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With all the hectic schedules, assignments, group projects, academic activities, and even extracurricular undertakings, we can all agree that college life can be tough for almost every student.
It’s even tougher for college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, a medical and behavioral condition that interferes with one’s development and functioning due to an ongoing pattern of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity.
It’s worth noting, though, that not all students with ADHD experience the same challenges to the same extent. Fortunately, regardless of the degree of challenges experienced, there are various software or applications (“apps”) that make life and school much more convenient for college students with attention and hyperactivity challenges.
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While many of these apps aren’t specifically developed with ADHD in mind, they offer functionalities that will cater to the special needs of people with the condition, as well as those with Autism-related conditions.
5 Note-Taking Apps for Students with ADHD
Evernote
Available for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac
Also available as Browser extensions
Evernote is a note-taking app with task management, calendar, to-do list, and planner features. This can serve as the ultimate productivity app for college students, especially those with attention and hyperactivity challenges, who want to ensure they remember their current random ideas for later.
Once an idea comes to mind, students can create and save a “note” using the Evernote app by jotting down text, uploading photos or files, creating a drawing or sketch, or clipping a part of a webpage. They can then add tags and names to the note that can be quickly searched later on.
The notes also automatically generate their timestamps, making Evernote a kind of journal or diary, too. What’s more, students can also add reminders on the notes or turn them into tasks in a To-do list.
Furthermore, college students with ADHD won’t have a problem remembering where their specific notes are, as Evernote automatically syncs across all their devices.
Microsoft OneNote
Available for iOS, MacOS, Android and Windows
Microsoft OneNote, or simply OneNote, is another practical note-taking app that lets college students, especially those with hyperactivity and attention difficulties, have a single place where they can instantly save ideas and collect photos, images, or web clippings that inspire them.
It also comes with features that allow students to organize their thoughts and ideas whether they’re tracking errands, planning an event, or collating resources for essay assignments.
Features of OneNote include:
- Notes can be organized into “Notebooks” with color-coded icons
- Ability to draw, sketch, or write on Notes
- Voice dictation capability is available
- Ability to extract text from pictures and scanned documents
OneNote also allows sharing of Notes with peers and colleagues for collaboration and brainstorming.
MindNode
Essentially a note-taking and brainstorming app, MindNode allows you to expand an idea into several nodes or branches to create a bigger picture. With the app on your Apple-powered phone, laptop, and desktop computer, you can capture your thoughts and create a clearer picture of your ideas wherever you are.
For many college students with ADHD, turning an initial idea into a more concrete concept can be challenging, especially with their minds being prone to drifting into distractions. The unique capabilities of MindNode as a note-taking app will prove beneficial in documenting the progress of their ideas as well as in remaining focused and productive.
MindNode is ideal for planning research projects, outlining essay assignments, exploring practicum and internship options, and many other activities that require brainstorming. The nodes can also become Tasks that you check off, like items in a To-Do list once you complete them.
Viewing your idea maps on MindNode is even more pleasing with the range of gorgeous themes, stickers, and emojis available for use. What’s more, your maps can be exported and conveniently shared with your peers if needed.
MindLine Mind Map
Available for iOS, Android and Windows
MindLine is another brainstorming and note-taking app that college students with ADHD can use to explore and concretize an initial idea. The app’s simple interface and straightforward features allow users to quickly map out their ideas, especially when outlining their essays, assignments, research, projects, and other academic and extracurricular activities.
Unlike MindNode, MindLine is available for Windows and Android aside from iOS devices. The app also supports cloud service to make syncing files more convenient across laptops, desktop computers, and mobile phones.
It means that students with hyperactivity and attention challenges can quickly and instantly jot down their ideas wherever they are without worrying about having to manually consolidate all their notes later on, as everything is synced together in one account regardless of the device they’re using.
Dragon Anywhere
Developed by Nuance Communications, Dragon Anywhere is a professional-grade mobile dictation and transcription app that can also serve as a note-taking app for college students with ADHD who particularly have difficulties with typing due to struggling with focus, fine motor skills, or both. With this practical app, students can ensure that their ideas are written down without losing their train of thought. It’s a perfect app for drafting essays, book reports, and other writing assignments and projects, no matter the length.
The amazing features of Dragon Anywhere include the following:
- Fast dictation processing with 99% recognition accuracy
- Users can create custom text templates for filling out forms
- Ability to add words to include industry jargon and further improve accuracy
- Supports text formatting and editing through voice commands
- Import and export capabilities to conveniently share files
3 Time Management and Calendar Apps to Support Students with ADHD
Google Calendar
Available for Android, iOS, and Web
Google Calendar is perhaps the ultimate digital planner app, especially for Gmail users as well as those using devices that run on Android OS because the app seamlessly integrates with all of Google’s other apps. College students with ADHD will be able to focus on their everyday tasks and remain updated on their schedule, thanks to the powerful features of Google Calendar.
The app is just like a traditional paper organizer or planner where you can see what’s in store for you for the day as well as what time the events will happen or the tasks are due. Being in digital format, you’ll see your schedules in clean, color-coded blocks for easy visual differentiation.
As a calendar app that syncs your account across your gadgets and Web account, noting down schedules and reminders in Google Calendar is definitely a breeze. Gmail users can even quickly convert their emails (such as flight details, class schedules, work assignments, conference or party information, etc.) into Google Calendar entries and set reminders. Moreover, the app can automatically integrate event locations on Google Maps.
Apple Calendar
Available for iOS
The Apple Calendar is known for being the default calendar app on iOS devices, including Apple Watch. Just like Google Calendar, which is available mainly on Android devices, the Apple Calendar is also a valuable tool for college students who need to ensure they’re on top of their everyday schedule and tasks despite their ADHD condition.
Entries on your Apple Calendar sync across all your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch devices, allowing you to add new items or update existing ones on your schedule wherever you are at any time, regardless of what device you have at the moment. What’s more, they can also be synced with all your other accounts, including iCloud, Google, and Yahoo, for the ultimate calendar experience.
Fantastical
Created by Flexibits Inc., Fantastical is another calendar app that works and syncs across various MacOS and iOS devices. It’s a multi-awarded calendar tool that can make the campus and off-campus lives of students with ADHD much more convenient to navigate, knowing that they can effectively manage their day-to-day roles and responsibilities.
The app features a gorgeous and clean user interface that’s pleasant to the eyes of those who get easily overwhelmed by visual clutter.
Other features of Fantastical that students with ADHD can benefit from include:
- Full-screen view options from Day view to Year view
- Convenient creation of entries by simply starting with the appropriate words, e.g., “reminder” or “task,” which means fewer menu items or buttons to search and tap
- Includes three-day weather forecasts to make event planning more precise
- Supports various productivity apps, including Google Tasks and Todoist
- Integrates with a variety of other calendar apps and accounts like Google, iCloud, and Yahoo
- Available in various languages, including French, Spanish and Japanese
- Cool stickers to give your entries a lively appeal
5 Focus and Productivity Apps for Students with Attention/Hyperactivity Challenges
Freedom
Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, ChromeOS and Linux
In this digital era, there are so many distractions that hinder students from being productive and focused. This is even worse for individuals with ADHD. Thankfully, app and website blockers such as Freedom are available to free us from anything that gets in the way of our academic and career successes.
Whether you’re studying or working on your PC, laptop, or phone, Freedom is a practical tool that ensures your time isn’t wasted. A harmless peek at your social media updates or a quick visit to your favorite entertainment website during your study sessions can quickly snowball into hours of wasted time.
With Freedom, college students, especially those with attention and hyperactivity challenges, can stay focused on their productivity without any distractions.
RescueTime
RescueTime is a productivity and time-management app that will help college students with ADHD avoid or minimize phone usage and remain focused on what they’re currently doing, whether it’s studying, writing, or any other activities that need to be free from distraction.
The app works by setting a daily screen time limit, and it will send a notification if this limit is exceeded. Users can also set the app to block certain websites and apps, especially social media platforms, during the focus sessions.
Forest
Forest is a focus app that implements gamification to help college students with ADHD keep their hands off their phones while they stay focused on their task at hand. The app offers a fun way to motivate students to complete their tasks without distractions.
Users will set the timer on the Forest app to start their focus session, and a seed is shown on the screen that will eventually grow into a tree and ultimately into a colorful forest the longer the users remain focused on what needs to be completed.
The tree withers once the users get distracted by picking up the phone and getting off the Forest app to make use of other apps, such as mobile games or social media platforms.
Students can make use of the app’s Timer Mode to study or work in intervals or with breaks through the Pomodoro time management technique. A Stopwatch Mode is also available.
According to the developers, Forest users can contribute to actually planting real trees on Earth as the team behind the app collaborates with real tree-planting organizations.
Focus@Will
Available for iOS, Android and Windows
Focus@Will is a focus app that leverages the benefits of music to the cognition and mood of the listeners. College students with ADHD can focus on their tasks and boost productivity as they listen to the app’s scientifically engineered music created by renowned music producers and supported by top neuroscientists.
You can take the Focus Quiz available at the Focus@Will official website to determine the type of focus tunes that will best suit your style. The app offers thousands of hours of exceptional tracks categorized into various collections, including:
- Atmosphere
- NatureBeat
- Symphonica
- Organica
- Cinematic
- The Deep
- And many others
Other features of the app include the following:
- Offline and online modes
- Productivity tracker
- Focus timer, which is perfect for Pomodoro time management techniques
In essence, Focus@Will is not any other music streaming apps and services where playlists are built on a general understanding of suitable tunes. Focus@Will curates its playlists with music specifically designed for individual productivity.
Brain.fm
Available for iOS, Android, and Web access
Brain.fm is another focus app that utilizes music that is scientifically proven to increase concentration. The team behind the app collaborates with academic institutions to research and conduct experiments to ensure the music benefits the brain.
The developers claim that the app is highly effective for individuals with ADHD. It’s also beneficial to regular people who need to focus, considering that the massive collection of well-selected music in the app offers a wide range of neural effect levels.
Just like Focus@Will, new users of Brain.fm can take a quiz to determine their specific neurotype, and then the app adjusts the music settings that best suit the listener.
5 Task Management Apps for Students with ADHD
Asana
Available for iOS, Android and Windows
Asana is a task management app that’s perfect for handling collaborative projects, whether for school assignments or extracurricular responsibilities. It’s accessible across various platforms, so everyone on the team gets updated in real time whether they’re on their phone, PC, or laptop.
The visual layout of tasks in Asana makes it easy for everyone to understand and track what needs to be done by when and who’s assigned to it. In short, the app helps college students, especially those with ADHD, to quickly focus on their tasks and determine the current status of their projects.
The app features three display modes, making it even easier for those with ADHD to customize their dashboard in a way that allows them to understand the progress of the projects better.
- List View features a simplified list of tasks with information on priorities, schedule, and who’s responsible for their completion.
- Timeline View maps out the tasks and their relationships with one another to determine overlapping responsibilities and unscheduled deliverables.
- Boards View provides a fun way of viewing tasks in their movable boxes and provides detailed information on the progress of each assignment.
Clear To-dos
Clear To-Dos is a no-frills task and list app that college students with ADHD can use to stay focused on what they need to do without getting distracted or overwhelmed by too many app features. It showcases an intuitive and clutter-free user interface that can be efficiently navigated with basic gestures to add, manage, and check off tasks.
Clear To-dos also have a color-gradient interface that sorts tasks based on their priorities to ensure users stay organized and on top of important tasks. Different colors can be assigned to each list for easy identification and visual differentiation. The app also allows for adding due dates and reminders.
This simple list app is perfect not just for your To-do list but also for your daily and weekly planners, habit trackers, project management, grocery/shopping lists, daily reminders, study planners, and many others.
Remember the Milk
Available for iOS, Android, various computers and browsers
Designed as a powerful to-do app for “busy people,” Remember the Milk is definitely perfect for individuals who are easily distracted or who have so many things in mind, such as college students with ADHD.
With this app, students will receive real-time reminders whether they’re online or offline, as notifications can be set up to be sent through text messages aside from email, Twitter, and instant messenger apps, among other platforms. You can also sync your devices with one account, making it even quicker and simpler to add tasks and set reminders.
What makes this to-do app even more powerful and practical is that it can integrate with many other apps, including the device’s voice assistant (i.e., Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa), Gmail, Evernote, Google Calendar, and many others. The app also supports sharing of the to-do list with others to boost productivity and distribute responsibilities.
Todoist
Available for iOS, Android, Desktops, Emails and Browsers
Todoist is another supercharged productivity app that allows college students with ADHD to make the most of their days in and out of campus without getting too overwhelmed with distractions. With a simple UI that makes going through the list of what needs to be done a breeze, the app is definitely the ultimate digital planner and organizer for those with hyperactivity and attention challenges.
It’s also a perfect companion for managing group projects and other collaborative activities, as tasks can be assigned to others. The convenient labels, sections, and subtask lists are just some of the features that help students to have everything in one place without getting overwhelmed with visual clutter.
With numerous ways to access Todoist and a variety of integration options with other apps, students with ADHD will be able to jot down new tasks quickly, review what needs to be done, and check items off the list once done.
The Routinely App
Staying focused, organized, and motivated in sticking to routines and building good habits becomes easy with The Routinely App. It’s a perfect companion for college students with attention and hyperactivity difficulties who want to be productive throughout the day by ensuring they’re on top of what needs to be done every day.
Aside from the functional features common among to-do and productivity apps, The Routinely App is also designed to make life more fulfilling. Some of the motivational features include the following:
- Weekly and monthly views to monitor routines and habits
- Rescheduling of tasks if necessary
- Option to skip recurring tasks without losing motivation and streaks
- An Analysis dashboard where you can explore your current progress in building good habits and keeping up with daily routines
2 Financial Management Apps for People with ADHD
Mint
Developed by Intuit Inc., Mint is a personal finance app where you can effortlessly keep track of where your money is going and coming from. By linking your cash, credit, and investment accounts and noting down your expenses all in one app, you can monitor all your cash flow and even conveniently find opportunities to save.
Mint offers a variety of benefits for college students, especially for those with ADHD, such as the following:
- Provides a structured and organized approach to their financial responsibilities
- Visual representations of spending habits make it easier to stick to budgetary constraints
- Saves time and effort, as calculations and summaries are automated
- Encourages financial responsibility and promotes healthy long-term money habits
YNAB (You Need A Budget)
YNAB is a personal finance and budgeting app that brings the envelope budgeting method into the digital sphere in the convenience of your phone. It offers automated features with a clean, simple user interface that makes the complexity of money management much more convenient for everyone.
This helps college students, especially those with attention and hyperactivity challenges, to manage their finances efficiently and get a clearer picture of how they can achieve specific goals involving money, e.g., buying big-ticket items or paying off debts.
While users will manually add their transactions on the app, they also have the option to securely link their bank accounts to provide a clearer overview of their spending habits as well as to automate tracking of expenses and other transactions.
YNAB is like your personal coach for your finances with its many practical features, including:
- Timely and practical advice on your budget and financial situations
- Loan calculator to help you estimate how much you can save
- Goal settings that allow you to set spending targets and visualize your progress
- Personal financial reports allow you to get a clearer picture of your spending habits
- Notifies you when you’re overspending on a category
- And many others
2 Study Aid Apps for Students with ADHD
AnkiApp Flashcards
Available for Android, iOS MacOS, and Windows
AnkiApp Flashcards is a study aid app that utilizes digital flashcards to supplement learning for students, especially those with hyperactivity and attention challenges. It supports images, sounds, and text on the flashcard, making it a great app for studying a wide range of courses and topics. Students can select from millions of pre-made flashcards available for download.
Alternatively, they can make their flashcards and share their content with their peers.
College students with ADHD can benefit greatly from AniApp Flashcards in many ways:
- Promotes active learning that maintains focus and enhances information retention
- Visual learning techniques enhance concept visualization and memory recall
- Breaks down complex information into smaller, more absorbable bits
AnkiApp Flashcards are perfect for studying a new language, medicine, anatomy, or any subject, especially one that needs a lot of memorization. It’s built with Artificial Intelligence that implements a spaced repetition algorithm that analyzes the user’s progress and selects the appropriate flashcards that require further attention and review.
Flashcards Deluxe
Distributed by OrangeOrApple, Flashcards Deluxe is another digital flashcards app that’s packed with powerful features in an easy-to-use and user-friendly package. College students, especially those with ADHD, will find this app beneficial in supplementing their studies, especially for subjects requiring a lot of memorization.
The app implements two advanced smart algorithms that ensure focusing on the cards requiring further review and more attention.
The Leitner method is ideal for short-term memory goals such as preparing for an exam in a week. It basically ensures that the card you get wrong in the current set will appear again in the next set, and those that you got right will be skipped in the next set.
The Spaced Repetition algorithm is ideal for long-term memory storage of information. The cards’ frequency of appearance is based on timed intervals, unlike the Leitner method, which relies on iterations of the sets. The advantage of this algorithm is that it prevents under-practicing or over-practicing certain information, as the app determines the perfect time to test you on specific cards.
Users can make their own set of learning flashcards or download pre-made ones that are available on the app’s Shared Library.
2 Sleep Trackers for Well-Rested Students with ADHD
BetterSleep
College students with ADHD typically struggle with establishing healthy sleep routines, and it’s a scientific fact that lack of sleep can significantly be detrimental to academic performance in many ways. Fortunately, the BetterSleep app is available for download and installation on a variety of devices to help students monitor and optimize their sleep patterns, thus improving their overall well-being and cognitive performance.
Formerly known as Relax Melodies, this sleep tracker app is also a melody and white noise app that can help establish a calm and serene environment for students who want to regain focus or establish a peaceful mind.
Some of the audio provided by the BetterSleep app include:
- White noise such as vacuum, fan, and hairdryer
- Nature sounds, including wind and leaves
- Water sounds
- Solfeggio frequencies
- Isochronic brainwaves
- Binaural beats
- And many others
BetterSleep also features guided narrations on breathing techniques and bedtime relaxation exercises.
Sleep Cycle
Sleep Cycle is another sleep tracker app that’s packed with advanced and practical functionalities. It essentially monitors and analyzes your sleep and also wakes you up at the most optimal time, making you feel well-rested for better health. With this app, college students with ADHD can say goodbye to sleeping difficulties, including trouble initiating sleeping, irregular sleep patterns, and daytime fatigue.
Some of the great features of Sleep Cycle include:
- A smart alarm clock to wake you gently at the perfect moment based on your sleep
- A sleep recorder that you can utilize to determine if you snore or talk during sleep
- A variety of sounds, music, and other relaxing audio files help initiate sleep
- Personalized advice and recommendations based on your sleep analysis
2 Mindfulness and Meditation Apps to Manage the ADHD Mind
Calm
College students with ADHD often have to deal with overstimulation and sensory overload, which adversely affects their mood and ability to focus and, ultimately, their academic lives. Thankfully, Calm and other relaxation and meditation apps make it convenient for students to balance their moods, regain their focus, reduce and manage their stress levels, and cope with anxiety.
The many beneficial features of Calm include:
- Meditation sessions suitable for all fitness levels and guided by professionals
- Mindfulness exercises for a variety of topics, including Breaking Habits, Calming Anxiety, and Deep Sleep
- Constantly updated deep-sleep music from renowned artists
- Breathing exercises and daily meditation for stress management and anxiety reduction
A mindfulness and meditation app, Calm is an app that mental health specialists, psychologists, and therapists recommend.
Headspace
The emphasis on mindfulness, meditation, stress reduction, and enhanced focus that Headspace offers makes this app highly beneficial for college students with ADHD, who often experience high levels of stress and anxiety. The app has a massive library of audio for relaxation, meditation, and sleep that includes ambient nature recordings, calming narrations, and tranquil music.
Some of the features of the Headspace app include the following:
- Guided mindfulness and meditation exercises
- Personalized meditation recommendations based on the user’s activities
- Sleep sounds and narrations
- “SOS” sessions for coping with anxiety
- Coping meditations for anger and sadness
- Meditations for strengthening focus
- Mindful movements and exercises for stress release
- Mood-boosting features for guided runs, yoga, and home workouts
4 Gadget Tool and Utility Apps for College Students with ADHD
AutoSilent
AutoSilent (or “Auto Silent” on Android) is a utility app that automatically triggers your mobile phone’s Silent and Vibrate modes on or off at pre-set Start and End times. It’s beneficial to college students with ADHD because they need to ensure that their devices won’t surprisingly disturb everyone while in class, symposium, or library.
On the other hand, they also need to ensure their phone’s sound is turned back on after the class ends so that they won’t miss important notifications and calls.
With so much going on that makes students lose focus, having automation apps that handle their phone settings at appropriate times lifts a few tasks off their shoulders.
FreakyAlarm
Available for iOS
Designed for iPhone units, FreakyAlarm is an alarm clock app that requires solving logic games in order to deactivate. It’s an ideal mobile phone utility for college students who need to wake up at any cost, as well as those with ADHD who need to maintain a consistent routine for getting out of bed.
There are 11 logic puzzles available and more than 40 alarm sounds to choose from, all of which are deemed annoying, thus forcing the users to wake up.
For anyone who wants to force themselves to get up, the app allows users to register a barcode or take a photograph of anything far from the bed. Once the alarm goes off, users have to scan the same barcode or take the same photos in order to turn the alarm off.
For college students with ADHD, this feature is also helpful for setting reminders of important tasks such as taking a medicine where the pill bottle’s barcode is used for the deactivation of the alarm.
IFTTT
Available for iOS, Android, and Web
IFTTT, pronounced in a way that rhymes with “gift” according to the company that made it, is a practical app that automates a massive variety of your digital accounts and Internet of Things (IoT) in general, including air purifiers, mood lights, and kitchen appliances.
The name is an abbreviation for “If This Then That,” which refers to how the so-called “applets” or “recipes” work, i.e., if a setting is triggered, then perform a predetermined process.
Some of the available IFTTT recipes include the following:
- Automatically turn your Philips Hue smart light on at sunset
- Send your iPhone screenshots automatically to OneNote
- Update a specific Google Spreadsheet when a new iOS contact is saved
- Automatically create an Evernote entry whenever a new Google Calendar event is added
IFTTT’s integrations and automation can help college students, especially those with ADHD, save a lot of time and get more things done. Students can choose from among the hundreds of existing IFTTT recipes available, or they can make their recipes to suit their specific needs.
Speechify
Available for iOS and Android
Also available as a Web app, Chrome extension and Microsoft Edge extension
College students with ADHD who find it hard to focus when reading traditional written texts, especially on their digital study materials, can highly benefit from Speechify, a text-to-speech auditory learning tool app. The app supports a wide variety of written materials, including documents, web content, PDF files and emails. It can even read aloud text on images (such as photographed book pages) with the help of its Scan OCR feature.
Speechify’s other amazing features include:
- High-quality AI voices that sound like natural human voices
- Audio can be adjusted to 4.5x quicker than the usual reading speed to foster learning more in less time
- Perfectly synced active text highlighting for read-along sessions
- Free audiobook versions of hundreds of classics are available
Bottom Line
College life is tough enough for everyone, and conditions such as ADHD shouldn’t hinder students from pursuing their education and achieving success in their careers.
Thankfully, with the right apps installed on their various devices, students gain valuable support that allows them to thrive in their academic journey and effectively perform their responsibilities.
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