Executive dysfunction help: an app for the "where do I even begin?" part
Executive dysfunction isn't laziness or a lack of willpower. It's difficulty with the mental skills that get tasks started and finished. Here's what it can look like and what tends to help.
What executive dysfunction can look like
Executive function is the set of skills that lets you plan, start, switch between and finish tasks. Difficulties show up with ADHD and with other conditions, and they often look like this:
- Can't start a task you care about (task initiation).
- Can't work out the steps of a big or vague job (planning and sequencing).
- Lose track of time, so ten minutes and an hour feel alike.
- Get pulled off course by notifications and other apps.
- Stall partway through and then feel bad about it.
What tends to help
- Get the plan out of your head and into something you can follow, one step at a time.
- Make time visible so you don't have to estimate it.
- Cut friction at the start with a first step that takes seconds, not effort.
- Make distractions harder to reach while you work.
- Keep the finish kind. Shame makes the next start harder.
How Unstick supports each part
- Starting and planning: type the task, and AI breaks it into small timed steps. Choose Micro-Steps for steps you can begin in ten seconds.
- Time sense: a draining visual timer plus haptic taps at the halfway mark and two minutes before each step ends.
- Distraction: with App Shield (Pro), your chosen apps and websites are locked and notifications stay quiet while a routine runs, using Apple's Screen Time framework.
- Stalling and shame: stopping early still counts the steps you completed. There is no failure state.
Unstick also includes starter routines, such as a 10-Min Morning Launchpad, Desk Reset and Inbox Triage, so you have something to try on day one.
What Unstick is not
Unstick is a practical tool. It isn't a diagnosis, a treatment or a replacement for care from a doctor or therapist. If executive dysfunction is affecting your work or health, a professional can help in ways an app can't.
Frequently asked questions
Is executive dysfunction the same as ADHD?
No. Executive dysfunction describes difficulty with skills like starting, planning and switching tasks. It's common in ADHD but can also appear with other conditions, stress or burnout. A clinician can tell you what's behind it.
Can an app help with executive dysfunction?
An app can take on parts of the load, such as planning the steps, showing time passing and quieting distractions. Unstick is designed to do those things. It isn't a treatment.
Do I have to have an ADHD diagnosis to use Unstick?
No. It's designed around the things ADHD makes hard, but anyone who stalls on big, vague tasks can use it.
What devices does Unstick run on?
iPhone and iPad running iOS or iPadOS 18 or later.