An honest review of the best apps to manage ADHD

Why would someone with ADHD use an app?

For many people with ADHD managing everyday life can feel like an uphill battle. ADHD is an Executive Function disorder that impacts how we navigate the day to day tasks that make up everyday living . Here are just a few of the symptoms people experience:

• Time-Blindness
• Trouble remembering
• Overwhelming thought process
• Impulsiveness
• Trouble focussing

It isn't hard to see how these symptoms can have a profound impact, leading to stress and discomfort. Good news is that there are a lot of apps out there that aim to help with different areas that might be impacted. Let's dig into the best ones I could find in each area.

Full disclosure: I'm actually building a money app for those with ADHD. So there will be a little shameless promotion in here, but otherwise I hope you find the article useful!

Reviews at a glance:

Best for productivity: Forest, £3.99 one-off fee to buy the app. Some in-app purchases.

Best for cleaning: Sweepy, Free version with premium paid version of £3.49 P/M or £16.99 P/Y

Best for mental health: Finch, Free version with premium paid version for £9.99 P/M or a discounted yearly rate of £39.99.

Best for money: Rule, free to use with some premium features.

Forest

Forest is a productivity app that is designed to promote focus on specific tasks. If you have ADHD, you will know the struggles with keeping your mind on the task at hand and not becoming distracted. The basis of the app is really simple. Your objective is to grow trees that will live in your virtual forest. To grow trees you need to complete sessions of focus in the app. You do this by setting an amount of time you would like to stay focussed, and planting your tree when the time is up. The game like feeling of this app makes it really impactful for those of us with ADHD, as you can really get motivated by the idea of improving your forest.

The app has other really useful features such as an ability to track your focus sessions over time as well as being able to work with a friend or family member and build a forest together. The bit I really liked though was that by using the app you will be planting real trees in areas where deforestation has been impactful. If you have an eye on saving the planet, and saving your productivity, this is the app for you.

One downside is that you need to pay for the app up front via a one-off payment of £3.99. This didn't bother me as I would rather pay a one - off fee than get stuck in a subscription I will forget to cancel. They also boast having 40 million users worldwide, so you are in good company.

Pros

• Simple to use
• Fun to make a forest
• Social features are good for accountability

Cons

• Have to buy the app up front
• Can become repetitive

Sweepy

Sweepy is a gamified cleaning app designed to help you plan and execute your household chores. If you know the feeling of those dishes piling up over days and days or the fact that you find it impossible to make your bed then this could be the app for you.

The app works like this. You create virtual rooms for each room you would like to clean in your house. Then you set up tasks for each room. These can be either recurring or one-off tasks. The recurring tasks mean you can set a frequency for them and get reminded when it's time to get cracking. The one-offs are just to be done immediately or in the next day or so. All this is wrapped around a fun collectibles game. You access a virtual 'store' where you can buy furniture for your virtual rooms. You earn in-app currency by, you guessed it, completing cleaning tasks. You earn streaks, currency and lovely dopamine hits for every task completed.

You can even have a 'household' account if you live with more than one person, where you can add others and complete them together and even assign jobs. The basic app is free, for one person to add and complete tasks. If you want to create a schedule, or have a household version then this costs money ranging from £3.49 per month up to £8.99 per month.

I loved how this app turned one of the most mind numbing chores in life into something reasonably motivating. It really does a good job with the simple game structure and I think it is worth a try for anyone that struggles with their cleaning.

Pros

• Fun and simple game
• Well thought out task creation
• Household account is a great idea for sharers

Cons

• Initial set-up can feel overwhelming
• Can get pricey with household version

Finch

Finch is a mental health/self care app that nudges you to take steps towards caring for yourself by caring for a virtual pet bird. The basics of the app are really simple. The goal is to create goals that earn you rewards. These goals can be created by you or you can use their extensive catalogue of pre-curated goals. This is particularly useful if you struggle with overwhelm and can't think of what to do. The rewards you earn go towards customising your virtual pet via clothing or objects that you can buy from a virtual store.

The goals are heavily focussed on self care and taking baby steps. It is fairly widely known that a powerful way of combating poor mental health is just by achieving little things, no matter how small. Finch does this well, with goals starting as simple as "brush your teeth" or "get out of bed".

The app is super well made and truly feels like a game experience. For those 90s kids, it's like a Tamogotchi on steroids. It also never gets boring, with the store items changing daily and seasonal themes cycling all the time. There is a  cool 'multiplayer' feature, where you can put your pet bird in a virtual space with your friend's pet birds and compare your clothing/items. It really is a lot of fun and good for accountability and flexing.

You can really get a lot from the free version. It isn't necessary to subscribe but if you're really into using it, there are a few neat features that you get when you pay. The main one is access to a larger list of pre-curated tasks. Other than that you can access more swag for your bird and really take personalisation to the next level. This can actually be an even more motivating factor in completing those tasks.

A feature I wanted to shout out was the ability to gift another person a subscription that can't afford it. This really makes you feel part of a social mission to help people's mental health and for those that can afford it, it's a really kind thing to do.

Pros

• Easy set-up
• Cute pet bird
• Fun virtual rewards
• Social aspect are fun

Cons

• Can almost be a little too gamified at times
• £9.99 a month is on the expensive side

Rule

At Rule we're building the most engaging money app by turning the daily management of money into a game. We're building an app designed specifically for people with ADHD to help them manage their money in a way that works for them. Comparing our app to the other apps on this list doesn't really work as it's designed to be something completely different. We believe the majority of money apps are designed for 'optimisers'. Those who already are confident with their money and want to get even better or reduce a little of their workload. With Rule, we wanted to rethink everything.

We do this by making everything bite sized, digestible and challenge based. We’ve turned budgeting into simply swiping through a few transactions each day. After this we challenge you to save a small random amount so that each time you put in work you’re also building your savings.

We’ve been building this with our ADHD & money community and people are loving it.

Just been having a check-up on the savings made since the takeaway challenge I participated in. I've tried to stick with it, and yes, I have succumbed on a few occasions. BUT...absolutely mind blown that I've already saved over £3,000!

This is all tied together with a virtual pet. Doing well in the app and with your money, means your virtual pet does well too. They can help keep you on track and accountable too!

For us, building motivation via simple daily habits and actions, as well as the motivation required to continue is what is really required to support those with ADHD. We focus heavily on your habits and behaviours, as a method for curbing impulse spending.

We believe that to support people with ADHD it requires a totally different approach for long term financial wellbeing and confidence. But we can’t build it alone, please try it out for free and give us feedback!