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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

I always had a mortal enemy when it came to my focus; ​and it was me​.

After years of struggling to get things done and build the life I wanted, I was
finally able to dial-in a set of strategies to effectively combat my ADD, and
take control over my time.

Just like me - you have a superpower; ​you just don’t know how to use it
(yet).

If you have ADD (or ADHD, ​as it’s come to officially be known​) then you
face the same difficulties as myself and millions of others.

These characteristics can often include losing track of time, motivation and
the things you need to get done to create the life you love.

And holy crap is it frustrating.

Especially when you have family, friends, coworkers, superiors, and so


many other people depending on you to get shit done.

Worse still, ADHD is more common than doctors may have previously
believed, according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). A recent report shows that up to 11 percent of children
aged 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD1 at some point in their lives.

Males are almost three times more likely2 to be diagnosed with ADHD than
females.

1
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/features/key-findings-adhd72013.html
2
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

During their lifetimes, 12.9 percent of men3 will be diagnosed with the
attention disorder. Just 4.9 percent of women will be diagnosed​.

The behavioral characteristics of having ADD manifest themselves in your


day-to-day activities and tend to look like the following:

- You are often losing things

- You are constantly told that you talk too fast

- You forget what you were doing (or were supposed to be doing)

- Your speech pace gets fumbled, because the words in your head
move faster than the words coming out of our mouth

- You find presentations (whether for work or trying to explain ideas to


family and friends can be difficult, for the above mentioned reasons)
frustrating and difficult.

These day to day characteristics have extenuating implications and can


lead to life threatening habits such as:

- Substance Abuse
- Chronic disorganization
- Relationship Problems
- Moodiness, and
- Depression

However, as with almost all things in life - characteristics and traits that
make certain components very difficult (if not near impossible at times) also
can be incredible beneficial in other areas.

3
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/1ADHD_CHILD.shtml

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Life doesn’t have to be this way.

This happens as a result of not effectively managing your attention


problems with the right tools.

ADD can give you a huge edge if you accept that it requires specific
strategies to overcome the potential downsides and put them to use as
strengths.

You can actually get more done in less time than people who don’t have a
hyperactive brain.

For those of us with ADD, our core strengths tend to come out in the form
of:

- Creativity:​ We are incredibly creative not just with audio, visual, and
words but in how we see and hence approach solving problems

- Intense (short-term) Focus:​ We have the ability to be hyper-focused


when we’re interested - ​and shortly I’ll give you 5 of my strategies to
dial-in how to get much better at this.

- Energy:​ We bring high levels of tenacity and passion to the things we


care about. Not all the time (depending on if your ADD includes
hyperactivity) but when we are energized, it’s at a very high level.

- Abstract Thinking:​ We are non-linear thinkers. This means we don’t


think about problems or approach situations like most people.

For example:

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

a. A person without ADD/ADHD might approach solving a problem


in a straightforward linear sequence such as A => B => C

b. A person with ADD/ADHD would instead approach this same


problem more similar to A => Q => C

Real world example: ​grocery shopping

My wife and I go through the process of grocery shopping very


differently, which is amazing as we approach it the say way; we
each bring a list. However, she goes through her list in order,
top to bottom - whereas I scan my list in each aisle and look to
knock off all items on the list while I’m in that aisle.

Both achieve the same end, but to me my approach is more


efficient and saves me the frustration of having to backtrack to
an aisle I’ve already been down.

- Absorbing Information:​ We are able to learn new things


exceptionally fast. This is often demonstrated in ways that tend to go
unnoticed, for example you may realize that you are able to
memorize seemingly small things or tasks without needing to give
them much thought.

Take a second and reflect on a few of these questions:

- Are you able to retake a route, whether driving, biking or


walking, and remember almost all of the turns and stops after
doing it only once before?

- Are you talented at memorizing lyrics to songs or how to play a


specific song on an instrument without actually knowing “how”

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

to play the instrument or being able to read music?

- Do you find yourself remembering passages or quotes you’ve


read in a book or online, quickly from memory without any
hesitation?

These are just a few of the superpowers our ADD/ADHD brain provides us.

It’s different for each of us, but all of us with hyperactive brains process
loads of information exponentially faster than most people.

For me this tends to be most obvious with math and information retrieval.

What that means is that I’m able to look at (or scan) large amounts of data
and very quickly identify patterns - this in and of itself has proven
fantastically useful for me first in Finance and now in actively investing /
building businesses.

In this guide, I’m going to share with you 5 tools you can put to use today to
turn your tendency to be distracted into 10x productivity.

But first I’d like to share a personal story with you.

*If you want to skip right to the ADD Productivity Hacks ​click here​, or feel
free to just scroll past the story - you won’t hurt my feelings.

My ADD Story
My story starts in 1st grade at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic school in
Mount Penn, PA.

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

I was raised Catholic (though I’m not anymore, but that’s a story for another
day), but my parents chose to send me to St. Catherines not because they
themselves were devout Catholics - but because Exeter School District, the
public school in our town, was awful at the time.

They believed I would get a better education at the local private school, boy
were they wrong.

My days would start with putting on my uniform; dark blue slacks, a light
blue button down shirt, a black clip-on tie, and black dress shoes - and my
mom driving me just a few miles from our home to school.

My 1st grade teacher was named Ms. Schertz, and 6 year-old me hated
her.

Most days would entail being given a cardboard notecard with 6 horizontal
rows and a bucket of cardboard letters and numbers that you could stick in
the rows to spell words, and solve simple math problems.

Ms. Schertz would write the sentences and math problems on the board
and then go sit at her desk and read Satan’s handbook.

I would finish the exercise and then be forced to sit there, for hours… ​bored
to death​.

Or I could crawl under my desk, out the open classroom door, and go hit
the water fountain. Which I did with ever increasing frequency, until Ms.
Schertz had it brought to her attention from one of the other teachers that
saw me roaming the halls.

I was caught and screamed at in the hallway outside my classroom (as I


was trying to sneak back in). My God did her breath smell. It was like she

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

had eaten roadkill. Plus I had the added joy of her not suffering from one of
those dry mouth disorders so I ended up with a nice facial shower in
addition to the bath I had received from my mom the night before.

I was sent to the Principal’s office, parents were called. I was not having a
good day.

Fast Forward to 2nd Grade


I’m now in Mrs. Kenny’s class. Notice the “misses” she was not on the
same heinous troll level as Ms. Schertz and was actually married.

Most days were spent learning cursive and in my off time I would flirt with
my classroom crush, a girl with shoulder length brown hair named Aileen.

All was going well until I started finishing my cursive lessons in our
workbook too fast, and again being left to my own devices to sit in class
and wait for the other students to finish - after exhausting my trips to the
water fountain.

Again, I became disruptive, and ended up in the Principal’s office.

At this point the school leadership was convinced I was mentally unstable
and may need to seek the attention of a specialist school for students with
learning disabilities.

My parents conceded to finding a testing center and having me tested for


all manors of mental inefficiencies.

So off to Philadelphia we went, where I was diagnosed with Attention


Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

It was recommended I see a Psychiatrist and get put on this new children’s
miracle drug, Ritalin.

My parents refused to resort to drugs as they didn’t want their now 7 year
old child to form a lifelong chemical dependency (thank you Mom and
Dad!).

Instead they started looking for a school that had programs for “gifted”
students. Turns out my ADHD was directly correlated to having a high IQ.

It has been found that often times, those of us with ADD/ADHD in turn have
increased mental capacity4 (higher IQ’s) - which makes sense since we
need more use of our brain to be able to store all this extra information we
take in.

The Point of The Story


I was not in an environment that allowed me to learn and be productive the
way I learn and am most productive.

In order to go to the new school my parents found, Wyomissing Area


Elementary School, the whole family had to pick up and move.

The program for “gifted” students (which Wyomissing called their


“Enrichment” program) would have all the students in the program report
for homeroom, then we would go to a different classroom for the day to
work on fascinating projects and at the end of the day be given all the work
from the standard classes to complete.

The fact of the matter is, I was in a downward spiral until it was realized
that I needed to approach managing my tasks and attitude completely
differently - because those of us with ADD/ADHD are DIFFERENT.

4
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mysteries-add/201108/the-mysteries-add-and-high-iq

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

ADD is Often Unknowingly Magnified


13% of all employed people enjoy being “overworked,” so if you are in the
other​ 87%, it’s likely you’re overworking, at least one day per week, and
not​ enjoying it

What if you could actually work less (more specifically; spend less TIME
working) and get more done?

Not a little more - but a lot more; like 3-5x as much.

First you need to be aware of the triggers that are magnifying your ADD.

“Solutions start
with Awareness”
The most common productivity killers that magnify ADD:

Distractions
A distraction happens every 8 minutes, or roughly 60x per day5. The most
common distractions take the form of unneeded information masked as
communication, such as:

- Emails
- Messages - The include texts, Facebook, GChat, Skype, and Slack
- Unscheduled Phone Calls
- Coworker’s conversations

5
http://interruptions.net/literature/CubeSmart-productivity-wp1.pdf

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Procrastination
80% of people admit to procrastinating, 20% of those 80% are chronic
procrastinators6… and you might have guessed it, folks with ADD are
almost always in that 20%

Disorganization
This is harder to diagnose and nail down, but in reality - the ADD brain and
disorganization form a downward spiral similar to substance addiction.
Once people like you and me let pieces of our lives or work spaces become
disorganized it triggers a domino effect that kicks into procrastination and
more distractions.

5 ADD/ADHD Tools You Can Use TODAY


These simple strategies will enable you to see immediate results in terms
of getting more done in less time - and turn your overactive brain and
external sensory perception into a super power.

1. An ADD/ADHD To-Do List


First, I’m sure you’ve heard, read, been told a million times you need
to create a daily to-do list… and you do, but there’s a nuance to
utilizing this for the way our brains work.

It needs to be recorded, in written form, and here’s the slight


component that 99% of ADD/ADHD folks I talk to fail to do - it needs
to be VISIBLE. This is more about setting an active deadline than it is
the act of creating to-do’s.

6
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/04/procrastination.aspx

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

You need to beat your ADD/ADHD brain over the head with these
tasks to make what will otherwise become subconscious (and easily
forgotten or not considered) a tangible and active endeavor.

Seriously, it needs to be placed in a location, after you’ve written it


down (or typed it - which is what i do) where you’re forced to see it
10-15 times per day, ​if not more​.

This means using sticky notes, or printing it out and sticking it on your
corkboard.

Personally I prefer to keep everything I can in a digital format for me


to manage it (and archive it for later spot checking).

The way this takes shape for me is in 2 forms depending on the day
of the week. Some days I have a commute and some days I work
remote.

On days I’m commuting in my car, I use audio notes on my phone to


run through all the things I know I need to get done that day. On
non-commute days I have a moleskine notebook and I physically
write the tasks down.

The format is very important, here is the format I use to ensure I’m
accurate in my to-do prioritization:

I must ______________
A high-priority task that will have an immediate impact

I should ____________
A task that will contribute to your long-term goals

I want ______________

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Something you genuinely want to do

The Key to Success


This next piece is where the rubber meets the road; it’s what
separates this from simple to-do list into powerful ADD/ADHD
strategy.

I then transfer my list, whether video or paper, into a medium that


makes it visual - and keeps it in front of my face all day.

For a while I would rewrite the list in priority order on a post it note
and stick it on my computer monitor - now I use a free browser
extension for my Google Chrome browser called ​Momentum
Dashboard​.

Due to the nature of my work (building and managing digital


businesses) this keeps my daily to-do right in my face all day - and
furthermore supports the need for me to set one BIG goal each day
as most important.

Here’s what it looks like:

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Which means EVERY TIME I open a new browser window (which I


do literally hundreds of times per day - more on that later) I’m shown
my one BIG goal for the day and my prioritized to-do list.

2. Timed Sprints
The second tool that lets me plow through tasks at a superhuman
rate is planning and then running in sprints.

This is not a new concept, and I’ve actually even ​written on it before​,
but just like the ADD To-Do List, there is a nuance that needs to be
adapted to make this work for folks with ADD/ADHD.

Creating sprints, or set periods of hyper-focused productive time, can


be effective for some - but staying on task for us ADDers is a different
monster. Some people turn to the Pomodoro Technique7 for this,
which breaks these chunks up into 15 minute increments - but in
reality, Pomodoro has never worked for me.

7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

It may be that I need more time to get moving and build momentum in
a task or it could simply be that the tasks I’m executing on take more
than 15 minutes to achieve.

The adaptation for working in “sprints” that works for my hyperactive


brain is to run them in timed chunks, which means grinding on tasks
with one specific accomplishment ahead for up to 2 hours, or until it’s
completed (if it takes less than 2 hours to finish).

To leverage this strategy you need to understand the notion of Big


Rocks versus Little Rocks, a productivity concept first talked about by
Stephen Covey8.

The concept is simple, you need to tackle the big rocks first or you
will never get to the little rocks.

He demonstrates this using large and small rocks and a glass jar.

First, he puts all the little rocks in the jar and then tries to put in the
big rocks - but there’s not enough room, the little rocks have made an
inefficient use of the space.

He empties the jar, places the big rocks in first, and then uses the
small rocks to fill in the gaps.

All the rocks fit.

This example perfectly illustrates how if you focus on tackling your


biggest tasks each day, you will create more sustained momentum
and the “little things” will fall into place.

8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmV0gXpXwDU

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Another variation of a timed sprint that I use is called The 3+2 Rule9,
which focuses your production time each day on 3 big items and 2
small ones.

“Big” items are tasks that take 1-2 hours to complete and “small”
items are more like ~20 minutes.

The reason for this variation on task management is that as ADD


folks, we tend to get stuck in 1 of 2 ruts:

1. We set so many tasks that it’s unrealistic, becomes


discouraging, and we actually get less done, or
2. We set out to do A, B, C, D, E - get A and C done and then feel
like we didn’t accomplish anything, which again is discouraging.

Instead, if you run your days using the 3+2 rule you will actually:

- Get more done because you won’t procrastinate as much

- Maintain focus on the task at hand because you are


consciously aware that your list is finite and you can see the
light at the end of the tunnel.

- Minimize lag between tasks from switching context, which is


minimized as you are only switching context a max of 4 times
per day.

- Prevent burn out since you still get variety throughout your day
in addition to the motivational benefit of a feeling of
accomplishment.

9
http://lifehacker.com/5853732/take-a-more-realistic-approach-to-your-to-do-list-with-the-3-%252B-2-rule

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

- Provide better work + life balance

3. Chunk Distractions
Use timed sprints to schedule known distraction chunks.

A distraction chunk is time you block out of your calendar and actually
schedule​ to respond to all those communication mediums that
otherwise sink your productivity.

To do this you need to block out time for Emails, Calls, Messages
(Skype, Slack, Google Chat, Facebook, Snapchat, Etc).

I schedule 3 “Distraction Chunks” per day:

1. 1 hour in the morning


2. 1 hour in the early afternoon (after lunch before starting my first
afternoon sprint)
3. and then 1 hour after dinner

This frees me up to focus on production by keeping on task and


focused to the greatest extent possible.

Chunking your distractions allows you to minimize context switching,


which as I mentioned as part of the 3+2 Rule can KILL your
productivity.

To do this you need to commit to it. You need to close your email
tabs. Close your Slack tab. Set your phone to silent and turn it upside
down.

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

The only way you will see exponential production from your ADD is to
create a distraction free vacuum where you give yourself the chance
to be productive.

4. Concentrated Distractions
Yes you read that right, and I know it seems like an oxymoron.

A concentrated distraction is a tool you use to offset distractions by


maintaining control of the time you commit to those distractions. This
could be a stress ball, pull-up bar, or even a cup of fresh-pressed
juice.

Let me explain...

The key here is to use things that do not have the potential to run
away with your attention.

A stress ball gives you something that you can squeeze for a few
minutes while brainstorming or instead of taking a longer break during
production time - it works because it comes with a fixed expectation
of the outcome; ​you know exactly what you’re getting and after 2-3
minutes you’re good to resume production​.

A pull up bar is nice because it combines the opportunity to release


some dopamine in your brain while also limiting your distraction
potential since no matter how many pull-ups you’d ​like to do​, you will
quickly hit a point where you can’t do any more - ​and so you’ll return
to your task.

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

A cup of fresh juice, aside from the energizing benefits of having all
those active enzymes, works because it has a clear beginning and
end.

I’ve heard of people keeping brain teaser games at their desk to use
as concentrated distractions but the problem is - something like that
has ​a high likelihood of running away with our attention​.

Think of ADD like erectile dysfunction of the mind; if what you’re


doing is something that really interests you - ​you’re up for it​, ​and can
perform​.

On the other hand, if it’s something that doesn’t provide intrinsic


interest to you it’s much harder to stay motivated and be ​up for the
task​ (​pun intended​).

The capacity to focus and mobilize executive functions for a task


depends primarily on the release of ​dopamine​ in specific areas of the
brain and that release of dopamine ​is not under your voluntary
control​.

So you need to be cautious of this running in reverse; if you open


yourself up to something that has that captivates your attention -
suddenly you’ve lost an hour of your time spinning that rubix cube
when you could have finished “Big” task #2 and be onto #3.

5. Engineering Your Focus

Leverage Background Noise


Using auditory directives to drive productivity and avoid distraction is
not something new, and in fact there’s even been a commercial

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

industry that’s starting to develop around this strategy, with services


like Noisli and Brain.fm popping up.

The problem is while this is scientifically proven to work - it doesn’t


necessarily work for us folks with ADD.

Instead I’ve found that music, more so than just sounds, helps to
stabilize my focus and get me into my flow state. The trick here is that
it can’t be music that I know.

When listening to the radio, as I commonly do on Pandora, and


hearing songs I’m familiar with either in terms of lyrics or melody - I
actually find they distract me more.

Instead I’ve found a series of stations that provide me with my


personal mix of productivity-driving music. This tends to be music
with a steady series of beats and some syncopation.

I think the reason is, more than anything else, that I don’t have
established expectations for what is going to happen - and this
translates into pleasant surprises.

Revisiting the strategy of timing sprints, instead of setting a timer I


find myself counting songs, and know that a cycle of production time
for me tends to be around the 20 song mark.

The ADD brain is amazing in the pieces of information it’s able to


subconsciously process, organize and store for later.

But it takes practice.

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Forcibly Remove Distracting Channels


I’ve already talked about shutting off your phone, closing your email
tabs, etc.

And for a lot of people that works - but if you’re like me, sometimes
you need someone to force you to focus - which means not giving
you an easy option to distract yourself.

For many of us (me included) that could mean hopping on Facebook,


Reddit, Twitter, and so many other “consumption channels” where I’ll
literally waste big chunks of time (with the potential of being sucked
into torching hours of production time) if I don’t control them.

Thankfully, I have found a wonderful piece of simple technology to


help with this (if you happen to be a Mac user), it’s called ​Focus​, and
here is what it looks like:

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

If you can’t tell from the screenshot, what Focus does is it blocks you
from being able to access specific time-sucking websites for set
periods of time (that you select) from 15 minutes up to an hour.
There’s also an option to simply “focus” which stays on until you
disable it.

Then if you try to go to any of those sites, instead of the site


rendering you’re greeted with a motivational quote, like so:

This is a fantastic tool for those of us who are our own worst enemy
when it comes to reigning in our distracted selves.

Bonus Tip: Avoid Bullshit “Strategies”


There’s a lot of crappy “harness your ADD” strategies out there - I know
because I’ve tried them; all of them.

These range from anecdotal tips like “be realistic” to things like “forget
perfect,” “go on a scavenger hunt” or “do the fun stuff first.”

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

None of these are going to have a noticeable impact on your ability to crush
your daily tasks.

Many of them don’t even make sense for us... The idea of accepting shitty
work or pouring attention into designing your activities to be more “fun” vs.
simply being more efficient and getting them done is ridiculous.

Trust Me
The tips I’ve shared here work. I’ve been building (successful) businesses
for over 10 years and it’s been a slog dialing in how to maximize my daily
habits and output to capitalize on my ideas.

If you’re interested in learning more about additional strategies I use


including software, time management worksheets, and my daily habits -
stay tuned, I’ll be writing heavily on the subject and publishing it all on
ADDHero.com

About The Author


Nick Eubanks is a serial entrepreneur who builds and sells digital
businesses. Between 2008 and 2012 he built and sold 2 companies and is
currently the Founder/Partner at 5 others. He attributes his exponential
output to harnessing his near debilitating ADHD.

Nick is also well known in the digital marketing industry having created 2
popular products in use by thousands of marketing professionals around
the world. He has been featured in The New York Times, INC Magazine,
Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Business.com, and many other publications.
For more information visit ​NickEubanks.com

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How To Save Your Time From Yourself:​ ​Turn Your ADD into a Superpower

Join The Community


We’ve launched a private, members only Facebook group and I’d like to invite you to come and
share your stories, check out our tips and resources, and continue taking control of your ADHD.

Click here to request access

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