Planners are difficult for adults with ADHD because of executive function challenges: ADHD disrupts the brain’s executive functions, which are essential for managing time, organizing tasks, and following through. Planners require initiation, organization, working memory, sustained attention, and task monitoring, which are precisely the areas where adults with ADHD struggle. Maintaining a planner can feel like a job in itself.

Stimming, short for “self-stimulatory behavior,” refers to repetitive movements or sounds that help regulate attention. They can include leg bouncing, doodling, chewing on pens or gum, tapping fingers or nails, using fidget toys, humming, throat clearing, or vocal tics. These behaviors may intensify when you’re bored, overstimulated, emotionally overloaded, or hyper-focused. Instead of being a bad habit, stimming serves as an adaptive coping mechanism for many ADHD brains.