Why I Built DayGuide

It started with a cup of coffee

One of my earliest memories is getting told off by my mum. She'd asked me to make her a cup of coffee, and I'd promised I would. Four hours later, she was still waiting.

I hadn't forgotten on purpose. There was a park opposite our house, some kids had started a kick-about, and that was it. The coffee was gone from my head the moment I saw the ball.

The pattern that never went away

At school, I hated exams. It wasn't that the work was too hard. It was the way some questions were asked. "Pick any topic and write a story about it." Any topic? Too many choices, and my mind would just freeze.

That pattern followed me into adult life. I'm a middle-aged guy living in London now. The kids in the park don't distract me anymore, but a magazine article on the kitchen table or something on the telly does. My partner asks for a cuppa, I say "of course," and somehow it never arrives.

It's the same at work. I'm late for meetings, which is a recipe for getting fired. Gifts don't get booked. Promises don't get kept. None of it is intentional, but the pattern is always there.

The turning point

Things came to a head at work. I had several deadlines coming up at once, and I couldn't work out which one to tackle first. Give me one task and I'm fine. Ask me to choose between three, and I panic. Little or nothing gets done.

My manager spotted the same thing during my performance review. He pointed out that when I'm given one task at a time, I'm brilliant. When I'm given too many options at once, I struggle.

That stuck with me. I started to wonder whether something more was going on, so I went to see a friend of mine who is a doctor. The diagnosis came quickly: ADHD.

As well as medication, my doctor suggested I find a tool or app to help me remember the important things each day and keep them organised.

So I built one

I tried a lot of apps. Some were good at reminders, others at planning, but none of them were built for someone like me. They gave me long lists to choose from, which is exactly where I get stuck. They reminded me once, then gave up.

So, with help from some colleagues, I built DayGuide. It's built on the thing my manager noticed: I do my best when I'm handed one thing at a time. DayGuide shows you what matters right now, not everything at once. If you get distracted, it reminds you again, without making you feel bad about it.

I know there are lots of people out there like me, with ADHD in all its different forms. There are also people without a diagnosis who just want help managing their day, and reminders that come often enough without judging them. DayGuide is for all of you.

Next: How DayGuide helps people with ADHD, a walk through exactly how it works day to day.