6 ways AI can help you manage ADHD symptoms

Prioritizing tasks. Managing time. Planning out multi-step projects. If you have ADHD, these executive function skills can be a real challenge. 

Traditional tools like planners, timers, and to-do lists can help. But they still take executive function brainpower — like actually remembering to use them. Or you might find yourself spending hours customizing the tools to make them work for you.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by systems that just don’t stick, AI might be the missing piece. AI can be the support that adapts to your brain — instead of demanding that you adapt.

Here are six ADHD challenges and ways that AI tools can help.

1. Time blindness

Do you ever have trouble figuring out just how long something will take? Do you struggle with keeping track of time? Many people with ADHD have challenges with time perception. This is sometimes called time blindness. Time blindness can make it hard to plan out work, arrive on time, or manage tasks.

Here’s where AI calendar tools can help. They can plug into your calendar and support you by automatically:

• Scheduling focused work blocks for tasks, habits, or routines

• Building in prep time before a meeting 

• Setting a reminder for tasks and meetings

• Scheduling decompression time after a meeting

• Adding travel time before or after appointments outside your home

• Blocking off lunches and breaks during your workday

These tools help your calendar show the reality of your time — without the manual maintenance. Plus, AI can help you take the breaks you may need to stay focused. 

I use Reclaim. Other options are Motion, SkedPal, and Saner.ai.

2. Prioritization paralysis 

Have you ever stared at your to-do list for an hour, bouncing between half-finished tasks or unsure which matters most? Prioritization paralysis is a common experience for people with ADHD. 

AI chatbots can serve as on-demand prioritization partners. You can brain-dump everything you’re trying to juggle, and then ask the tool to help you sort them. You can even give it context about the tasks or your specific ADHD challenges. Then, the AI can help you think through what’s realistic for the day and how to tackle it. 

An AI chatbot can help you group tasks by urgency, sort out how long they might take, or how much mental energy they’ll need. It can even help you identify ways to make tasks easier, faster, or more effective. For example:

• Paste in a messy to-do list and ask, “Which of these should I do first if I only have 90 minutes?”

• Use the voice input to describe your pending tasks. Then ask it to sort them by time required, energy intensity, or urgency.

• Give a screenshot of your task app and say “I’m frozen and don’t know where to start. Pick one task for me, tell me why and what my first step should be.”

Since it’s a computer program, you can be honest about where you are. It’s a judgment-free space.

I use ChatGPT. Gemini and Claude are other options.

3. Project overwhelm 

ADHD can make it hard to start and complete large or undefined projects. The overwhelm can lead to procrastination, a stressful race to the deadline, and an outcome that could have been better. 

Breaking projects into smaller pieces solves this problem. This can be a challenging step for ADHD brains, but easy for AI. Describe the project to your favorite chatbot and ask it to break it all down. It can help you with:

• Defining the to-do list for the project 

• Creating timelines

• Generating a list of necessary materials

• Suggesting a first action step 

Because it’s a back-and-forth conversation, you can keep revising the plan until it feels right.

Get more ADHD tips with the help of the Understood Assistant. You can type in your questions, or tap the microphone in the question box to ask your question using your voice. You can also hear the answer read aloud to you by tapping the speaker button under the written reply. 

4. Working memory 

Keeping new information in your head long enough to use it is working memory, one of the brain’s executive functions. People with ADHD often struggle with working memory. You might have a great idea in a meeting, forget it by the end, and remember it again just before bed (when it’s too late to use)

AI tools can help by acting like a digital working memory. Whether it’s a chatbot, a voice-to-text journaling app, or a note-taking assistant, AI can capture your ideas in real time. And if your ideas are messy, it can even help you clean them up later. Ask the tool to summarize the main points, organize them into categories, create an outline, or identify action items.

It’s especially helpful to use these tools when something is complex or when you’re feeling intense emotions. Instead of trying to hold on to thoughts until you’re “ready,” you can get your ideas out immediately. Then you can use the tool to help you make sense of them later. 

5. Task initiation

Getting started on a task is often the hardest part of productivity for people with ADHD. You know the task is important. You might even want to do it. But something in your brain just won’t let you cross that invisible line from “thinking about it” to “doing it.”

Luckily, AI can help. You can ask a chatbot to:

• Create a rough draft of a tricky email for you to refine. 

• Give you three possible options for getting unstuck on a tough task. 

• Help you rehearse what to say on a phone call you’re dreading.

You can even use an AI tool as a digital body double by setting a timer and narrating your work out loud. Just open a chatbot with voice input and narrate what you’re doing or what’s getting in the way. You can:

• Talk through your to-do list. 

• Name your distractions and your feelings: “I need to do this, but it’s so boring and tedious.”

• Announce the time and say what you’re working on to help you stay engaged. 

The chatbot can respond with encouragement, help you choose a starting point, or give you ideas to keep you focused on one step at a time. 

6. Learning 

Need to learn a difficult topic or skill? You might need visuals, analogies, real-life examples, or back-and-forth conversation before it sticks. Try telling a chatbot how you learn best and ask it to help you understand the information. 

You might say, “Explain this to me with visuals.” Or “Break this down into a step-by-step process with clear examples.” You can even ask the bot to quiz you, generate analogies, or make audio guides. 

Best of all? You can use AI to help you learn AI. Pick something you want help with, like building a habit, tackling a project, or organizing your day. Ask your chatbot to teach you how to use AI using your pain point as an example. You’ll get better at using AI by actually using it. And the skill will likely stick because it’s tied to something that matters to you.

AI isn’t a cure for your challenges, but it can make ADHD symptom management less draining. It’s worth trying, even if you have to spend a little time learning the skill or setting up a tool. 

But don’t try to become an expert overnight or sign up for every tool. Choose one challenge you want to work on and one tool that can help, and just experiment. Even if you find that the tool isn’t a good fit for your ADHD needs, AI competency is becoming an essential skill, in and outside of the workplace.

Note: AI tools make mistakes. Always double-check important work for AI-generated errors. Review the privacy policy for the AI tools you use so you know how the company may use your information. 

Summary

Living with ADHD means spending a lot of energy just trying to keep up. Traditional tools like planners, timers, and to-do lists can help, but only if you remember to use them. AI tools offer support without adding more pressure or time drains.

AI can help with ADHD challenges, including time blindness, trouble starting tasks, and getting overwhelmed by big projects. For example, chatbots can help you sort tasks, break things into smaller steps, or even draft messages when you’re stuck. These tools don’t replace your brain. They just make tasks easier to manage.

Getting started with AI doesn’t have to be complicated. Choose one symptom you want to focus on, and try one tool to help with it. As you experiment, you’ll see more benefits and get more comfortable. Plus, you’ll be learning a skill that’s becoming more important every day.