — time you need to slow down, think, center yourself and just be. I know you may initially respond to this idea with, “How do I do this when I don’t have enough time now to do what I need to do?” While it may sound counter intuitive at first, once you try it, you’ll find creating more buffers will help…

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ADHD and Using the Power of Triggers to Form & Break Habits
ByMarla Cummins April 27, 2016 Blog

For adults with ADHD adopting the right habits is one of the most powerful ways to make execution easier because you no longer have to decide when or how to do something. You just do it because, well, it is a habit. You might be thinking, “Sure. Right. Makes sense. I’ve tried…It is really hard.” You’re right. Adapting new habits is hard. And shedding old habits that get in your way is equally difficult. But there are strategies you can use to make changing your habits easier. The Habit Loop We already act out of habit for much of our day. In fact, according to studies by Wendy Wood, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, almost half of our behaviors occur in…

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Here is a Method That is Helping ADHD Adults Initiate Easier
ByMarla Cummins April 17, 2016June 15, 2025 Blog

If you are like many Adults with ADHD, you may be in the habit of relying on your sense of urgency to get into action. And sometimes it works — stuff eventually gets done when your back is up against the wall. But, even when it does work, it can come at a cost, right? When you often wait until the last moment to do a task you might: lose sleep. get sick often. be perpetually stressed. not eat well. experience more conflict in your relationships. And what happens when you just can’t muster enough urgency to get into action?! Then you are really stuck, especially if this is your go to strategy. And you probably get frustrated, wondering, “How could this be happening?! I…

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This Is the Key ADHD Adults Need to Adopt Habits Faster
ByMarla Cummins April 7, 2016 Blog

Like my clients who I have worked with this past week, you may also want to… exercise regularly. get your deliverables in on time. spend quality time with family and friends. communicate clearly and in a timely manner. get enough sleep. run productive meetings. and more… Of course, these and other short term goals are likely part of a larger picture. For you that larger picture may entail growing your business, creating more balance, enhancing your career, taking better care of yourself, etc. And on a daily basis you make countless decisions in critical moments that either support or hinder you in reaching these goals. But, you, like many Adults with ADHD, make many decisions on autopilot. They are so habitual it may…

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When It’s Better For Adults With ADHD Not To Follow The Rules
ByMarla Cummins February 5, 2016 Blog

I tried to think of any rules I always follow or would follow given various contexts. And I really could not think of one — not one rule. Always stop at red lights, maybe? That seems like one everyone would follow. But what if you were taking someone to the emergency room? Are there any rules you absolutely do not or would not question? Probably not… You may even claim you would question any rule before you would blindly follow it. Yet, I bet you are consciously or unconsciously following rules you did not intentionally adopt. And some of these rules likely come from all the noise around you —family, friends, community, colleagues, boss, clients, social media, books, the internet etc. — telling you what…

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The 7 Ways for ADHD Adults to Focus on What is Important Each Day
ByMarla Cummins January 29, 2016 Blog

You stop to get coffee on the way to work. You get there — ok, maybe a little later than you planned. But you are ready to start the day! You look at your calendar, see you have a 1:00 meeting and think, “Good, plenty of time to get ready for that.” Then, if you haven’t already checked on your phone, you open your email, hoping there are no surprises. You scan it. “Great,” you think, “nothing urgent, yet.” Now, among all of the millions of things on your to do list, what are you going to do today? For a lot of adults with ADHD this is a really challenging question. What helps you focus on what is most important each day? Not sure?…

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ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis | Blog

What You Need To Know About the Causes, Symptoms & Diagnoses of ADHD
ByMarla Cummins January 21, 2016 ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

Trying to figure out more about ADHD causes, symptoms and diagnosis? Confused from all the information on the internet? It can be frustrating trying to find information you need and can trust. There is a lot of hype out there, making it almost impossible at times to separate the wheat from the chaff. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. After endless amounts of time googling I bet you are often left confused, wondering: Arghhh… If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m not a fan of hype or hyperbole. And neither are you. You want the facts. Here they are. What is The Cause of ADHD? You may have heard in the media that poor diet, food dyes,…

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ADHD Treatment Options | Blog

The Surprising Truth About Lumosity and Other Brain Training Games
ByMarla Cummins January 17, 2016 ADHD Treatment Options, Blog

I often get asked what I think about brain training games. And I always say the same thing, which is: The only one that seems to be effective in the long term and is backed by solid scientific research is Cogmed Training to improve working memory. According to Cogmed, “80% of users see measureable improvements.” And the research, not only backs up these claims, but shows that the improvements are not only seen in the game, but also in real life improvements in working memory for users. The questioning rarely ends there, though. “But, Marla, what about ones like Lumosity? It says on its website that it can improve memory, attention, flexibility, speed of processing, and problem solving.” For an adult with ADHD that sounded…

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