Free ADHD planner

A day planner assumes you already know your day, punishes a skipped one and hides everything on yesterday. This is the other shape: capture everywhere, one overview you can look at rather than read.

Use this template free Free, no account, opens in your browser.

Main focusADHD plannerBranchDump it here firstThoughtOnly three things todayBranchWhat keeps blocking thisThoughtStarting ritual

Built from the same cards and connections you edit inside HeadTidy.

What’s included

One unsorted dump zone, because capturing and sorting at the same time is why the page stays blank
A today card with room for exactly three things
Separate lanes for waiting on someone else and not now, not never
A friction table that asks what is actually hard about a task and what the smallest first move is
A reset card for the days it all falls apart

Separate capturing from sorting

Deciding where a thought belongs while you are still having it is two jobs at once, and it is the point at which most planners get abandoned. Everything goes in the dump zone first, unsorted and unjudged. Sorting is a separate pass, done when you have the attention for it.

Three things, not a list

A list of fourteen tasks with three realistically achievable is not a plan, it is a daily reminder that you failed. The today card holds three: the one that matters, the one with a deadline, and a small one that makes the day feel started.

Name what is actually hard

Tasks rarely stall because they are large. They stall because one specific part is unclear, unpleasant or requires someone else. The friction table separates the task from the actual obstacle, then asks for the smallest first physical move, which is usually the only thing standing between you and starting.

Worked example

A task labelled sort out insurance has been moved forward for six weeks. In the friction table it becomes I do not know which policy number is current, and the smallest first move is find the renewal email. That takes ninety seconds, and the task that had resisted six weeks is finished the same afternoon.

What this template is not

It is a planning layout, not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan. If attention or organisation is affecting work, study or health, a doctor is the right person to talk to about it.

How to use this template

Start
Put everything into the dump zone without sorting it.
Sort
Move exactly three things into today and leave the rest where they are.
Move
For anything stuck, write what is actually hard and the smallest first move.

Frequently asked questions

Why do normal planners not work for ADHD?

A linear planner assumes you know your day in advance, requires daily maintenance to stay accurate, and hides everything you did not do on a previous page. A visual overview keeps the whole picture in one place and survives days you do not touch it.

Is this ADHD planner free?

Yes. It opens as an editable map in your browser with no account required, and nothing is lost if you skip a day or a month.

Is this medical advice?

No. It is a planning layout only. It is not a diagnosis, a treatment or a substitute for talking to a doctor about attention, organisation or executive function.