Start and end the day on purpose

Why bookends help

Planning is one of the skills that structured ADHD therapies teach, because it does not happen by itself.^{1 2} The trick is keeping the plan short enough that you actually do it.

A plan also quiets the mind. In experiments, unfinished goals kept intruding on people's thoughts until they made a specific plan for them. After that, the intrusions stopped, even though the task was still not done.³ Writing down where tomorrow's leftovers go has the same effect.

Stopping is the other half. Hyperfocus and "one more thing" can run late, and many adults with ADHD already have a delayed body clock and short sleep.^{4 5} A clear end to the day protects the next one.

How it works in NoRush

• A plan in three taps. Say how your energy is, pick a few things, and see your projected finish time.
• A kind overload warning. If the plan is more than your day can hold, NoRush says so before you start, not at 6 PM.
• Today holds five. The Today list shows up to 5 tasks. The rest are one click away.
• A heads-up before the end. Ten minutes before your work day ends, a quiet note says how long is left, with "Keep going 30 min" and "Keep going 1 hour".
• Close the day. See what you finished, then send leftovers to tomorrow or to Later.
• An evening screen. After hours, the new tab shows a slow sunset, a greeting and today in two or three numbers. The sun breathes 4 seconds in and 6 out.

Getting the most from it

• Plan for the energy you have, not the energy you wish you had.
• When the finish time looks late, remove a task now. It is easier than failing it later.
• If a thought turns up after hours, type it into the popup. The add box becomes "Something for tomorrow?".

What it does not do

Nothing is ever locked. "Open NoRush anyway" is always on the evening screen, and you can turn the heads-up and the evening screen off in Settings. The slow breathing is there if you want it. A longer out-breath is a simple way to settle, and nobody has to follow it.⁶

Who uses it most

Graduate students, Remote workers, Freelancers, Entrepreneurs, Managers. Each of those pages shows where plan and close the day fits into a working day.