I am going to save you some time. Most “productivity tool” roundups are written by people with executive function who are trying to optimize. This one is written by someone with ADHD and bipolar disorder who is trying to survive.
Different problem. Different tools.
For Writing
Obsidian (free) — All my drafts live here. Local files, no subscription, works offline. For a brain that forgets what it was doing the moment the internet goes down, local storage is not a preference, it is a requirement.
LanguageTool (free tier) — Better than Grammarly for multilingual writers. I switch between English and French in the same document and it does not panic.
Hemingway Editor (free, browser) — Paste your draft in and it highlights every passive sentence, every adverb, every thing you do to hide that you are not sure what you are saying. Brutal. Useful.
For Focus
Forest (free tier) — You plant a tree. The tree dies if you pick up your phone. For a dopamine-seeking brain, the visual cost of breaking focus is more effective than any reminder.
Goblin Tools (free) — Break any task into micro-steps. Type “write blog post,” ask it to break this down into seven steps, suddenly you can start.
For Scheduling and Stability
Tiimo (free tier) — Visual daily planner designed for neurodivergent users. Not a to-do list. A schedule with colour and duration, so you can see your day rather than read it.
Leantime (open source) — Project management that accounts for how neurodivergent brains work. Self-hostable, no subscription.
For Automation
n8n (open source, self-hostable) — Connect your apps with visual workflows. Use it to move draft files from one place to another automatically. The learning curve is real but the payoff is permanent.
Otter.ai (free tier) — Speak your first draft. Five hundred words in twenty minutes instead of two hours.
The Honest Rule
No tool will substitute for the fundamental work of understanding your own cycles and protecting your sleep. But the right tools reduce the friction between having an idea and getting it out of your head.
That friction is the enemy. Every tool here attacks it.
Sourov Deb writes about neurodiversity, language and survival. He does not accept sponsored content.