Break any task into steps small enough to start

Why small steps work

A vague task asks you to plan, order and decide before you can do anything. Those are executive functions, the same ones ADHD makes harder.¹ A concrete first action skips that work.

There is good evidence for deciding the exact action in advance. Plans in the form "when X, I will do Y" reliably increase follow-through across many studies, and they have helped children with ADHD in lab tasks.^{2 3} Breaking work down and planning it are also core skills taught in cognitive behavioral therapy for adult ADHD.^{4 5}

How small a step needs to be changes from day to day. The same task can be easy on Tuesday and impossible on Thursday. So the amount of help should be your choice, with no explanation needed.

How it works in NoRush

• Three levels of help. A little gives 3 chunks. More gives 4 to 6 steps. Tiny steps gives 8 to 12 very small actions.
• It runs on your computer. NoRush uses the AI built into Chrome when your browser has it. Your task text is not sent to an online AI service.
• No waiting. When the built-in AI is not available, a built-in helper answers instantly instead. You never wait for a download.
• Only the next step is shown. The new tab and the bubble show one step at a time, never the whole list.
• Steps are yours to edit. Change, reorder, add or delete any step.

Getting the most from it

• If the first step still feels heavy, ask for Tiny steps. A good first step takes under two minutes and is physical: open, find, type, call.
• Use "I'm stuck" on the main screen. Its first option breaks the current task down for you.
• Finishing every step raises the odds of a rarer card, so the small steps count for something.

What it does not do

Generated steps are suggestions. They can be generic or wrong for your situation, so treat them as a first draft. The built-in AI depends on your browser version and device.

Who uses it most

College students, Graduate students, Software developers, Writers, Designers. Each of those pages shows where task breakdown fits into a working day.