Technology can be both a blessing and a curse, especially if you have ADHD. Tools like email and the Internet can be the source of huge distraction. But carefully choosing from the myriad of apps available today can help you move to a new level of productivity and really tap into your ADHD super powers. In this post, we offer you a sample of apps that you can use to organize every aspect of your life, and point you toward resources that will help you find more.
First up are some suggestions from Eric Tivers over at ADDitude magazine.
- Focus@Will – This app uses specially engineered audio in which frequencies similar to the human voice are removed to cut down distractions and help you focus.
- Evernote – This is a productivity app that helps you tag and manage files so you don’t get overwhelmed by file clutter when you are trying to find something important.
- Mint – This app helps you manage everything about your money in one place and makes it easy to see where it is going.
- IFTTT – The acronym stands for “if this, then that.” This app lets you create action recipes for doing certain routine taks. For example, “If I star an e-mail in Gmail, add it to my to-do list.”
- Todoist – This app allows you to organize tasks and projects in an intuitive and easy manner.
- Simple Mind – If you are into mind mapping, this is the app for you.
Lauren Lewis, writing for Friendship Circle, offers a list of 20 apps that can help those with ADHD stay focused, manage routines, and even provide a form of “app therapy.” Some examples are listed below.
- ADHD Treatment – ADHD Treatment use a type of digital neurocognitive therapy to help strengthen your core cognitive skills and executive functions.
- Attention Exercise -This app increases your ability to focus, using simple drawing tasks that take about a minute a day.
- HomeRoutines – This app helps you take charge of your repetitive household jobs, using calendar-based checklists and reminders. You also receive a gold star for each completed task.
- MotivAider -This app is designed to assist you in changing behaviors. You decide on the desired behavior you want to have, create a personal message to encourage that behavior, and then create a timed prompt to help you associate the message of encouragement with the prompt.
You can find additional apps well suited for adults with ADHD at Healthline and CHADD.
Today, you can find many more apps to help with managing virtually any aspect of your life or behavior. Many of the apps are free or have a free basic level and a premium level with more advanced features. Apps can be a good (and inexpensive) adjunct to any other therapy you might be using to manage your ADHD symptoms.