Low-tech ADHD tools that cost under ten dollars
Simple tools win because they are always visible.
The short version: try one today
- A visual timer.
- Sticky notes and a thick marker.
- A whiteboard near the kettle.
Want one app instead of five? Priori does task breakdown, reminders and body doubling, and connects to Google Calendar. (We make it. It's free to download.)
A sticky note cannot crash, needs no login and never sends you a notification about its new premium tier. That is roughly the whole argument for low-tech ADHD tools. They are cheap, they are dumb in the best way, and they sit in your line of sight where your brain cannot pretend they do not exist.
Visibility is the real feature. A reminder inside your phone lives behind a lock screen and next to every distraction you own. A note on the fridge is simply there, every time you go for milk. For a brain where out of sight often means gone, that counts for a lot.
A visual timer
Time blindness is the ADHD habit of not feeling time pass. Ten minutes and forty minutes can feel identical when you are absorbed or avoiding something. A visual timer shows time as a shape that shrinks, such as a coloured wedge or a sand timer, so you can see how much is left at a glance.
Use it in two directions. To start something you are dreading, set fifteen minutes and tell yourself you can stop when it runs out. To stop something that eats time, like the shower or getting ready, set it and put it where you will see it. A basic kitchen timer with a dial does the job too.
Keep it off your phone if you can. Picking up your phone to set a timer is how you end up in your messages. There is more on why this works in why a visible focus timer beats a silent one.
Sticky notes and a thick marker
The thick marker matters. It forces you to write three or four words, big enough to read from across the room. 'POST PARCEL'. 'EMAIL TUTOR'. 'BINS TONIGHT'. A biro lets you write a paragraph nobody will read.
Put the note where the action happens, and keep to one task per note.
- On the front door: things to take with you.
- On the bathroom mirror: the one thing you must do today.
- On your laptop lid: the first task when you open it.
- On the kettle: anything you need to remember before you leave.
Throw the note away when the job is done. That small scrunch and toss is satisfying, and it stops your walls turning into wallpaper you no longer see. If old notes are piling up, clear them all on Sunday and rewrite only the ones that still matter.
A whiteboard near the kettle
Put it where you stand and wait several times a day. The kettle is ideal because you are stuck there for two minutes with nothing to do. A small magnetic board on the fridge works in a shared kitchen, and a sheet of whiteboard film stuck inside a cupboard door works if you would like it out of your flatmates' view.
Keep it simple. Today's three tasks at the top. A corner for 'running low' so you remember loo roll. Maybe a line for things you are waiting on, like a reply from your landlord. Wipe and rewrite it each morning or the night before.
Many women with ADHD carry a heavy mental load of small things to remember. Writing them where you can see them means you can stop rehearsing them in your head.
Getting the most from low-tech ADHD tools
Their weakness is that you stop seeing them. After a couple of weeks a note in the same place fades into the background. So move things. Change the colour of your notes. Shift the whiteboard to another wall. Swap the timer for a different style. A small change makes your eyes register it again.
They also cannot chase you. Paper will not buzz when your lecture is in ten minutes. For anything tied to a clock, you still want a calendar with alerts, so pair your paper setup with a minimal digital one, as described in pick one and delete the rest.
Start with one of the three this week. If it is still in use a fortnight from now, add the next.
Quick questions
What are the best cheap tools for ADHD?
A visual timer, sticky notes with a thick marker and a small whiteboard are three low-cost options many people find useful. They work because they stay visible and need no setup. Which one helps most depends on whether your main difficulty is time, memory or planning.
Are paper tools better than apps for ADHD?
Neither is better for everyone. Paper stays in view and has no distractions, while apps can send alerts at a set time. Many people use paper for daily tasks and a digital calendar for anything with a deadline or appointment.