NoRush for writers
An ADHD task manager for writers
The page is blank, the research is endless, and the internet is one tab away. NoRush makes the next step small and keeps it in view.
In short
NoRush turns "write the article" into a first step you can do in two minutes, keeps that step on screen while you write in Google Docs or any web editor, and shows time as a shrinking disc. When research pulls you away, Alt+K saves the thought and a calm pause brings you back.
Write the project report
How much help?
- Open a new document
- Type the title and today’s date
- Write three rough bullet points
- Turn the first bullet into two sentences
- Stand up and get some water
Why writing is hard with ADHD
Writing is planning, ordering and holding ideas in mind while you produce sentences. Those are executive functions, which are the center of what ADHD affects.1
A draft also has no reward until it is finished, and often not then. ADHD is associated with a stronger preference for rewards that come soon.2 A first sentence is not rewarding. It is exposed and bad. That is why it is so easy to go and "do more research".
Where it gets hard
- The blank page. Nothing is harder to start than something that has to be good.
- Research as procrastination. It feels like work and produces no words.
- Editing while drafting. Forty minutes on the first paragraph.
- All or nothing. No words for a week, then 4,000 at 2 AM.
A day with NoRush
One possible day, as an example.
- 9:15 AMNew tab: "Draft the newsletter". Next step: "write three bad headlines".
- 9:20 AMYou choose a rough version for 5 minutes. Messy is allowed. Three headlines exist.
- 9:30 AMA 25 minute session with lofi. The bubble sits at the edge of your document.
- 9:41 AMYou need a statistic. Instead of searching, Alt+K: "find stat for paragraph 2". You type TK in the draft and keep going.
- 9:55 AMThe bubble opens: "Did you finish?" The draft is done. A card flips.
- 11:00 AMNow you do the lookups you saved, as their own short task.
The features that matter most for writers
- Tiny steps for getting past the blank page.
- Alt+K parks research so drafting can continue.
- Lofi and rain with no words in them to compete with yours.
- Distraction pause for the reflex tab during a writing session.
Three things that help, with or without NoRush
- Separate drafting from editing. Different sessions, ideally different days. Drafting is allowed to be bad.
- Use a placeholder. Type TK where a fact is missing and keep writing. Look everything up afterward in one go.
- Stop in the middle of a sentence. Tomorrow you start by finishing it, and you are already moving.
Where NoRush is not the right tool
The bubble shows in browser-based editors such as Google Docs, Notion or Substack. If you write in a desktop app like Word or Scrivener, it will not appear there, although the new tab, reminders and timer still work. NoRush is not a writing tool and does not count words.
See if it fits the way writers work
NoRush is free for 7 days with every feature included. No sign-up and no card.
Add to Chrome, free for 7 daysQuestions people ask
Does NoRush work in Google Docs?
Yes. The bubble and the command bar appear on Google Docs and other web editors.
Can I set a daily word goal?
Not as a word count. You can add a daily task such as "write 300 words" and collect a card each day you do it.
Sources
- Barkley RA (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1).
- Marx I, Hacker T, Yu X, Cortese S, Sonuga-Barke E (2021). ADHD and the choice of small immediate over larger delayed rewards: a comparative meta-analysis of performance on simple choice-delay and temporal discounting paradigms. Journal of Attention Disorders, 25(2).