Small Start: ADHD Routines
Ali F%C4%B1rat %C3%9Cnver Productivity In-app purchases
ADHD routines & focus timer: one step, reminders that don't nag.
- Downloads
- 22+
- on Google Play
- Price
- Free
- In-app purchases
- Updated
- Sep 3
- 2026 · v1.3.1
Screenshots
About Small Start: ADHD Routines
An ADHD brain fights lists. That is exactly why routines are so hard to keep.
Small Start shows you one step at a time. Not a checklist you have to re-read, not
twelve boxes waiting to be ticked — one step, one timer, one big Done button.
When it's finished, the next one appears.
WHY IT WORKS
• One step on screen to focus on. The list is the problem, so it stays hidden.
• Every step gets a timer, so time stops being invisible.
• The timer runs on real clock time. Lock your phone, take a call, come back —
it never drifts.
• Every step chimes when it ends, with Done and +1 minute right there — the
phone can stay on the shelf while you brush your teeth.
• Skip and +1 minute are always there. A routine that can't bend gets
abandoned.
REMINDERS THAT DON'T BECOME WALLPAPER
Most apps send the same notification forever until you switch them off.
Small Start rotates through more than a dozen messages, so it never becomes
background noise.
And if you ignore three in a row, it doesn't nag harder — it changes the
subject and asks whether the time is wrong, then offers to move the reminder
or turn it off. Your 7:00 alarm was never going to work if you're never awake
at 7:00.
IT STARTS WITHOUT YOU OPENING THE APP
Opening an app is the same problem as starting a routine, so it doesn't insist.
• A home-screen widget shows today's routine and starts it at step one, in one tap
• While a routine runs, the step counts down in a notification you can see without unlocking
STREAKS THAT DON'T PUNISH YOU
Missing today doesn't break your streak until the day is actually over, and a
missed day is shown as a day, not a failure. A habit survives one of those. No
red, no guilt, no "you've lost your progress".
Half a routine counts as half, not as nothing: get through at least half the
steps and the day still counts. And if you walk away mid-routine, the app
offers to pick it back up where you left off.
BUILT FOR PRIVACY
No account. No sign-up. No email. No ads, ever. Your routines, steps and
history stay on your phone — never uploaded anywhere.
Your data can also leave with you. One tap exports every routine, step and
completion to a file you keep, so a new phone doesn't cost you your setup.
WHAT YOU GET
• Three ready-made routines to start in one tap — Morning, Evening Wind-down,
Getting Out the Door — all editable
• Unlimited routines and steps of your own
• Step lengths from 30 seconds to 90 minutes, or the one-tap presets
• Per-routine schedules, weekday-by-weekday
• Streaks, completion rates, a calendar of your days, and the pattern of which
weekdays actually work for you
• Measured step lengths, so the plan matches how long it really takes
• Export and import, so your routines and history are yours to keep
• Light and dark themes
TRY THE WHOLE THING FOR 14 DAYS
Everything is unlocked for 14 days. No card, no account, nothing to cancel —
we never asked for a payment method, so we cannot charge you by accident.
After that you decide, once. There's a pay-once option if you never want to
think about a subscription again.
Small Start is a timer and a routine keeper for adults living with ADHD. It
isn't a medical device and doesn't diagnose or treat anything — it's built by
and for people who find starting hard.
Small Start shows you one step at a time. Not a checklist you have to re-read, not
twelve boxes waiting to be ticked — one step, one timer, one big Done button.
When it's finished, the next one appears.
WHY IT WORKS
• One step on screen to focus on. The list is the problem, so it stays hidden.
• Every step gets a timer, so time stops being invisible.
• The timer runs on real clock time. Lock your phone, take a call, come back —
it never drifts.
• Every step chimes when it ends, with Done and +1 minute right there — the
phone can stay on the shelf while you brush your teeth.
• Skip and +1 minute are always there. A routine that can't bend gets
abandoned.
REMINDERS THAT DON'T BECOME WALLPAPER
Most apps send the same notification forever until you switch them off.
Small Start rotates through more than a dozen messages, so it never becomes
background noise.
And if you ignore three in a row, it doesn't nag harder — it changes the
subject and asks whether the time is wrong, then offers to move the reminder
or turn it off. Your 7:00 alarm was never going to work if you're never awake
at 7:00.
IT STARTS WITHOUT YOU OPENING THE APP
Opening an app is the same problem as starting a routine, so it doesn't insist.
• A home-screen widget shows today's routine and starts it at step one, in one tap
• While a routine runs, the step counts down in a notification you can see without unlocking
STREAKS THAT DON'T PUNISH YOU
Missing today doesn't break your streak until the day is actually over, and a
missed day is shown as a day, not a failure. A habit survives one of those. No
red, no guilt, no "you've lost your progress".
Half a routine counts as half, not as nothing: get through at least half the
steps and the day still counts. And if you walk away mid-routine, the app
offers to pick it back up where you left off.
BUILT FOR PRIVACY
No account. No sign-up. No email. No ads, ever. Your routines, steps and
history stay on your phone — never uploaded anywhere.
Your data can also leave with you. One tap exports every routine, step and
completion to a file you keep, so a new phone doesn't cost you your setup.
WHAT YOU GET
• Three ready-made routines to start in one tap — Morning, Evening Wind-down,
Getting Out the Door — all editable
• Unlimited routines and steps of your own
• Step lengths from 30 seconds to 90 minutes, or the one-tap presets
• Per-routine schedules, weekday-by-weekday
• Streaks, completion rates, a calendar of your days, and the pattern of which
weekdays actually work for you
• Measured step lengths, so the plan matches how long it really takes
• Export and import, so your routines and history are yours to keep
• Light and dark themes
TRY THE WHOLE THING FOR 14 DAYS
Everything is unlocked for 14 days. No card, no account, nothing to cancel —
we never asked for a payment method, so we cannot charge you by accident.
After that you decide, once. There's a pay-once option if you never want to
think about a subscription again.
Small Start is a timer and a routine keeper for adults living with ADHD. It
isn't a medical device and doesn't diagnose or treat anything — it's built by
and for people who find starting hard.
What’s new
Version 1.3.1 · Updated September 3, 2026
Two new languages, and two fixes. • Small Start is now in German and Dutch, as well as English and Turkish • Anonymous usage statistics can be switched off in Settings — nothing personal was ever collected, and now you can turn off the counting too • Fixed: snoozing a reminder could quietly cost you a day of your trial
Alternatives to Small Start: ADHD Routines
Looking for apps like Small Start: ADHD Routines? Here are 3 similar Android apps on Google Play. The highest rated is GrowthDay: Motivation Mindset (4.8/5), and all 3 are free to download.
-
GrowthDay: Motivation Mindset 4.8
-
BeeDone: Gamified ADHD Planner 3.9
-
Thera: Diary and mood tracker 4.4
| App | Rating | Price | Installs | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Start: ADHD Routines | – | Free | 10+ | Sep 3, 2026 | |
| GrowthDay: Motivation Mindset | 4.8 / 5 | Free | 100,000+ | Jul 29, 2026 | Compare |
| BeeDone: Gamified ADHD Planner | 3.9 / 5 | Free | 10,000+ | Sep 16, 2026 | Compare |
| Thera: Diary and mood tracker | 4.4 / 5 | Free | 100,000+ | Sep 9, 2026 | Compare |