Planning and Commitment – The ADHD Way
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Planning and Commitment – The ADHD Way

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, Blog

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” ~Peter Drucker Planning as a means of making a commitment, especially for those with ADHD, is key to execution and completion. Yet, you may say: “Planning stifles my creativity.” or “The only way I can get something done is if I do it at the last minute; that is just the way I work.” If this is you, ask yourself the following questions: Is my way of operating working well enough for me?  Is there a cost, like stress, that I do not like? Am I able to make and follow through on commitments that are important to me, that are in sync with my values? Am I reaching my goals? Do…

ADHD and Valuing Yourself
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ADHD and Valuing Yourself

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when? “ ~ Rabbi Hillel Rabbi Hillel really captures what it means to Value Yourself in the above quote. It is important to view the process of Valuing Oneself as a critical step in reaching one’s goals. Adults with ADHD (and many other people) may find this step hard to get up. However, if you miss this step, you may find yourself lying flat on your face, feeling pretty bruised. More often than not, accomplishing goals is about taking one step at a time up a staircase, rather than simply opening a door and stepping over the threshold. I wrote about…

ADD, College and Success: Is There A Blueprint?
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ADD, College and Success: Is There A Blueprint?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

As the needs of each student are unique, it is impossible to offer a step by step plan. However, there are critical steps, which increase a student’s chance for success in college. As the architect of their future, college students with ADHD need to know themselves well (Field and Hoffman, 1994). How they come to know themselves is the focus of this article. The process starts with questions about their future. “What do I want my life to look like 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years from now? That is, what are my dreams? When I achieve my dreams how will my life look different from now?” Dreams are the foundation of this process of getting to know themselves, as they provide…

Does ADD Coaching Help College Students ?
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Does ADD Coaching Help College Students ?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Treatment Options, Blog

For me, the power of coaching college students is seeing them as creative, resourceful and whole just as they are. This means that I do not need to fix them. In fact, holding them 100% responsible for taking the actions necessary to reach their goals and have the life they envision will help them develop their own innate skills. Do you remember the facts below? Maybe not…

Planning Your Time: When Good Enough Is Perfect
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Planning Your Time: When Good Enough Is Perfect

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, Blog

Are you an adult with ADHD? Do you get overwhelmed by your To Do List or do you consider it just a useful tool? I hope that you fall in the later group. However, I know that for some The List, as I will refer to it, has an ominous power over them. I am sure that you have heard or even said some of the following comments. “I have so many things on my list! I can’t talk now. I am crazy busy.” When you become overwhelmed by The List, remember that you created it. So, you can change it at any time. Really, you can.

Marla Cummins Social Graphic
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ADHD Coaching: Someone in Your Corner

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Treatment Options, Blog

  For people who have ADHD, you know how great it is or certainly can imagine how great it might be to have people in your life who understand ADHD. What does it mean to understand ADHD? First, of course, acknowledging that ADHD exist in adults Understanding that ADHD is caused by biological factors and has a genetic basis Knowing that people with ADHD because of their cognitive differences can be highly creative, energetic and productive Realizing that treatment (structure, exercise, coaching, medication…) is about helping people with ADHD create the life they want, not fixing them Standing firm in the belief that people with ADHD are not deficient.

Are You Feeling It?
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Are You Feeling It?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

While dealing with the challenges of ADHD you are likely to experience many different emotions and feelings. Yet, I often hear from clients some variation of the following when they are talking about their feelings. “But this is coaching, so I probably shouldn’t go into this too much.” Somewhere along the way many of us got the message that taking care of our feelings and moving toward our goals are incompatible. Not true.

Putting the Pieces Together: Treating Your ADHD
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Putting the Pieces Together: Treating Your ADHD

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Treatment Options, Blog

A few months ago I wrote about making the decision to take medication to manage your ADHD symptoms in  What Is The Truth About Medication? . Then a few weeks ago I received the comments below from Pierre de Villiers, who, as with his earlier comments,  has graciously allowed me to share them with you. ….the medication does not solve the problems of everyday ADHD in terms of learning the coping mechanisms and adapting to social norms. Therefore, medication has a place, but the individual needs to realise that the medication impacts one part of the ADHD complex and that he would still have to accept ownership of his/her condition and learn the skill set to cope with ADHD and utilise the positives of ADHD/ADD…

Does Your Life Feel Like A Trip to The Mall?
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Does Your Life Feel Like A Trip to The Mall?

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

When I walk into a mall, which I do not do very often, I almost immediately become overwhelmed. How do you respond when you are flooded by so many choices? Do you walk into every store, and buy whatever catches your eye? And then you get home and beat yourself up for spending too much money. But you do not know what to return, so you keep it all. Alternatively, do you feel incapable of making any choice? You may walk into every store in the mall. But besieged by so many choices, you don’t buy anything. This is my usual m.o.! Mega Mall of Life These two approaches to making decisions about commitments are common for many with ADHD.

Are You Trying To Defy The Law of Physics?!
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Are You Trying To Defy The Law of Physics?!

ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

If you have been following my writing for a while, you know that I think quite a bit about values and their relationship to Adults with ADHD being able to reach their goals. One of my recent goals, admittedly short term, was to ensure that my daughter enjoyed her birthday. But, rather than actively planning, I thought about it and thought about it…until the day finally arrived. It was 5:00 am the day of her birthday, and I literally bounded out of my chair to go to the 24 hr store. In spite of the fact that I was inundated with work, I was able to pull off the morning celebration. What finally prompted me to get into motion? I reminded myself of the importance…