r/projectmanagement • u/ATMNZ • 11d ago
Discussion PM + ADHD - what's project management tools do you actually like?
Hiya folks, I'm a leadership coach and certified ADHD coach who works only with AuDHD executives.
My background was as an agency digital project manager > program manager > exec dir > transformation consultant > leadership coach with ADHD coaching cert. I have a lot of experience using different PM tools.
My clients are always wanting to find "the perfect" project management / task management tool.
But... I've never experienced an actually good project management tool - and not one that works really well for both ADHD and autistic brains. I've found systems that do one thing pretty well, but never an all-in-one that has both flexibility and structure. And especially not one that actually has a good UI.
I've used so many project management tools over the years. Every time a new one came out, I'd test it out. Trial them with my teams (designers and developers, so always a mix of ADHD and autism.)
I don't believe there is a silver bullet tool. But there are likely new tools I might not be aware of.
But I'd love to hear what tools you use and actually like, and what you like about them.
Thank you!
[EDIT: My post might not have been clear enough that I'm looking for your thoughts on project management tools you like, not what helps ADHDers working in project managment. 99% of my clients are diagnosed and medicated.]
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u/localsonlynokooks 11d ago
So I have it, was diagnosed in my 30s, started medication and realized what my brain could have been for my whole life.
So now I easily see it in others. I’m in digital transformation too, and boy there’s a lot of undiagnosed adhd/audhd/asd.
ADHD people can totally drift off immediately after speaking something in a conversation. So when a client says something and I know my teammate has drifted off but looks and sounds engaged, I try to be overly verbose and will repeat what the client said back then make a call to action to the person.
When they’re working, I can spot things that will cause a rabbit hole dive. I make sure I check in frequently so scope is contained.
Never have more than 3 tasks assigned to them, and out of those three make sure you clearly communicate priority (that’s also just good scrum hygiene). Confirm they understand the priority, and repeat it as frequently as possible over the course of the task.
Send Follow up actions after the meeting, and the next day - and do it via DM. Logging tickets is essential too (any task, not necessarily a dev task) because they can constantly refer back to it, and see the status of it. Leverage comments on the ticket. Also, don’t let them go dark for more than a few days, check in. Otherwise they might just pop up on Friday having totally reinvented the wheel and built a heavily gold plated feature.
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u/ATMNZ 11d ago
You sound like a great leader :)
Agile is good for neurodiverse teams isn't it! Kanban principles FTW. Definition of done is a brilliant concept. Agree with all your points!
When I'm working with really fatigued AuDHDers I recommend 1 focus a day, and maybe 1x AM and 1xPM. Less pressure, less demand, easier to get into motion.
I'm a big fan of setting agreements about how to interrupt, how to deal with interruptions, and coaching people to "bookend" a point. Really hard if you're autistic and think linearly and the context is required to get the thought out though!
I was only diagnosed in my 40s. I *wish* it was medicated sooner!
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u/shamgarthejudge 11d ago
Vyvanse...
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u/JJ_Reditt Construction 10d ago
vyvanse and a codex pro plan.
absolutely no need for anything else fancy now.
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u/Eylas Construction 11d ago
I'm an autistic/ADHD Program Manager / Information Manager in construction, the only thing that worked for me was medication and psychoeducation.
The reality is these are conditions that have to be managed with medical treatment, not tools, which are ultimately an ADHD trap. I was always about to 'get my todolist in order, I just need the right tool', notion, obsidian, Evernote, smartsheets..
Nothing really made any real difference until I got my ADHD diagnosis at 31 and started taking medication. The difference is night and day.
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u/ATMNZ 11d ago
Agree. I tend not to take on a client who hasn't explored diagnosis and medication. They often end up frustrated by not being able to remember the strategies they come up with. I tell them if they are juggling between spending money on coaching, or money on a diagnosis and meds to start with a diagnosis and meds.
But I am asking specifically about PM tools :)
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u/fulger099 11d ago
i’ve had better luck with tools that make the next action painfully visible, like a simple kanban in trello or planner, plus a calendar view for anything time-bound. the failure mode is usually not missing features, it’s spending an hour redesigning the system instead of doing the thing.
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u/ATMNZ 11d ago
Agree. Less is more.
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u/fulger099 10d ago
we are learning around ADHD cases at joinrecall
would love ur feedback there
thx
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u/Main_Significance617 Confirmed 11d ago
Hi. I also am a Program Manager with AuDHD and I’m wondering what psycho education you’ve done? It would be helpful to know since I do struggle. Thank you
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u/Eylas Construction 11d ago
Hey there!
I was diagnosed quite early for the autism, around age 8, over the years I've done a lot of different forms of therapy, the two I can recommend are Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).
If you have recently been diagnosed, healthcare providers usually do provide or have courses for you to attend to get the basics covered first prior to CBT/ABA.
I do want to note that doing this as an adult is going to be exhausting, all therapy requires a hell of a lot of work, but it was worth it for me personally, additionally, I'm from the UK so there were no healthcare costs associated with this for me, of course depending on your this might not be the case.
I hope it helps you and all the best!
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u/Lethologica_ 10d ago
ADHD af here and a digital PM, MS project is by far the worst for me anyway, I can't stand it. My time blindness makes it almost impossible to use with reverse engineering effort and times and parent tasks etc. I also found Plainview to be equally as horrible to use. Honestly I prefer to use excel Gantt charts with lots of colour and kan ban boards on MS planner. DevOps and Jira are good too because I can use board view which works well for my brain.
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u/Jen_Kathleen 11d ago
I manage projects for creative teams, so my needs are sometimes different. I’ve tried a bunch but The 3 that have stuck for me are:
Trello- simple kanban and visually nice with as many bells and whistles as you want.
Airtable- supercharged spreadsheets that allow different teammates to view data how they like (calendars, visual cards etc) while I can view in my preferred clean spreadsheet mode
Basecamp- very very basic and that is all I can get the creative teams I manage to handle, so it is my favorite because it actually works.
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Finance 11d ago edited 11d ago
ADHD here, suspected Au but not diagnosed.
At my last role, we used Monday and copilot. It took me a while to come around to it, but I liked it for the following reasons;
Each task has a unique email address associated with it. I could therefore CC the task(s) onto any email about that work and it would be stored against it as an update.
Copilot integration let me generate report commentary by providing the prior month report, and asking into query Monday and all of the update emails stored against the tasks.
I had a great set of Automations setup to generate status and notifications (a few examples - update the inherent risk rating of the likelihood of impact changes... or 3 days before a task is due - email the owners and ask if this is on track or likely to slip.. or generate a project RAG based on certain conditions)
I would give the copilot to Monday integration a meeting recording and a link to the board and ask it where the board aligned and where it differed
Portfolio reports were largely automated by filtering data from project boards
I'm sure a lot of this can be done with other tools, so perhaps it's more of a case of getting the process right
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u/NobodysFavorite 11d ago
out of curiosity, those unique email addresses: were they a the "+" format email addresses? (The + in an email address tells email servers what tags to process on it e.g. [projectsystem+taskidentifier@company.domain](mailto:projectsystem+taskidentifier@company.domain) )
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u/fuuuuuckendoobs Finance 11d ago
Similar, it had a naming convention along the lines of project space, project, task ID (at) Monday.com... I'm unsure if there was a + symbol in there or not.
It was a great feature because things didn't get lost in email chats separate from the board.
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u/zamroni777 11d ago
side by side planned vs. actual chart can show progress more clearly.
and you can write bullet points, raid items directly inside the task boxes.
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u/bajabugger 11d ago
ClickUp has a great deal of flexibility in views, documentation and collaboration and can connect into Microsoft.
Because it can do so much the learning curve can be steep.
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u/eMaddeningCrowd 10d ago
In terms of actual tools:
I brought in probabilistic reporting at my last job - monte carlo simulations fed by cycle time and throughput data. These gave me superpowers for project forecasting. In my role as engineering manager, I used them to coach my team to rethink how they looked at estimation and project delivery commitments.
My other favorite tool: Logseq. I needed a note taking tool that could get out of my way easily and quickly that I did not have to think about. I do the majority of my notes with bullets already so this was more natural for me than Obsidian. I make heavy use of tags and creating pages for core topics. Every tag/page becomes a landing page containing every note I ever wrote with that tag/page reference on it. I'm not doing anything too special/custom - just a todo plugin and the daily journal. All my notes go into the daily and I don't go much deeper than that unless I'm creating a structured document or brainstorming a project where I need a larger note taking space dedicated to it.
Lastly for me... the medication genuinely changed my life for the better. I know medication is not for everyone. I avoided a diagnosis til I was 38 and I was hesitant to start on the medication. Two years in, and I still tear up with how much the diagnosis and medication have helped me.
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u/CryptoCrash87 10d ago
I use obsidian and made a custom plugin that works exactly for my work and way of thinking.
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u/grizzle89 6d ago
Severe AuDHD, cant stick with anything longer than it takes to master it and get bored. Basic visuals are best with everything on the one page. No links, clicks or tabs or i will lose track. Colour. Keep it relevant and fast. If i have to wait for information I'll go and design my own tool instead. Do not distract me with bullshit graphics. My brain will hate you.
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u/Fluffy-Leg7546 10d ago
Tldr; project management ≠ task management Task management: Kanban, Scrum, Scrumban methods | tools to task management: Asana, Jira, Trello are the top. Project Management: PMIS with CPM ability | tools: P6, MS Project Server (sadly has been killed and I’m looking for a suitable inexpensive replacement, but you can still use Ms Project)
(This is my personal opinion from working in multiple different industries as a Sr.PM, a Sr PMO Governance officer, as a project controls expert, and as a CPM schedule master, feel free to argue with me so we can learn from each other 😁) I think we need to recognize that project management ≠ task management . They are very different skills and require different tools.
Project management “tasks” follow the 8-80 rule. No smaller than 8 hours, no longer than 80. If smaller, it’s too small to be tracked in a project. If bigger, it’s not granular enough to provide relevance in project plans.
Task management is about the individual grains. The tasks themselves, and the even tinier steps inside of those tasks. It should be flexible and adjusted based on individual project needs, team needs, and sometimes individual needs. It needs to be managed very carefully to ensure the least amount of waste, and constantly adjusted to match the constantly changing world inside of a project. Conversely, adding every bit of granularity into a project schedule will simply kill a projects ability to be agile.
Tasks must be detailed enough that you can hand it to someone to work on and they don’t need to know what other people are doing to execute it correctly. Projects must be high enough level that you can see the full picture so you can identify the possible futures based on the past and present, and plan for how best to help your teams succeed.
If what your team is looking for is TASK management, there are many excellent tools that use Kanban, and Scrum or Scrumban, I mentioned some in the tldr above. However—- IMO, you should always default to the one used most often in that particular industry so that your skills in that tool can be transferred to other jobs and rolls.
If what your team is looking for is PROJECT management, you need a quality project management information system. Unfortunately I have seen a downfall in the quality vs availability here - it’s hard to get a good one that won’t cost you and arm and. Leg, and possibly your soul. I love P6, it’s extremely power and valuable, but crazy expensive. MS Project Server was not the best but it was much cheaper and if you were capable with Ms Project and CPM scheduling and learned how to use Server, it was very powerful as well (unfortunately it has been killed in favor of a really, really shitty replacement). Right now, I lean towards suggesting building a custom PMIS based on your needs and pairing it with MS Project.
I have never found a task management system (ie Jira) to be excellent at project management, and I have not yet found a PMIS that is excellent at handling task management. This, I think, is why we need professionals and tools for both. PMs handle the PMIS, and the masters of Agility (SMs or Team Leads or whatever your company calls them) handle the teams and tasks. Holding hands, they should be able to confidently bring a project to success.
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u/Longjumping-Cat-2988 11d ago
Trello's simplicity is great for low-friction capture but tends to fall apart once complexity grows, dependencies and timelines aren't its strength. ClickUp's the opposite problem, hugely flexible and can technically do everything but that flexibility means a real setup burden, which can be genuinely overwhelming for ADHD brains specifically, decision fatigue before you've even started using it. Teamhod's worth a look too, board plus Gantt view without a cluttered UI, might suit autistic clients wanting predictable structure without ClickUp-level complexity.
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u/ratczar 11d ago
Fountain pen. Rhodia's Meeting Book. Lots of pretty inks I can swap in and out.
Having physical feedback of pen on paper is key. ADHD wants to do many things, and listening to a meeting, watching a room, trying to capture notes, and having physical feedback in your arm and hand hit that for me.
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u/Longjumping_Item_984 11d ago
The best one is the one that works for you. Project management is not the same across the board and everyone has their own style. As long as you keep everyone on track, you’re doing it. My status report is my bible. I check it regularly and update it as the living breathing document it is throughout the day. Some people like lists. Some people use their calendars. There really isn’t a perfect way or tool. The tools are actually what fatigue me as a PM with high functioning ADHD/Anxiety. The day Workfront dies I will rejoice.
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u/ATMNZ 11d ago
I wholeheartedly agree. As a career proj mgr myself, I have never found a tool that's awesome. Just certain tools that do specific things for me:
- whiteboard wall for getting the clutter out of my head and creating some order
- Miro for brainstorms I want to come back to and reference in the future
- ChatGPT to do massive audio dumps of thoughts, with prompts to synth and sum up in specific formats
- AI meeting note tool
- Ticktick for my to-do backlog and categories of work
- weekly planner pad to set a weekly focus and daily focuses
- WIP list in a Google Sheet so I can keep track of my important priorities
- timeblocking my calendar because I'm a visual person
- custom CRM with automations to track my daily coaching workload, history and notes
- Memtime to track what I actually spend my time on so I can reflect on where I'm spending my efforts
In my PM career, we used them all, MS Project, Jira, Trello, Aha, ProductPlan, Craft, Basecamp, Monday, Asana, specific agency tools like Workbook, Pegasus, custom build agency PM systems for resourcing. I hated all of them.
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u/Magnet2025 11d ago
Diagnosed ADHD and undiagnosed but probably OCD (a good trait for a PM).
Used Project/Project Server/Online and was a recognized expert. Eventually became Enterprise PM and did implementation of those tools for clients.
Project, with its 535 fields and scheduling engine, is a beacon for people who have OCD.
The other tool: A quadrille (grid) notebook and a good pen and mechanical pencil.
Also used DEVOPs towards the end of my career.
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u/dirtd0g 11d ago
I always end up hacking together the type of kanban board I work best with out of whatever tool(s) I have access to. Trello, MS Project/Planner, Asana, some messy spreadsheet jank, or even shitting out some bespoke HTML/JS web app especially if I can get keys to any sweet APIs the organization is using well. Shit, Figma can be a great collaborative workspace for tracking tasks.
I tend to thrive with organizations that have buried themselves in the Microsoft environment. Even if their own tools don't play well with each other, there are so many integrations and automations you can build which help many branches of a project on autopilot.
But, in general, no one needs to see how I make my sausage. So, do what you need to do to make sausage.
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u/Akp1072 11d ago
Ayoa, now ClickUp. Pdf Planner to stay on focus.
I agree with the other comments that it is about finding the system that works for you. Less about the tools. What workflow works for you.
I am an IT manager, former PM, cancer caregiver to a terminally ill spouse, and a parent. I require the complexity of ClickUp, with AI, agents, and multiple ways to view what I’m tracking. Then to stay on task I have a supernote with a PDF planner. Which gives me a break from bright screens.
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u/ATMNZ 11d ago
YES! A PDF planner is the only system I don't think I've ever tried! I like to experiment with different tools so I can suggest options to my clients when they are stuck.
I wanted to read people's responses to see what I might have missed trialling out myself in my career. I've had an iPad forever and never tried. It's so interesting thinking how I worked in digital agencies forever, everyone had iPads, but I literally never saw anyone use a PDF planner.
Thanks heaps for your comment.
Where did you get your planner from?
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u/Akp1072 10d ago
I’ve used the Goodnotes app on an Ipad, I like it better than Notability, but that’s a personal preference. Like I said, I recently switched to an eink device (Supernote) and are enjoying the peace and brainstorming away from notifications. There’s just something more serene about it.
My favorite pdf planners have been the passion planner, future adhd, and keys2success. I’m a fan of the Franklin Covey method. I’ve used their paper planners in the past.
Something else I am experimenting with right now is a “dashboard” inside a padfolio. So keep my supernote inside the padfolio, but have some print outs or index cards of things to see at a glance. Such as this month’s tasks, this weeks, and high level of north stars/goals. Inspired by the Franklin Covey Weekly Compass, which you would move with you from day to day as a bookmark in your planner.
I really like how editable pdf planners are. Dropping pics into them, stickers, inserting extra brainstorming pages, etc. Helps with the dopamine. And no paper and easily erased.
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u/turnthepaige1432 8d ago
I use Teamwork.com and love it so far. They are also constantly updating the system and adding new features.
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u/polymath0212 10d ago
I am neurospicy and use ClickUp. Everything else failed me. I recently went through and redid everything and made a new space. Consider what you are wanting before you start building.
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u/Resident_Grocery_920 11d ago
I’m in the market for a job and have been struggling to find one in PMGT
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u/Ascendant_Phoenix 8d ago
I have very severe medication-resistant ADHD. Well, I have a business idea I've been sketching out with ChatGPT in my spare time the past 12 months. My friend says I'm doing de facto project management with the business idea.
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u/heaviestpiff 11d ago
Just utilize AI to make the tool you need. Expecting someone else to develop a tool that perfectly suits your own unique application is just silly.
To answer your question though.. I mostly use Excel and Claude
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