Persistence for ADHD
An ADHD todo list, journal and habit tracker that doesn't make you feel behind
Persistence is a calm task manager, micro-journal, habit tracker and time-blocking planner built for ADHD brains: quick to capture into, forgiving when you miss a day, and quiet enough that you keep coming back.
Why most productivity apps fail ADHD brains
ADHD isn't a shortage of good intentions. It's a difference in executive function: working memory that drops things, attention that's hard to steer on purpose, and a fuzzy sense of time. Most todo apps are built for the opposite brain — one that enjoys configuring projects, labels and filters, and that feels motivated by an overdue count in red.
So the familiar cycle happens. You set up the perfect system on a good day. It has too many steps, so capturing a task takes just long enough that the thought is gone. You miss a few days, the app greets you with a wall of overdue items and a broken streak, and the shame makes it easier to never open it again. Then you try the next app.
Persistence is designed around that cycle instead of pretending it doesn't exist.
How Persistence works with your brain, not against it
Every feature is a small answer to a specific ADHD friction.
One-keystroke capture
The thought lands somewhere before it slips away. Add a task in a single line, sort by what's urgent rather than what's loudest, and stop keeping the list in your head.
Habits that forgive a missed day
Streaks are gentle. Miss a day and you don't lose the thread or get a guilt screen — you just pick it back up. Consistency beats perfection, and the app is built to say so.
A micro-journal, not a diary
One sentence is enough. Tag how you felt, and over weeks you start to see the patterns — which days are heavy, what helps, when you actually got things done.
Time blocking that gives the day a shape
Time blindness is real. Drag tasks and habits onto a calm, snap-to-grid timeline so 'later' becomes '2:30 to 3:00' and the day stops being one big undifferentiated blob.
Quiet stats that reward showing up
Charts of tasks done, habits kept and mood over time — designed to notice small wins, not to shame you about the gaps.
Design principles for an ADHD-friendly app
Capture first, organise never (or later)
Getting a thought out of your head has to be faster than losing it. Adding a task is one line and one keystroke. Priority, repeat and notes are there when you want them, and invisible when you don't.
No guilt mechanics
No red overdue badges piling up. No "you broke your 42-day streak" screen. Missing a day is normal; the app treats it as normal and makes restarting the default.
Make time visible
A list says what. A timeline says when and how long. Time blocking turns an abstract list into a day you can see, which is most of the battle when your brain doesn't keep time well.
Fewer things on screen
Five tabs — Todo, Notes, Habits, Time Block, Statistics — and not much else. Calm by design, so there's less to bounce off.
Nothing watching you
Persistence has no analytics, no tracking, and no ad model. It's a small independent app: you pay for Premium if you outgrow the free tier, and that's the whole business. See how we handle privacy.
A few ADHD-friendly ways to use it
- Brain-dump, then pick three. Empty your head into Todo, then flag only three things as urgent for today. Everything else can wait without being lost.
- Block the first hour. Drag one task onto the timeline for the first hour of the day. Starting is the hard part; a visible block makes starting concrete.
- Journal one sentence. Before you close the laptop, write a line and tag a mood. It takes ten seconds and in a month the Statistics tab will show you patterns you'd never notice day to day.
- Keep habits tiny. "Open the habit" counts. Small habits survive bad weeks; ambitious ones don't.
ADHD todo app — frequently asked questions
- Is Persistence only for people with ADHD?
- No. It's designed ADHD-first — low-friction capture, forgiving habits, no guilt mechanics — but those same choices make it a calm todo list and journal for anyone who has bounced off busier apps.
- Does it have an ADHD planner / daily plan view?
- Yes. The Time Block tab is a daily planner: drag tasks and habits onto a timeline in 15-minute steps to give the day a visible shape.
- Is there a free plan?
- Yes. Free includes up to 7 tasks, 7 notes and 7 habits, plus time blocking, stats and mood tracking, with no time limit and no card required. Premium removes the limits.
- Does it work on my phone and computer?
- Persistence runs in the browser and as a native app on macOS, Windows, Linux and Android, with sync between all of them. iOS is coming soon.
- Does it track me or sell my data?
- No. There's zero analytics, tracking pixels or fingerprinting on the site or in the app. Your data is stored only to sync your devices, and paying for Premium is the entire business model.
A calmer todo list for ADHD.
Free for up to 7 tasks, notes and habits. No card, no tracking, and no guilt when you miss a day.