Hello fellow productivity-minded ADHD friends. I'm building a little tool for Google Calendar that I've always wanted but didn't seem to exist. It's in closed alpha now (you can preview it through the URL here and request alpha access if you're interested).
Reverse Scheduler lets you make a simple itinerary by planning backwards from a major event (like a flight, party, or important meeting).
If you have a flight at 1:30PM, the tool lets you write down all the things you need to do beforehand and how long they should take (like packing, driving, getting to the airport early; hell, maybe you need to mow the lawn before you leave for your flight). The tool puts all of this on your calendar for you with a single button press. So you end up with a list of what you need to do and how long it should take, and you can keep an eye on the 'Day' view of your calendar to make sure you're on time as you go.
This approach has delivered me from the usual hair-on-fire rush that happens before important events.
Reverse Scheduler doesn't just 'put things on your calendar' with a little less friction. The real power is the exercise of sitting down and taking 5 minutes to plan what actually needs to happen before your event, and actually consider how long it will actually take. This saves me from forgetting about something important until I'm already rushing around to get ready. And it helps me make a realistic estimate of how long things will take. A shower doesn't actually take "5 minutes" (as some of us would like to think)... it really takes 20.
I know many people will say "who on earth needs this?" But for the handful of you out there who have a brain that works like mine, I hope this tool can help you as much as it has helped me.
benz145•2h ago
Reverse Scheduler lets you make a simple itinerary by planning backwards from a major event (like a flight, party, or important meeting).
If you have a flight at 1:30PM, the tool lets you write down all the things you need to do beforehand and how long they should take (like packing, driving, getting to the airport early; hell, maybe you need to mow the lawn before you leave for your flight). The tool puts all of this on your calendar for you with a single button press. So you end up with a list of what you need to do and how long it should take, and you can keep an eye on the 'Day' view of your calendar to make sure you're on time as you go.
This approach has delivered me from the usual hair-on-fire rush that happens before important events.
Reverse Scheduler doesn't just 'put things on your calendar' with a little less friction. The real power is the exercise of sitting down and taking 5 minutes to plan what actually needs to happen before your event, and actually consider how long it will actually take. This saves me from forgetting about something important until I'm already rushing around to get ready. And it helps me make a realistic estimate of how long things will take. A shower doesn't actually take "5 minutes" (as some of us would like to think)... it really takes 20.
I know many people will say "who on earth needs this?" But for the handful of you out there who have a brain that works like mine, I hope this tool can help you as much as it has helped me.