Overview

ThoughtNest is a lightweight mobile app designed to help users, especially those with ADHD, quickly capture, organize, and manage spontaneous ideas, tasks, or reminders before they’re forgotten. The app minimizes friction and promotes structure through simple capture tools, editable categories, a Kanban/list toggle view, and recurring prompts that help users externalize their thoughts and stay on track.

Problem Statement

People with ADHD often experience bursts of creativity, reminders, or tasks at random times, but due to working memory challenges, these thoughts are often forgotten before they’re written down. Traditional task apps are too rigid, complex, or mentally demanding in the moment, leading to missed ideas, anxiety, and inconsistent organization.

Key Features

• Quick Capture Interface: When the app opens, users are presented with a soft, minimal screen and a blank text box that reads “Write down your thoughts...”. There are no distractions, just a prompt to type immediately.
• Suggested Categories at Onboarding: On first launch, users are shown a list of suggested categories (e.g., “Books to Read,” “Things to Google,” “Snacks to Try”). They can select from these, create their own, or do both, helping them start with a clear system from day one.
• Editable Grouping System: When a new thought is entered, the user is prompted to either assign it to an existing group or create a new one. Categories appear as liquid-like bubbles that bounce and shift, a playful yet soothing interface designed to reduce overwhelm.
• Kanban + List View Toggle: Within each category, users can switch between a Kanban-style layout (To Do / In Progress / Done) or a traditional list view with checkboxes. This lets users choose whichever format matches their thinking style that day, whether they want structure and visual flow or a linear, simplified list.
• Recurring Daily Reminders: Users receive customizable daily prompts (e.g., morning, afternoon, night) reminding them to record any thoughts they may have forgotten to capture in the moment.
• Completed Task History: When an item is complete, the user moves it to the "Done" section of the category’s Kanban board (or it is checked off in list view). Users can easily move it back to “To Do” or “In Progress” with a drag or tap, allowing flexible task management without losing past entries. When an item is complete in list view, the item is placed in the drop-down “completed” list. Users can uncheck these items to put them back into their list.

User Persona

Ari, a 22-year-old student with ADHD, constantly has ideas for side hustles, errands, and personal goals, but forgets many of them by the time she opens a notes app. With ThoughtNest, she captures them immediately and assigns them to visual, easy-to-navigate categories. Some days she prefers a clean checklist, and other days she wants the momentum of a Kanban board, so she switches views depending on her focus level.

Why It Works

• Zero-friction entry = higher capture rate
• Personalized categories = less cognitive load