adhd planning

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Work With Your ADHD and Complete Your Projects
ByMarla Cummins December 1, 2011June 15, 2025 Blog

Which of the following are projects? All of them. Yes, even buying paint, really. If there is more than one step, it is useful to consider the task a project for planning purposes. And when faced with a project you may feel intimidated by all of the seemingly moving parts. You may procrastinate out of fear that you will not be able to complete it well. Alternatively, you may react quickly and dig in, thinking you just have to put in more time and work harder. Yet, you know that being reactive or procrastinating does not help you to make the right choices in order to get the project done. The key is learning how to follow a process. While following a process does…

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

Knowing your Weaknesses – Operating From Your Strengths
ByMarla Cummins December 24, 2010May 14, 2025 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…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

ADD – ADHD: Do You Know How To Prevent Overwhelm?
ByMarla Cummins October 27, 2010May 14, 2025 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

Yes, our brains can hold information. If you can give me time, I can rattle off dates in US History to impress you at a party. This is not very helpful, though, if I forget milk for breakfast, and we want to eat cereal in the morning. It is not very helpful, if I forget to pay my registration for my car on time. It is certainly not helpful, if I forget to contact a prospective client in a timely manner.

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ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis | Blog

AD/HD and Doing It Your Own Way…
ByMarla Cummins July 11, 2009March 12, 2026 ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

The quote below, which was sent to me from a client, serves a powerful reminder of the power of perseverance, as well as the need to find your own way to accomplish what is important to you. …every now and then even streams and rivers have incredibly tough obstacles between their starting points and where they want to meander (like mountains!) but over the years they just keep on chipping away and turning and finding other ingenious ways to access where they’re going. So I’m not fluid like an established flowing river, but I’m slowly carving out a crooked sort of flow… Ok off to do some eroding. As the above quote suggest, by taking into consideration your areas of weakness and strength in…

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ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis | ADHD Time Management | Blog

Increase Your Chances of Follow Through 8 Fold
ByMarla Cummins December 12, 2008May 14, 2025 ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, ADHD Time Management, Blog

I see the word PROCRASTINATION flashing in bright lights when I hear comments, likeI hope to do my paper tomorrow. I’m thinking about finishing my report. My plan is to start painting the garage. I need to do call Mr. Smith. Then it is time to “tease out the details” by providing the answers to questions, such as: What are the specifics steps to accomplish this task? How long will it take you? When are you going to do each step? What do you need to do to prepare? Who is going to hold you accountable? I know that there is a greater chance of actually doing the task, if there is a concrete plan and accountability. In the article, “Procrastinating Again? How to Kick the Habit,” the…

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ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis | ADHD Time Management | Blog

One Surefire Way To Reduce Stress When You Have ADHD
ByMarla Cummins November 12, 2008May 14, 2025 ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, ADHD Time Management, Blog

I know the stress of having a plate that is overflowing, especially when you have ADHD. Sometimes, when this happens, our instinct is to go faster and do more. Alternatively, we can become so overwhelmed that we just give up, as we become involved in activities that distract us from working toward our goals. While we know that doing nothing is not productive (unless we really need a rest- that is another story), we don’t always recognize that trying to do more and go faster, without planning, can also be counter-productive. If you are going so fast that you do not have a complete list of what needs to be done in order of priority with deadlines, how do you know that you will…

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ADHD Time Management | Blog

Planning and Commitment – The ADHD Way
ByMarla Cummins October 7, 2008May 14, 2025 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…

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