Thriving as a freelancer with ADHD: 4 Must-have tools

Neurodivergent freelancers with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are finding their unique skills in great demand. The creative, dynamic thinking that often comes naturally to those with ADHD aligns well with the nature of freelance work. However, freelancing with ADHD also has its own set of challenges. These challenges include maintaining focus, managing time, and staying organized.

We’ll explore 4 must-have tools that can make all the difference in your journey towards thriving as a freelancer with ADHD. From note-taking apps, to time tracking apps, these tools are your secret weapons for success. Let’s dive in.

Best for time tracking: Clockk

One of the great superpowers ADHDers have is their ability to hyperfocus. They can immerse themselves in tasks they enjoy for extended periods. However, this intense focus comes with the lack of knowledge of how much time has passed.

On the flip side, there are days you find yourself frequently switching between clients. Before you know it, you’ve worked for 10 different clients within an hour and lost track of the time allocated to each one.

Clockk is an AI-powered (automatic) time tracking app. Clockk works in the background automatically recording your computer activity. Embrace your moments of hyperfocus without the burden of time tracking. Seamlessly transition between different projects, while still having a reliable record of your time spent on each one. Find the apps you used, websites you visited, your email, and calendar grouped by project/client in Clockk’s Activity view.

Features and benefits

• No start/stop timers to constantly monitor
• Automatically assign work to projects
• Embrace your natural workflow
• Differentiate between different projects within the same app
• Make more money by capturing all your billable hours
• Create accurate project proposals
• Plan your day with confidence
• Insights into your work patterns and productivity

Price

• Monthly subscription: $15/month
• Annual subscription: $18/month
• 14 day free trial

“With Clockk, I not only create more accurate proposals, I have also raised my hourly rate because I know I'm more efficient. So if I'm going to do things quickly, I don't want to lose money doing them, so I had to raise my rate. And that's what having that knowledge of how much time things takes me.“

“I can focus on something and completely not know how much time has passed. That's just how it works. To be a freelancer with that neurology is difficult sometimes because you look back and you realize that you've spent so much time doing this work and a few days pass or maybe not even a few days and you are not sure how much time you have spent. And being able to look back and just see it on the page is like magic.”

Best for focus and managing your to-do list: Llama life

One of the challenges many ADHDers face is maintaining focus. Time blocking often doesn’t work, and you still end up getting distracted and pushing things off in your to-do list. Time blocking helps with allocating your time, but it does not manage your attention during that time.

Llama life is the perfect tool to help work through your to-do list and maintain focus. Create focus sessions with Llama life to help encourage focus on the task at hand. Get a clear picture of your day and easily flow from one task to the next. View the total amount of time of your focus sessions and your projected finish time, which updates depending on your progress.

Features and benefits

• Improved focus
• Improved productivity
• Wiz through your to-do list
• Set countdown timers for each task
• See start and end time for each task
• Feel accomplished when you cross off a task
• Reminders to stay on task
• Personalize your tasks
• Background sounds
• Daily reports
• Can break down your tasks for you
• Helps you get started by selecting a task for you

Price

• Monthly: $6/month
• Annual: $39/year
• Lifetime: $99/lifetime
• 7 day free trial

“I love Llama Life. It's helped me find my focus, really just like you said. Luv the colors, chimes, background sounds. Try it. It's AMAZING. Wish I had known about Llama earlier! It's also an awesome ADHD tool.“

“I discovered Llama Life and it has been a wonderful help on my ADHD! I like the sounds of accomplishments and managed to leave the white noise on background so my mind is associating it to working time. Thanks for the great job!“

Best for note-taking: Obsidian

Your brilliant mind deserves a convenient space for capturing ideas, thinking clearly, and organizing thoughts effectively. Note-taking tools should align with your way of thinking, not the other way around.

Obsidian is a note-taking and knowledge management app that adapts to the way you think. Obsidian helps freelancers keep their thoughts, ideas, and project details organized in one place. Interlink your notes to form a web of interconnected ideas and information. Easily find and retrieve relevant information quickly, which is especially helpful when switching between clients and projects.

Features and benefits

• Keep your thoughts organized
• Private and flexible
• Create connections between your notes by linking them
• Easily find and retrieve relevant information quickly
• Access your notes on any device
• Customization to meet your unique needs
• Create a workplace that aligns with your working style
• Publish your notes online

Price

• Personal use: Free
• Commercial use: $50/year
• 14 day free trial

“I use Obsidian a lot. It's like one of those second brain softwares. I just have notes connected to notes. It's got this amazing graph system where you can just see the more notes you have and connect over time with interlinks between them. It's like it forms a brain in the node view with all the docs connected to each other.”

Best for organization: Johnny Decimal System

ADHD can make it challenging to stay organized. As a freelancer with many clients, your files can become easily disorganized and chaotic. It’s frustrating to spend excessive time searching for the files you need. Bring order to the digital chaos with the Johnny Decimal System.

The Johnny Decimal System is an organizational method for managing digital files and information. The system divides information into a series of categories, each identified by a unique number, making it easier to locate and manage digital assets efficiently. Freelancers with ADHD can benefit from this structured approach. It helps reduce cognitive load and makes it easier to find what you need.

Features and benefits

• Clear and logical framework for organizing digital files and information.
• Quickly retrieve relevant files and information
• Consistency in organizing your digital assets
• Customizable to fit your specific needs
• Sense of order and clarity in your digital workspace

“I'm not exaggerating when I say the Johnny Decimal System has fundamentally changed the entire way I organized my life and my pursuits because I can separate the different files that I have on my computer and everything is organized.“

“with me, I constantly have new projects, ADHD represent. I am constantly writing things down. I need there to be some sanity. And so to be able to have that sanity, and it's just numbers. You just add numbers to the folders. It's not something you have to buy. It's very modulative to your own routine.“