If you have ADHD, you've probably tried a few alarm setups already. Five alarms in a row. The phone across the room. An app that makes you solve maths problems at 6am.
Most of these deal with waking up. Fewer deal with what happens a minute later, when you're awake, the alarm is off, and nothing tells you what to do next (why getting up is so hard with ADHD). This guide covers what to look for in an ADHD alarm app on iPhone, and how the main kinds of alarm app compare. Full disclosure: we make ADHD+.
What an ADHD alarm app needs to do
- Actually ring. A real alarm that rings through silent mode and Focus, not a notification that can be muted without you knowing.
- Be hard to ignore. Not necessarily louder. Just harder to dismiss on autopilot.
- Start something. When the alarm stops, the first step should already be on screen.
- Not stack up. One good alarm with a clear next step beats five you've learned to ignore (why alarm stacks fail).
- Work beyond the morning. Starting work, leaving the house and winding down are moments that need a start too.
- Stay out of your business. No account and no data leaving your phone, for something you open first thing every day.
ADHD+: the alarm that opens your routine
ADHD+ starts from the third point. Every alarm belongs to a routine, a short checklist like "Morning Launch" or "Out the Door". When the alarm rings, you start that routine right from it, so your first step is on screen while you're still standing by the phone.
Each alarm can be a real iPhone alarm that rings through silent mode and Focus, the same kind as the built-in Clock app, or a gentler notification if you'd rather. You set the time and the days it repeats, and the daily timeline shows today's alarms and routines in order.
Because alarms are tied to routines, they work for the whole day: a morning alarm, a 9:30 alarm that opens your work-start checklist, a 10:30pm alarm that opens your wind-down. There are no streaks, no account and no analytics, and everything stays on your phone and works offline. ADHD+ is on Android too, with the same alarms.
The free version covers 3 routines of up to 3 steps each, each with its alarm, with no ads and no time limit. ADHD+ Pro is $5.99 a month or $34.99 a year (with a 7-day free trial) and unlocks unlimited routines and steps.
The built-in Clock app
The Clock app that comes with your iPhone is the baseline. Its alarms ring through silent mode, and it's already on your phone. When you stop an alarm, though, it's done, and what happens next is up to you.
How ADHD+ differs: ADHD+ uses the same kind of system alarm, and you start your routine's checklist right from it. The alarm and the first step are one thing.
Puzzle and mission alarms
A popular kind of alarm app makes you complete a task before the alarm stops: solve a sum, scan a barcode in another room, take a photo of your sink. The idea is that by the time you've done it, you're awake.
How ADHD+ differs: ADHD+ makes the first step of your actual morning the thing you do when the alarm stops. "Drink the water on the nightstand" or "open the curtains" wakes you up and moves your morning along at the same time.
Sleep-tracking alarms
Another kind of app tracks your sleep overnight and aims to wake you during lighter sleep within a window before your alarm time. These are about how you wake.
How ADHD+ differs: ADHD+ is about what you do once you're awake. It needs nothing overnight, no microphone or sensors, and keeps nothing but your routines and progress, on your phone.
Notification-based reminder apps
Many to-do and habit apps include "alarms" that are really notifications. Silent mode and Focus can mute them, which is why some people "sleep through" an alarm that never rang.
How ADHD+ differs: in ADHD+ you choose per alarm. Pick a real alarm for the ones that matter, like waking up, and a notification for gentler nudges during the day.
A setup that works
Whatever you use, this combination covers most ADHD alarm problems:
- Phone across the room, so you have to stand up to stop it.
- One real alarm, plus at most one backup.
- A physical first step, like water or curtains.
- A short morning routine right after, so step two follows step one.
Our guide to alarm setups for people who sleep through alarms goes into each of these.
Setting it up in ADHD+
- Create a routine, or start from a template like Morning Launch.
- Attach an alarm and choose Alarm mode so it rings through silent mode and Focus.
- Make step one something physical.
- When it rings, start the routine from the alarm, and follow the checklist.
Download ADHD+ on the App Store or get it on Google Play
ADHD+ is an organization tool, not a medical treatment. If you regularly sleep through loud alarms or feel exhausted after a full night, talk to a doctor.
