Talk into your phone. KeptMind listens, sorts your thoughts into clear next steps, and nudges you only when it matters.
Things 3 is a beautiful Apple-only planner for typed inbox hygiene; alternatives matter when capture happens on Android, web, or while your hands are not free to tap. The best Things 3 alternatives for ADHD break the Apple lock-in and add voice capture, energy filtering, and escalating reminders that Things lacks natively. Cross-platform access and voice-first input are the two gaps that matter most for ADHD users switching from Things.
No native voice dump, no energy-aware hiding of non-critical work, and no SMS or call escalation when push notifications are ignored — common ADHD patterns.
The Today view assumes you already curated inbox items; messy spoken thoughts still need typing or another capture layer.
Things 3 is a one-time purchase with no subscription, which is appealing — but the lack of cross-platform sync means Android users, web-only workers, and multi-device households are locked out entirely. For ADHD users who switch devices frequently, platform lock-in is a capture barrier.
The inbox in Things 3 requires manual processing — dragging items into areas and projects. For ADHD users who accumulate hundreds of inbox items without processing them, the inbox becomes another source of guilt rather than a functional capture surface.
KeptMind runs iOS, Android, and web with hold-to-talk under twelve seconds and escalating nudges on critical tasks — a direct answer to Things' Apple lock-in.
Todoist fills multi-device power-user needs; Tiimo adds visual routines if you miss Things' clarity but not its typing friction.
Structured offers a visual timeline on both iOS and Android with a design aesthetic similar to Things 3. If you love Things' visual clarity but need Android support, Structured is the closest visual match — though it still lacks voice capture and energy filtering.
For ADHD users who value simplicity above all, KeptMind's flat Today list with energy filtering is the most direct Things 3 alternative in philosophy — opinionated, clean, and low-maintenance — while adding the voice capture and cross-platform access Things lacks.
Export Things 3 areas and projects as a CSV or use the built-in plain text export — then bring only what still feels urgent into KeptMind via voice. Migrating old completed tasks is optional: they are history, not obligations.
Give yourself one week of parallel use: Things for projects you know exist, KeptMind for everything new. At the end of the week you will see clearly which tool holds the obligation weight — few users need more than one planner once capture is friction-free.
The hardest part of leaving Things 3 is the aesthetic loss — it is genuinely beautiful software. Acknowledge that grief and evaluate alternatives on function: does the tool capture thoughts faster, remind you more effectively, and survive your worst energy day? Beauty matters less than survival.
For users who split between iPhone and a work Android or Chromebook, the platform gap is the decisive factor. Things 3 cannot follow you across devices; KeptMind and Todoist can. The capture that happens on your work device during the workday is often the most valuable — losing it to platform lock-in is a real cost.
Things 3 users value simplicity, clean design, and low cognitive overhead. Any replacement should match that simplicity — adding complexity defeats the purpose. KeptMind is opinionated in the same spirit: flat task lists, energy filters, critical flags. No labels, no tags, no nested projects unless you want them.
The key additions over Things 3 are voice capture (externalize without typing), energy match (smaller list on bad days), and escalating nudges (break through notification blindness on must-do work). These three features address the specific ADHD gaps Things leaves open.
Pricing model matters too. Things 3 is a one-time purchase; most alternatives are subscriptions. KeptMind free tier covers core capture and Today — you only pay if you need SMS or call escalation. Compare the ongoing cost against the value of cross-platform access and ADHD-specific features.