Anchor
The daily planner that actually gets ADHD brains.
- Role
- Design + Engineering
- Platform
- iOS / Android
- Year
- 2025
Anchor is a daily planner built around how ADHD brains actually work — not how productivity gurus wish they did. It trades rigid to-do lists for a calm, forgiving timeline that keeps you grounded without the guilt.
Sunday
Today
Focusing now
Deep work — Anchor
38 min left · no guilt
The problem
Every planner app I tried assumed I'd show up as a perfectly consistent person. Miss a day and the streak shames you; over-plan and the endless list buries you. For an ADHD brain, that friction is the whole reason the app gets deleted by week two. I wanted something that met me where I was on a bad day, not just a good one.
The approach
A timeline, not a checklist
Time-blocking is the core interaction. Seeing the day as a finite, visual shape makes it easier to be realistic about what fits — and a single 'focusing now' block keeps attention on the present instead of the pile of everything.
Forgiveness by design
Unfinished blocks don't turn red or scold. They soften and roll forward. The progress bar celebrates momentum rather than punishing gaps, so a rough day never becomes a reason to abandon the whole system.
Gentle, not naggy
Reminders are worded like a friend, not a drill sergeant. The tone throughout is warm and low-pressure — the app should feel like an ally, which is a surprisingly large amount of the product.
Built with
What's next
Currently in active development — refining the focus timer, syncing across devices, and testing the reminder tone with real ADHD users before a public beta.