The scoreboard
Every category page on this directory scores the same four axes, because those axes — not feature counts — predict whether the tool survives contact with an ADHD week:
- Setup burden: how much configuration before first use.
- Maintenance load: the daily/weekly cost of keeping it true.
- Guilt on miss: what happens when you fall off — the abandonment predictor.
- Proactivity: does it remind you, or wait for you?
The directory (full reviews linked)
| Category | Best of type | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Visual planners | Tiimo — time as shape | Manual planning, mobile-only free tier |
| Planner selection | Planner guide — the four-axis test | Setup burden and streaks kill systems |
| AI planners | AI planner review — proactive vs reactive | Most are prompt machines that wait for you |
| Presence / initiation | Body doubling apps — Focusmate & co | Sessions must be protected like appointments |
| Time perception | Visual timers — wedge clocks | Plans the moment, not the day |
| Daily structure | Daily planner — one stair at a time | Ritual-reliant systems drop first |
| Neurodivergent design | ND planners — energy, not guilt | Streak mechanics = guilt on miss |
| Human support | ADHD coaching — structure + follow-through | Cost varies from ~$75 to $300+/session |
| Routines | Routine apps — cues, not willpower | Notifications are only as good as their timing |
How to use this directory
- Name the layer that fails you: starting (paralysis), perceiving time, remembering, or planning.
- Pick the one category that targets it — not three systems at once. Layering three new apps is how the drawer accumulates.
- Test with the miss: use it a week, abandon it a week, come back. The return mechanic predicts longevity.
Every review here follows the no-affiliate policy: we earn nothing from your choice, and the mechanisms are the real scoreboard.