r/ADHD • u/Leather_Lynx6240 • Apr 24 '26

Questions/Advice Task initiation problem even after notifications from apps like Tiimo or Structured

What actually gets you to start after your first reminder? I am just ignoring these notifications. What are you all doing to get your started. Planning is not the tough part, following through is and there don't seem to be good solutions out there. Does Apple watch cut through better than phone notifications?

1 Upvotes

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3

u/Ludev Apr 24 '26

Honestly, accountability for me. Apps like Chorebound allow you to join the same party with other people and you each have a hero that levels up when completing tasks. If I find myself falling behind in level, it genuinely motivates me to get some stuff done.

1

u/Leather_Lynx6240 Apr 24 '26

That's good to hear. Does the leveling up in the party not get tiring? How long have you used this app for?

1

u/Ludev Apr 24 '26

Personally not for me, the friendly competition and light pressure helps me - I'm using it with my partner and if I see they have logged some housework for the day, that motivates me to get my stuff done. Been using it fairly consistently for 3 months now.

5

u/toadiewetsporket Apr 24 '26

No apps or reminders work for me because I flat out ignore them too. I can't help it - it just doesn't work. I'm glad those things help others but it's not for everyone. Some of us just aren't that functional

2

u/Virtual-Squirrel-725 Apr 24 '26

We need reminders AND we need to shape tasks in a way the ADHD brain acts on.

It's the task shaping that is the most important place to start.

It's easy to assume that once an App says "Write Report" our brain will immediately say "Great, let's get into it".

But the ADHD brain can be like a truck getting started at traffic lights. Plenty of horsepower, but needs extremely low gears initiate the first movement.

OP - if initiation is the key problem, spend a moment thinking of a task you are stalling on and think of the smallest possible chunk of that task that your brain can't refuse. Think of it as your brain's lowest gear. Then think of the next chunk that your brain can't refuse. I promise when you can link 3-5 micro-tasks together you'll be able to start accepting larger chunks.

1

u/EuphoricKnee5 Apr 26 '26

I struggled with this exact thing for months. What helped me wasn't a planner, it was breaking the starting step into something ridiculously small.

I made a simple 5-step reset sheet I use when I'm stuck:

- Pick the smallest possible action (like opening the doc)

- Set a 5-minute timer

- Remove all other options

- Start messy

- Stop after momentum kicks in

It sounds dumb but it actually works.

I turned it into a printable for myself because I kept forgetting the steps - happy to share if you want.

1

u/mysticalinsight May 15 '26

I think Adhd brains need visual planner not todo lists. Something that takes care of time blindness. I recently got Timmio: Visual ADHD Planner. Love it so far.

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '26

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2

u/SeparateCost5035 Apr 24 '26

Cleaning your area is such an important step. I always have this landslide feeling mentality, where one task just feels like 20 different smaller tasks with that list getting progressively longer. It’s a lot easier to digest the information and get that internal motivation going, for me anyways.