I get asked for app suggestions fairly often, so I've compiled a list!
Disclaimer: Please use your own discretion here - I can't guarantee any of these are a good fit for you specifically, and I can't guarantee safety or security of these.
Phone apps
by AVG Labs
Cost: Free
Platform: Android
Do you set morning alarms, only for morning you to turn them off and go back to sleep? This app lets you make alarms that are harder to cancel. Mine makes me do 3 math problems before it will cancel the alarm. This is for Android only, but I assume something similar exists for iPhone.
Cost: Free
Platform: Android
This is a nice way to track daily habits you're trying to build, or to set up a daily checklist for yourself. It's simple and looks nice and lets you use colour-coding.
by Insight Network Inc
Cost: Free
Platform: Android & iPhone
A huge library of guided meditations, mindfulness, relaxation exercises. There's so much here from a wide variety of styles and teachers, so if you don't like someone's style or voice there are plenty of others to try.
YouTube Music
If you use YouTube for music or podcasts, I suggest using YouTube Music instead of standard YouTube to avoid YouTube's onslaught of distracting short-form content.
Cost: Like with YouTube there's an ad-supported free version, but I think you need a Premium YT subscription to get access to all functionality and ditch the ads.
Any calendar widget for your phone
With ADHD, out of sight is very much out of mind. So if you use an electronic calendar (e.g. Google Calendar), it can be easy to forget it exists. Putting a calendar widget on your phone helps keep your calendar in your face. I think this functionality is built-in now, but if not, there are apps that do it.
Online body doubling
If you find body doubling helpful, but don't always have a real-life person available, there are some online options:
I love Flow Club, and there are heaps of ADHDers there. Sessions run pretty much all day, with people all over the world. You can try it free for a week, after the free trial there's a monthly subscription fee.
This is another online body doubling platform. I'm not too familiar with it, but it looks good and seems to be free.
What I recommend NOT using
Social media apps
If you have ADHD, the last thing you need is dozens more interruptions every day. At the very least, disable or silence the notifications. If social media is a big time-waster for you, uninstalling the apps and even logging out of the accounts on your phone's browser are good ideas as they make it a little harder to check them throughout the day. Some people find it helps to log out on their phone and just access social media from their computer.
Your phone's timer
Timers can be so useful (I keep meaning to write a post on this) but using a physical timer is best. Like a cheap kitchen timer. If you use the timer built into your phone, you risk getting distracted by something else on there each time you look at it. A timer on your watch if you have one is also a good option.
Comments