Staying organized is a tall order for those with ADHD.
That’s in part because many with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder deal with executive dysfunction, a behavioral symptom that interferes with their ability to organize their thoughts, prioritize tasks and make the decisions required to complete them.
Luckily, these days, there’s an app for just about everything, including quite a few aimed at helping people learn strategies for overcoming procrastination and executive dysfunction.
Below, we asked ADHDers to share the apps that have made a world of difference in their lives. (Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.)
“There’s a cliche about ADHDers that we all have far too many tabs open in our browsers; admittedly, mine have numbered in the hundreds at times. One reason for this is that each open tab represents something I need to return to, either to complete a task or gather more information, and the fear is that if I don’t keep the tab open, it will get lost amidst the sea of other things that are screaming for my attention.
“That’s why the Pocket app is indispensable for me. It allows me to save all my links in a central home and then organize them with limitless tags so that I can search them by topic. It’s better than using bookmarks or other link savers because of how intuitive the interface is and also because it allows me to create any number of categories that map to the unique way my brain functions. At work, I write a newsletter that requires me to scan hundreds of business publications per month and Pocket allows me to save and organize the links I’ll need to refer to again and again in order to do my job.” ― Amy Federman, the editor-in-chief and director of content at ConantLeadership
Notes
“I’d be lost without my Notes app. Poor working memory is an ADHD symptom I struggle with so it’s super important for me to write things down because I will 100% forget. This includes writing down something important someone has told me so I remember to follow up with it. It saves me from coming across as irresponsible or unreliable.
“Another thing I do in the Notes app is scripting or rehearsing conversations. Sometimes it’s quite hard to put all of my thoughts across in a conversation so writing down key points I want to mention in an email or call in advance helps me to be better prepared and to make sure the conversation is a quality one.
“Lastly, Notes helps me to not get into the ADHD ‘tax’ of impulsive spending, especially on groceries! When I go to the store without a list I end up buying so many things outside of my budget and things that I don’t need so I waste money. But when I have a list, I stick to it and I’m able to budget accordingly. I’d be lost without my Notes app.” ― Rach Idowu, the creator of the site Adulting with ADHD
How We Feel
“Like many people with ADHD, I struggle with mindfulness, recognizing my needs and emotional regulation. It gets particularly hard for me when I’m not paying attention to my body or my levels of exhaustion. I use the app How We Feel with timed reminders throughout the day to remind myself to take breaks, check in with myself and see how my body is feeling. I tend to hyperfocus on my work and not allow myself any breaks (even to go to the toilet!) in fear of not getting that focus back once I return to my desk. That means I can go days with barely drinking anything or hardly moving and stretching at all. The app makes you choose very specific moods like ‘hopeless,’ ‘sympathetic’ or ‘excluded’ and asks you what circumstances you were in when that emotion first started. It has helped me track what tends to bring me down and what or which people tend to uplift me.” ― Pina Varnel, an illustrator and creator of ADHD Alien comics
Brili
“Brili is a time management tool I use often. I really like having different routines set up in the app and getting reminders to do my daytime and nighttime routines. For example, I have a ‘start work’ routine, which guides me through all the things I should be doing administratively before I start my day. I also love-slash-hate that it forces me to go in the right order! It doesn’t allow me to skip around too much, which helps me do one thing at a time.” ― Dusty Chipura, a ADHD coach in Vancouver, Canada
Feedly
“Feedly is essentially an RSS reader on steroids. It is so helpful! I use it to track hundreds of publications, organized by topic, and it helps so much in my coverage of work and leadership trends. Anything that helps my brain find order in the madness is a welcome partner in my life and plays a crucial role in keeping my neurodivergent mind afloat.” ― Federman
Insight Timer
“Insight Timer is a meditation app that lets you search by a lot of parameters. I save my favorite mini-meditations but mostly I just use it for the meditation timer, which allows me to do short meditations with different soundtracks. I have also done a few of the ‘courses’ they offer and found them quite helpful!” ― Chipur
Bearable
“Bearable, a symptom and mood tracker for chronic health disorders, is a game changer for tracking my symptoms because I deal with a mix of physical and mental health conditions, like ADHD, anxiety, and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS). I can log custom symptoms, track variables and behaviors that actually matter to me, and see how they correlate in charts. It’s way easier to spot connections between things like my sleep quality, pain levels and mood.” ― Sydni Rubio, the creator of the site What in the ADHD?
Mem
“I use a few different notes apps for different reasons but the thing I love about Mem is the texting function. If I’m walking down the street and inspiration strikes or I remember something that I know I’ll forget in a minute if I don’t write it down, I can text Mem a note, tag it if necessary, and then that text will appear in my Mem inbox, which is basically a dashboard that contains all my ‘Mems’ to myself, displayed in a way where I can easily search and access them.” ― Federman
