17 Apr 2025
Productivity

Mobile workflow coach built for adults with ADHD and autism. It breaks ...

...tasks into bite‑sized missions, triggers gentle haptic cues for transitions, and rewards streaks with evidence‑based dopamine nudges. Context‑aware prompts adapt when focus drifts; voice capture and quick‑note widgets stop ideas evaporating. Calendar, Slack, and email integrations eliminate app‑switching friction. Real‑time analytics surface energy peaks and burnout flags so you schedule work when your brain is truly on. Privacy‑first: data stays on‑device unless you opt‑in to encrypted cloud sync.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Freemium

People love using similar products but resist paying. You’ll need to either find who will pay or create additional value that’s worth paying for.

Should You Build It?

Build but think about differentiation and monetization.


Your are here

You're entering a competitive space with your mobile workflow coach tailored for adults with ADHD and autism. The existence of 19 similar products signals that there's a real need for tools addressing focus, task management, and productivity for this specific user group. The high engagement (average of 13 comments on similar products) shows users are actively seeking and discussing these solutions. Given the freemium nature of this category, people generally appreciate using these types of tools but are hesitant to pay. This means you'll need to carefully consider how to differentiate your app and what premium features will justify a subscription.

Recommendations

  1. Given the freemium model's challenges, focus on identifying the core user segment (adults with ADHD and autism) who derive the most significant value from the free version of your app. Understand their specific pain points and usage patterns to inform your premium feature development. Look at the products listed above (like Saner.ai, Shimmer and Magicflow) for inspiration.
  2. Develop premium features that directly address the core needs of your target users and significantly enhance their workflow. Consider features like advanced analytics, personalized coaching, or deeper integrations with other productivity tools. This approach aims to offer tangible benefits that justify the upgrade from the free version.
  3. Explore team-based pricing models if your app can be used collaboratively. Organizations or support groups may be willing to pay for a solution that benefits multiple individuals. This could involve features like shared task lists, progress tracking, and communication tools tailored for team members with ADHD and autism.
  4. Consider offering personalized help or consulting services as a premium offering. This could involve one-on-one coaching sessions, customized workflow setups, or priority support. This option can appeal to users who need more hands-on assistance in maximizing the app's potential.
  5. Implement A/B testing with different pricing approaches and premium feature bundles among small groups of users. Gather data on conversion rates, user feedback, and revenue to refine your pricing strategy and feature offerings. This iterative approach will help you optimize your monetization strategy.
  6. Address privacy concerns proactively, given that similar products face scrutiny regarding data handling. Emphasize your 'privacy-first' approach and clearly communicate your data encryption and on-device storage policies. This can build trust and differentiate you from competitors who may have weaker privacy safeguards (look at Saner.AI's criticism).
  7. Since several similar products received criticisms regarding their AI's ability to address specific ADHD needs, focus on hyper-personalization. Allow users to customize the app's prompts, haptic cues, and reward systems to align with their unique preferences and cognitive styles. Continuously refine the AI's algorithms based on user feedback and data to ensure optimal effectiveness.
  8. In light of feedback that trial periods for similar apps were too short, offer an extended trial to your users. This allows ample time to integrate the app into their routine and experience its benefits before committing to a subscription. Consider offering personalized onboarding support during the trial to maximize user engagement.

Questions

  1. What specific premium features would create a 'must-have' experience for users, making them willing to upgrade from the free version, and how will you validate this before launch?
  2. Considering the competition in the freemium productivity app space, what unique aspects of your app will make it stand out and attract users with ADHD and autism, beyond just basic task management?
  3. How will you collect and incorporate user feedback into the app's development to ensure it remains effective and relevant to the evolving needs of your target audience, and what metrics will you track to measure its success?

Your are here

You're entering a competitive space with your mobile workflow coach tailored for adults with ADHD and autism. The existence of 19 similar products signals that there's a real need for tools addressing focus, task management, and productivity for this specific user group. The high engagement (average of 13 comments on similar products) shows users are actively seeking and discussing these solutions. Given the freemium nature of this category, people generally appreciate using these types of tools but are hesitant to pay. This means you'll need to carefully consider how to differentiate your app and what premium features will justify a subscription.

Recommendations

  1. Given the freemium model's challenges, focus on identifying the core user segment (adults with ADHD and autism) who derive the most significant value from the free version of your app. Understand their specific pain points and usage patterns to inform your premium feature development. Look at the products listed above (like Saner.ai, Shimmer and Magicflow) for inspiration.
  2. Develop premium features that directly address the core needs of your target users and significantly enhance their workflow. Consider features like advanced analytics, personalized coaching, or deeper integrations with other productivity tools. This approach aims to offer tangible benefits that justify the upgrade from the free version.
  3. Explore team-based pricing models if your app can be used collaboratively. Organizations or support groups may be willing to pay for a solution that benefits multiple individuals. This could involve features like shared task lists, progress tracking, and communication tools tailored for team members with ADHD and autism.
  4. Consider offering personalized help or consulting services as a premium offering. This could involve one-on-one coaching sessions, customized workflow setups, or priority support. This option can appeal to users who need more hands-on assistance in maximizing the app's potential.
  5. Implement A/B testing with different pricing approaches and premium feature bundles among small groups of users. Gather data on conversion rates, user feedback, and revenue to refine your pricing strategy and feature offerings. This iterative approach will help you optimize your monetization strategy.
  6. Address privacy concerns proactively, given that similar products face scrutiny regarding data handling. Emphasize your 'privacy-first' approach and clearly communicate your data encryption and on-device storage policies. This can build trust and differentiate you from competitors who may have weaker privacy safeguards (look at Saner.AI's criticism).
  7. Since several similar products received criticisms regarding their AI's ability to address specific ADHD needs, focus on hyper-personalization. Allow users to customize the app's prompts, haptic cues, and reward systems to align with their unique preferences and cognitive styles. Continuously refine the AI's algorithms based on user feedback and data to ensure optimal effectiveness.
  8. In light of feedback that trial periods for similar apps were too short, offer an extended trial to your users. This allows ample time to integrate the app into their routine and experience its benefits before committing to a subscription. Consider offering personalized onboarding support during the trial to maximize user engagement.

Questions

  1. What specific premium features would create a 'must-have' experience for users, making them willing to upgrade from the free version, and how will you validate this before launch?
  2. Considering the competition in the freemium productivity app space, what unique aspects of your app will make it stand out and attract users with ADHD and autism, beyond just basic task management?
  3. How will you collect and incorporate user feedback into the app's development to ensure it remains effective and relevant to the evolving needs of your target audience, and what metrics will you track to measure its success?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 19
  • Engagement: High
    • Average number of comments: 13
  • Net use signal: 20.4%
    • Positive use signal: 24.2%
    • Negative use signal: 3.8%
  • Net buy signal: -2.3%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.9%
    • Negative buy signal: 3.2%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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Saner.ai - One-stop AI Productivity app designed uniquely for ADHDer

Struggling with context switching, overwhelm, and forgetfulness? Meet Saner.ai: a One-stop AI Productivity app crafted for ADHDers. Stay on top of your work and life with a simple-design note & to-do list app, using best-in-class AI Assistants

Saner.ai's Product Hunt launch received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Users express excitement for its simple design, helpful features, and focus on ADHD support. Many congratulate the team on the launch, innovation, and dedication to quality. Early users praise its transformative impact and improvements. Several users are eager to try Saner.ai for productivity and organization, while others highlight the value of features like natural language search, voice notes, and task assistance. Questions arise regarding personalization of recommendations and the distinction between procrastination and genuine breaks.

The primary criticism revolves around the AI's ability to cater to the specific needs of users with ADHD. There is a question about the extent to which the AI is tailored to those user needs.


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Ikleu - An Adhd Friendly Productivity Webapp

🚀 Turn To-Dos Into Ta-Das! 🌟 A sleek, ADHD-friendly productivity app with no signup or friction. Create simple to-do lists, set task durations, enter focus mode, and gamify your progress. Stay focused, get things done, and enjoy the process! ✅✨

Users appreciate Ikleu's sleek design and effectiveness in managing tasks. A key feature request is the addition of a dark mode, especially for users focusing on late-night productivity. Commenters emphasized that small details significantly contribute to the overall quality and user experience.


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Saner.AI - Jarvis for ADHDers - your ai productivity assistant

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Saner.AI is recognized as a helpful tool for ADHD task management, with mentions of its benefits in today's fast-paced environment and selection as one of the best websites of 2024. Users congratulated the launch and highlighted its design for individuals with ADHD. A question was raised regarding the privacy practices of Saner.AI, specifically concerning the handling of imported personal notes.

The primary criticism revolves around privacy concerns related to importing personal notes into Sanner.AI. This raises questions about data security and how the platform handles sensitive information.


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I built an AI tool to help with ADHD task paralysis

Hey! I built this tool from my own struggles with ADHD and executive dysfunction. It helps you break down tasks into smaller steps, provides suggested responses, and recommends integrated tools such as timer and Spotify (ask it to play a song or set a timer).People with ADHD operate on an “interest-based nervous system” so they’re motivated by urgency, novelty, competition, and interest. ADHD also impairs executive functioning skills. This can make task paralysis really common, especially for unstimulating tasks.We’re a team of 3 undergraduate students who have received 50k as finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. We’re being flown out to seattle for Microsoft Build to showcase our tool.Our tool is in a very early stage right now, but we’re partnering with the world’s ADHD coaching academy to improve and make a tool specifically designed for people with ADHD. We’d love people to test it out and give us any feedback (positive or negative)

Users criticized the product for being in an early stage and needing more feedback. The 3-day trial period was deemed too short, especially for ADHD users. There were concerns about the value of the subscription and the monetization of features available in Excel. Technical issues included a broken back button, particularly on Android, and compatibility problems with Firefox on mobile and Safari scaling. The sign-up process was criticized for requiring commitment without a demo or explanation, and the chat interface was noted to require user initiation. Users also disliked being limited to Google/Microsoft sign-in options.


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Hey HN! I built EchoPal out of sheer frustration with my ADHD-addled brain constantly forgetting tasks. After years of struggling with clunky todo apps, I created a voice-driven, AI-powered solution that actually understands how my scattered thoughts work. Here's my challenge to you: I dare you to find a faster way to jot down and manage your tasks. Seriously, try it. The magic of EchoPal is its ability to capture and organize tasks through natural speech. Just talk, and watch the AI handle the rest - creating tasks, setting reminders, and even prepping emails or Slack messages mentioned in your todos. Say "Email the report to Sarah and Slack the team about progress," and boom - tasks created, reminders set, email and Slack drafts ready. No typing, no app-switching, no forgetting. I use EchoPal every day now, and it has really help me clear my mind. It has really improved my productivity as I no longer have to spend extra effort to manually structure my day. It's the app I always dreamed of but never thought could exist. There's a free trial if you want to take on my challenge. If you find a better, faster way to manage tasks, especially for ADHD brains, I'll eat my hat (it's a nice hat, so I'm pretty confident).

Users praise the productivity app, particularly for its benefits for those with ADHD, its stress-reducing features, and its innovative voice-driven AI for multitasking. The app is seen as a game changer in task management, with an easy-to-use interface. The free trial offer is well-received, and there's a sense of surprise that such a solution wasn't developed earlier.


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I built a free tool for breaking down tasks into manageable subtasks

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Hi HN! First time posting. I created a tool for my Autistic son who is in high school junior battling severe ADHD symptoms. His difficulties include; 1. Time blindness 2. Lack of executive functioning skills 3. Task initiation issuesThese three were severely affecting his grades. We had a consultation with a Developmental Psychologist who prescribed Concerta that improves his ability to focus in class. In addition he also has the boilerplate ADHD accommodations(2X time on tests and quiet place to take the test). These collectively improved his test taking abilities. But, when it came to his completing his assignments and other submissions "ontime", he is left to his devices.I realized after observing him closely(with his consent :-)), that his real problem was that, the task at hand was overwhelming him. He didnt know how to go about piecing the various sub-tasks that went into completing that task at-hand. For example, for one of his literature class; he had to write a term paper on the book "Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are dead". This was very over-whelming for him which prevented him from starting on-time.I created www.voxtodo.com to help him; 1. Manage his workload - Break down his tasks into sub-tasks 2. Plan his work sessions- sign-in using google credentials and lets him load the tasks into his Google calendar 3. Track his progress - Setup alerts(custom alert frequency) to receive alerts on his Phone/PC wherever he is working 4. Stay organized - He can close out the task within the app which then removes the task from calendar and removes the alerts. That gives him a big high knowing he completed a task from his todo-stack. 4. Track time spent- Each subtask has timers that he can start and stop. And there is a dashboard view where he can view metrics on which task he spent the most time on.Here is a snap-shot of one of his working session; https://imgur.com/a/nf1FpkAI tried it on one of my own tasks, where I am trying to recreate the Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models from scratch and it gave me these steps to follow through; https://imgur.com/a/nf1FpkATech Stack Flask with JINJA2 templates with Tailwind CSS for styling and SQLite database hosted on Pythonanywhere($5/month hosting and love it) Google Auth for calendar access OpenAI API(GPT4o) for task breakdownWould love for you to try the app and recommend it to others. Would it equally appreciate any bugs. i have tested in on all major browsers, but there might be some lurking bugs somewhere. If you have a specific feature request, i have a repo where I am collecting them. Here is the issues template; https://github.com/ultrasounder/Voxtodo-features/blob/main/g...Cheers, Ananth

Users appreciate the tool's precision and are excited to try it, with positive remarks on Voxtodo's progress and the product being made with love. However, there are concerns about technical issues such as server errors, task breakdown problems, and errors on todo item entry. The homepage video's sound quality is criticized as uncanny, and there's curiosity about monetization plans. A user noted the signup process involves logging in with Gmail.

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Comment is dead.


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I quit my job to build a productivity companion app

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Hi Hacker News,I quit my job three months back and I've been working on an app called Hootz since thenHootz acts like a supportive friend that guides you to stay focused and productive. Below are the key features I've built so far.Focus Sessions: It prompts you to start focus sessions whenever possible. During these sessions, you can select from various music options to maintain your concentration.Automatic Distraction Alert: Hootz automatically identifies when you are distracted during focus sessions, and nudges you to get back to work.Calendar Sync: Syncs with your calendar to help you compare what you planned with what you accomplished.Daily Overview: Provides a clear summary of your day with details on productive time and downtime.Productivity Goals: Helps you set and track your productivity goals.Focus Insights: Identifies the times of day you are most focused and what is causing distractions.I'd really appreciate your feedback!

Asks if it's web-tech or native.


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Magicflow 2.0 - Deep work tracker for builders, makers and founders

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MagicFlow's Product Hunt launch garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback. Users praise its sleek interface, data visualizations, and productivity-boosting capabilities, especially its time-tracking features and AI coaching. Many existing users highlighted improvements in focus, deep work, and overall time management. The Sankey diagram and AI categorization are particularly anticipated. Congratulations to Mike and the MagicFlow team were frequent. Requests for a trial version and comparisons to other time-tracking tools like Timing and Rescue Time were also voiced, alongside suggestions for tutorials and language support.

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Produtiv. nudges you into a distraction-free work routine. Write your to-do list and automatically schedule your day. Import tasks from mail or text. Suggestions for sub-tasks with estimated time. Block distracting sites. AI coach to give immediate feedback.

Productiv's Product Hunt launch garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback, with users frequently congratulating the team and expressing excitement about its potential productivity-boosting features. The AI-powered smart scheduling and app blocker were repeatedly highlighted as particularly appealing for enhancing focus and reducing distractions. Several users inquired about collaboration features and weekly analytics. Some users saw the tool as promising and helpful, while others had minor usability issues. Overall, Productiv was perceived as a robust and motivational tool, with some considering it a potential game-changer.

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