When I started working with Marla I had just been diagnosed with ADHD after getting burned out at work. I loved my job but had spent years relying on anxiety and a sense of urgency to compensate for my disability. Ultimately I wasn’t able to keep my commitments to my colleagues and was feeling very disappointed in myself.

Along with therapy and starting ADHD medication, coaching with Marla taught me how to manage my ADHD and modeled how to be kinder to myself. One year later, I’ve just received the best performance review of my career! With the skills I’ve learned through coaching, I’m excited for the future and ready to focus on my strengths.

Your strength is not determined by how positive you are. Your strength is determined by how much space you hold for ALL parts of you.

I just wanted to say thank you. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD (at 45 years old!) and your blog has been invaluable. I'm also a PhD student, so you can imagine I've done tons of research on ADHD: so many books and websites and videos!!! But your blog is the single most helpful resource I have. Thanks for being so generous with your knowledge and advice and a HUGE thank you for writing so clearly and accessibly.

When I started with Marla I thought I just needed the right organizational system because I came to this thinking it was just like an engineering problem. But it wasn’t. We got into how I thought and felt. We really got into my relationship to things like my work, commitments and planning. I think it worked way better this way than if we just focused on how to organize stuff. Because I ended up changing my thinking, not just my practice and habits.

I was struggling and feeling pretty desperate when we started. Because of the combination of practical organizational work and focus on my feelings and thinking I’m feeling more in control than I ever have even though I have more work than I ever have. That that has made me feel more competent and confident that I can continue to stay in control and get things done!

I knew what I should have been doing but wasn’t doing it. Like doing deep thinking and setting aside “me time.” Looking back, I wonder why I wasn’t doing these things all along. Maybe I didn’t have the proof that it was the right thing to do. Now that I’ve used the strategies I know it’s the right thing to do. I have the proof.

I also think before I was being held back because I was trying to do too much by myself. I mean I’m not the first one to be dealing with these ADD challenges. There are ways that I can reach my goals. I just needed help learning new strategies. It’s empowering to know that it wasn’t because of my laziness.

Marla really got my thought process and understood my professional and personal life. So, she could help me think through my options by asking questions and not just telling me what to do. Now that I realize a lot of the answers are really in me already I’m much more methodical about giving myself time to think about my challenges and decide how to best work through them.

I have been for help many times, and I’d gotten to the point where I thought I was so unusual that there is no help. But now I know it was because people were giving me models, like GTD, that did not work for me because the models did not work with how my brain works.

When I started working with Marla I was at the tipping point at work and was not coping. I was just feeling negative about myself and beating myself up a lot. It felt like work had all of me and there was nothing left. I didn’t think there was any way out of my situation.

Now I have tons of tools to use in different situations. I know how to structure my week and I have a structure for routines and reviewing what I am doing. I can even take out time for hobbies without feeling guilty! And I’m doing all this without feeling rushed internally, inside my head or getting mentally exhausted. I feel a lot calmer!

When I decided to try out coaching things were really messy and I couldn’t move in any direction. It’s far from perfect now. But that's okay because I don’t get hung up on being perfect anymore.

I’ve started doing things routinely that I’ve been thinking about for a long time, like regular exercise, a better diet and more professional projects and speaking engagements. I can do this because I do a lot more planning, am much more conscientious about what I put on my calendar and don’t commit to too much.

I’m also much more conscientious of my reaction to people. For example, I hate getting interrupted, but now I know how to handle it better. Also, I’m networking more with people, rather than avoiding them because planning with others can be so hard.

Thanks Marla for helping keep me on track and keep things in perspective.

I get it now. I understand why I do what I do and how to address my ADD challenges. I'm not just walking around scared of what will happen next.

Honestly, when I started coaching I wasn't sure it would help. For so long I just ignored my challenges and didn't think I could change because this is just the way I was... I had this magical kind of thinking. But I got to the point where I thought my ADD was going to eat me alive, and had no idea what to do to make things better. I was totally baffled!

I'm glad I gave coaching a try. With a good dose of humor, compassionate understanding and an ability to take charge during each session Marla helped me face my challenges, figure out what was important to me, and successfully tackle my responsibilities at home and work.

So, now I'm really clear and confident about my professional expertise, what I bring to the table and my abilities to do my work. And I'm taking care of stuff on the home front, too. No more magical unicorns...

Marla, thank you for introducing me to the tools and skills I need to radically change my life in a way no one in my life has ever done! I loved that you met me where I am and never forced me to do anything a certain way. Your perspective was always: "You are ok. Now let's figure out how we can get you where you want to go."

I used to bounce from thing to thing, and wanted to excel at all of them, but was doing done of them! Now I focus on the ideas that matter! Sure, some things are difficult and that is ok. I have the tools, skills and routines I need so I no longer get down on myself and think I can't do something just because it is hard.

Now I look forward to my work! It's even fun. I have more confidence. I'm also feel better about myself because I am better at keeping my word. Thanks to coaching I'm enjoying my life a whole lot more!

I didn't see any avenues to adjust and couldn't effectively keep on top of the whirlwind. Even though I felt scrambled and overwhelmed before it was too difficult to talk to others to get help because they didn't get what it is like to be an ADHD Adult.

So it was helpful working with Marla to get out of my head and hone in on the issues with someone who understands what I am going through. Now I understand my condition and am more accepting of how I am wired. I even think differently about solutions to problems that I run into. I think about how I can come up with solutions that work with my brain wiring.

Marla was never about "this is the way you should do it," but about what works best for me. Best help I've ever had! We got to the root of so many of my problems. So now I have a better relationship with myself and I know I'm not crazy!