How to use KeptMind on a tired day?

Talk, do not type — let KeptMind pick a small next step. Mark energy as bad to shrink the Today list, snooze non-critical items, and keep the day functional rather than ambitious.

Bad days are exactly when ADHD productivity systems are most likely to fail. The day starts hard, the inbox feels heavier than usual, the standard tasks feel impossible, and the typical response is either to push harder (which produces faster collapse) or to abandon the system entirely (which makes tomorrow worse). KeptMind is designed for these days specifically — the bad-day workflow is a deliberate, supported path rather than something the user has to invent.

The five-step bad-day protocol

Step 1: mark energy as bad in the morning check-in. The Today list shrinks immediately to the smallest viable subset of your tasks. Items with high energy requirements get hidden until tomorrow; items you flagged as critical stay visible regardless.

Step 2: use voice, not typing. Capture friction is highest when executive function is lowest. Hold the mic, say the messy thought, let KeptMind sort. Do not try to plan or organize — just capture what is in your head and trust the system to handle the rest.

Step 3: pick one item from the shrunk list. Not three, not five — one. The bad-day mode surfaces a "next single thing" prominently. Doing one thing on a bad day is success; trying to do five and finishing zero is the failure mode that produces shame on top of the difficulty.

Step 4: snooze non-critical items with one tap. Snoozing reschedules them for tomorrow without removing them. The visual relief of seeing a shorter list is real and immediate; the items you snoozed will not disappear or be forgotten — they reappear when you mark energy as medium or good again.

Step 5: accept the day for what it is. Bad days are real, finite, and not your fault. The honest goal is not to "salvage" them with extra effort — it is to not make tomorrow worse by burning out further. Doing one item, going to bed early, and starting fresh is the right move more often than ADHD adults realize.

What KeptMind does automatically on bad days

When you mark energy as bad, several things happen behind the scenes without you having to configure them:

Push reminders pause for non-critical tasks. Critical reminders still fire (you opted in to those for a reason), but the everyday "you have 5 things due" pings stop until tomorrow.
Escalating SMS/call nudges scheduled for low-priority items get bumped 24 hours.
Suggestion language softens — the app stops asking "ready for a hard task?" and starts asking "want to try one small thing?"
The Today list reorders by energy fit, not by deadline. A 5-minute task you can do now floats above the deep-work block you cannot start.

What does NOT happen on bad days

Two things many users ask about that we deliberately do not do:

No streak break or shame indicator. There is no "you skipped a day" message, no broken counter, no red badge. Bad days are not failures; the app does not treat them as such.
No reminder that you are behind. The hidden tasks are hidden, not summarized as "you are X items behind." When you mark energy as good again, items return to the list normally with no commentary.

Tracking patterns over time

Energy logs accumulate quietly. After 4-6 weeks of consistent check-ins, the patterns map (Settings → Energy → Patterns) reveals your typical bad-day frequency, what days of the week tend to be hardest, and whether bad days correlate with sleep, social load, or other factors. Many users discover patterns they did not expect — Mondays are not actually their hardest day, or bad days cluster after weekends with too much social demand. This data informs better long-term scheduling.

For the broader framework on planning around energy patterns, see the blog post on energy-based productivity for ADHD. The bad-day protocol described here is the daily-level expression of that framework.

Frequently asked questions

What if I mark every day as bad?

The system trusts your self-report. There is no nag if you mark bad days for weeks running. However, if the pattern persists, the Energy Patterns view starts to surface a gentle "consider talking to someone" prompt — not as judgment, but because chronic low energy beyond a few weeks is often signal of something (sleep deficit, untreated comorbidity, burnout, depression) that warrants attention beyond the app.

Can I undo "energy = bad" if I feel better later?

Yes. Tap the energy indicator in the top bar and switch to medium or good. The Today list adapts immediately; previously-hidden items reappear. There is no penalty or commitment.

What if a bad day stretches into a bad week?

Treat the week the way you treat the day — pick one important thing to keep moving, snooze the rest, and resist the urge to "make up for lost time" when the energy returns. Most ADHD adults who try to compensate for a bad week with an aggressive recovery week produce another bad week immediately after. The honest move is to accept the week as is and keep the next one normal rather than ambitious.

Does this work for non-ADHD users?

Yes. The bad-day protocol benefits anyone whose attention budget is variable — parents of small children, students during exam season, recovering from illness, working through grief. ADHD is the most common reason people first reach for KeptMind, but the energy-aware design helps anyone whose capacity is honest rather than constant.