This $%@ is hard. Here are a few ways to make it easier.
Five Awesome Apps for People with ADHD
Life can be hard, and whether self-diagnosed or formally diagnosed — whether you’ve known since you were a child or found out as an adult — you know that ADHD makes life harder. Millions of adults with ADHD feel as though they’ve endured a lifelong uphill battle simply to become and remain responsible, reliable, and valued. Diagnosed or not, they’ve endured decades of “Why can’t you just…” questions from loved ones, teachers, and colleagues.
You’re overwhelmed. We know.
Our understanding of ADHD and ADHD management have evolved in recent years. Medication and therapy have changed lives but haven’t solved a fundamental problem: Having ADHD doesn’t absolve you of adulthood’s responsibilities. You still have to show up to work on time. You still need to remember to buy a gift for an upcoming wedding. You still need to stop by an elderly relative’s house to help them.
You have a world of apps available in your pocket. How do you choose which to use? Fear not! The productivity geeks over at NoPlex narrow it down to a top five.
5. 1Password
Passwords suck. No two should be the same. If you decide on a good mental algorithm, it’s invariably not going to work with every site/app/account since the rules can vary wildly. You shouldn’t write them down though. What to do?
Password managers to the rescue. Over the past few years, they’ve begun baking into things like browsers and operating systems (e.g. iOS has a native password manager), but 1Password has been around for a while and does a few things really well.
Why It’s Awesome
1Password securely manages not just passwords, but also sensitive information (e.g. credit card and bank account information) separates your information into searchable categories, and lets you store additional information with each account — either from a template or using your own fields.
4. Notion Calendar
There are a lot of calendar apps out there. They range from simple to full-featured, but Notion Calendar hits the sweet spot.
Why It’s Awesome
To begin, integrations are simple; to use Google Calendar as an example (since it’s a common choice), you can tied in your main Google Calendar, a few shared calendars, professional calendars, etc. in minutes.
Some apps become a bit pushy or overzealous with AI. For instance, a popular calendar app (which shall go unnamed) was notorious of taking keywords and making assumptions based on it (e.g. if you were creating a calendar event on November 10th to “Shop for Christmas Gifts",” it would automatically move the event to December 25th (due to the Christmas keyword). Notion Calendar does no such thing but provides assistance in intelligent ways that never take the user out of the driver’s seat.
Bonus: Notion Calendar has great iOS widgets (and many options). The biggest current downside is that there’s no way to text search on mobile apps — only web and desktop app.
3. Google Chrome
Yeah, we know — when 3.6 billion people use an app, it isn’t exactly a secret. But there are some great features that users often miss that can be a huge benefit for those with ADHD.
Why It’s Awesome
If you set it up correctly, Chrome makes it hard to “lose your place.” By signing into a Google Account across multiple devices, not only can you keep your bookmarks and history in sync, but there’s also a setting to allow you to sync your active tabs. No more “Where did I see that site — was it on my laptop or phone?” No more “Ah, that tab was open on my laptop and it’s back at home.”
2. Freedom
Put simply, Freedom blocks digital distraction on your terms.
Why It’s Awesome
There are quite a few tools like this out there, and some (like RescueTime) have been around a long time. But when it comes to features and flexibility — the ability to block what you want to block and allow what you need in a way that’s granular and takes life’s nuances into consideration — you’re not going to find a better distraction management tool than Freedom.
There are also some great resources ranging from podcasts to nature sounds to help you curate the ideal custom flow environment.
1. NoPlex
Oh, gee, how did this get here?
Okay, we’re biased because we’re convinced that we built the greatest personal organization/productivity app in the history of the universe. But in all seriousness, if you struggle with ADHD, NoPlex will change your life.