Unfortunately, actual ADHD apps don’t exist. BUT, ADHD-FRIENDLY apps do. And luckily, I have the bizarre hobby of trying them out. So, on top of the ones I’ve already shared, here are a few more that I think come in handy for everything from calendar organization to decision-making. LET’S GOOOO!
(the video, my friends, is here if you’d rather just watch.)
App #1: Sticky Widgets
I am not a huge sticky notes person, but this app has been a massive lifesaver. Not only does the thing give you a place that’s portable, customizable, and simple — something all ADHD-friendly apps should be, but it also is a widget, so it’s right there in front of your face at all times. No more swiping through my phone, trying to find where I wrote that thing earlier! At least…in this case there isn’t.
The app is free, but it does have a premium upgrade if you feel the need. I use the free version and have no issues, though.
App #2: Family Wall
My kids started doing extracurriculars, and my husband has meetings, and I have meetings, and a million other things started happening to the point where I desperately needed a family calendar app.
Everything I saw said that Cozi was the best choice, and I initially went with it. I hated it immediately.
The only color-coded view was the agenda view. If I wanted to look at the month at a glance, there were no colors or times immediately visible. I had to zoom in to see said times, but there were still no colors. And for an ADHD brain, that’s asking for me to show up to a parent-teacher meeting a day late.
It took me one day to quit Cozi, and to start looking for other options. That’s how I found Family Wall.
Family Wall is a fairly new app, but it’s the most ADHD-friendly family calendar app that I’ve found. The UI is easy to follow, the color-coding is bright and easy to look at in any view you need, and its notifications are easy to set. The premium plan has recipe boxes, meal planning, and shared shopping lists. To-do lists allow for the assignment of tasks to different members of the family. It’s a dream. It took me a few minutes to set up, and then my family and I were off to the races.
Obviously, ADHDers are different people, and so many will disagree with me, but so far I find Family Wall to be the best option for brains like ours.
It’s got a free plan with all the essential stuff, and then a paid premium plan for about $45/year after a 30-day free trial.
App #3: Flo
I avoided this app for a while because the name made me twitchy. But after trying a few apps and getting tired of not having a good overview of my symptomatic patterns each month, I decided to try it. It’s probably one of the most popular apps in the app store — if not THE most popular.
And I can see why.
Before I go into this, let me answer anyone who’s like “how does a period tracker fit in with ADHD-friendly apps?”
Because, friend, if you have a period, your hormonal changes are most likely screwing with your ADHD. It’s been found in many studies that your focus, energy, and a host of other things get markedly better and worse with the rise and fall of estrogen. It’s helpful in planning your months, your projects, your trips, and more to know when you’re most likely to be tired or grouchy or unfocused.
And Flo has a great interface, and a lovely round up of when your most prominent symptoms tend to occur. I do wish they had a few more symptoms available to track, but the ones they have are generally the most important, so I don’t mind much. There’s also a Health Assistant to give you tips and information about the information you track, and a “secret chats” area where you can talk with others about all things health.
Flo has a free plan but it’s apparently very sparse. It does give you a 30-day trial, though, and then you’re looking at about $40/year.
App #4: Daily Decision
I’ll be honest: Daily Decision isn’t essential. I love it, though, and it is a super-enjoyable one, so I’m putting it on this list. After all, this is “ADHD-Friendly Apps,” not “MOST ESSENTIAL ADHD-Friendly Apps,” so I think I can get away with it.
Daily Decision allows you to make wheels to help you decide on small things that you just can’t seem to move on. You choose the type of wheel, whether or not decisions are eliminated after being chosen, and a few other things, and then you spin it. The pretty colors go round and round, and then they send you on your merry way.
I will say that I’ve met people who have used this app and have found helps them get unstuck by helping them decide what they don’t want. As in, it lands on “fix the roof” and they think I’d rather swim in a leech-infested river, then spin again. And in that moment, they’ve eliminated a choice that had them frozen with indecision.
That said, I wouldn’t suggest using this for projects or processes that have steps that are actually important or procedural. This is really helpful for small decisions that don’t really affect your day too much, and that don’t mete out consequences for doing them in the wrong order.
Daily Decision is free, with a premium upgrade, but I haven’t had the slightest need to upgrade.
BONUS APP: Clear Fear
I’ve mentioned before that ADHD and anxiety often co-exist. This can just be generalized anxiety, or it can be an anxiety disorder like OCD (*coughcoughMEcoughcough*) . Since our brains are hard-wired to see everything as a DEFCON 1 situation, we’re very prone to anxiety/panic attacks. And that’s why Clear Fear is incredible for ADHD brains, or any brain that’s wired for anxiety, really.
Clear Fear is meant to be a little pocket toolkit that helps you through your anxiety by giving you things like a Safety Net (a list you can make of things you’re capable of doing, to remind yourself of during attacks), a Grit Box (like a list of motivational quotes), and an actual Immediate Help section that includes a five-minute panic attack exercise. It also offers up exercises for those with different kinds of anxiety, like phobias or exam anxiety.
And the incredible thing is that it’s FREE.
Something like this could be worth a lot more, but it isn’t. So I’d highly suggest that anyone who struggles with this stuff snatches the app up. It’s such a huge help and I can’t suggest it enough.
Are there any other ADHD-friendly apps that you really dig? Share em with me and I’ll check them out!
