Organization APPS For Kids

By: Hailey Edwards-Kern – Receptionist, Assistant to the Director

​Executive function describes a set of cognitive processes and mental skills that help an individual plan, monitor, and successfully execute their goals. For many people with ADHD or learning disabilities, things like motivational regulation, planning, and problem-solving can be daunting. That’s why the use of assistive technology can be beneficial for tracking goals and appointments and remaining consistent/focused on everyday life tasks.
 
Below, we will explore some free apps--found wherever your favourite apps are located--that may be helpful to track and achieve goals. There are more straightforward calendar apps and gamified apps for children which reward them once a task is checked off as completed. 
 
Some of these apps will employ the use of the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique breaks down big tasks, projects, or goals into 25-minute segments, giving breaks in between. It keeps you hyper-focused on the next thing you need to do rather than get overwhelmed by the enormity of what you're taking on.

---

FINCH

​Meet your new self-care best friend! Fun for kids and adults alike, have the whole family sign up and send “good vibes”.
 
Finch is a self-care pet app that helps you feel prepared and positive, one day at a time. Take care of your pet by taking care of yourself! Choose from a wide variety of daily self-care exercises personalized to the user.
 
Finch offers a light-hearted, colourful world of “birbs” ( bird friends) that helps track feelings, accomplish goals and earn rewards. Pick a “birb” to accumulate rainbow stones, dress them in fun clothes, decorate their home, and send on adventures. Adding friends offers the ability to send good vibes of encouragement towards goals (goals stay private even from friends. There is an insight button for a mood calendar, goals completed and reflection tracking. Other features include teaching breathing techniques, movement and exercise, white noise soundscapes and meditation timers.  
 
An excellent app to use for morning and bedtime routines, cuteness factor and positive outlook it offers! 

---

Forest: Focus for Productivity 

​Can't stop scrolling? Lack of self-control? Forest is the solution that has the cutest focus timer to help the user stay focused and boost productivity!
 
An app that gamifies and rewards you for being off your phone! Have a task that needs undivided attention? This app will help you stay off your phone and grow a tree in your absence. Once you’ve completed the predetermined time off your phone, it’s time to check your forest! This is a visual representation of all the time you’ve stayed off your phone and grown your forest of focus! 
 
Unlock different trees as you progress and customize motivational phrases that will encourage you to keep going. The paid version lets you earn and spend virtual coins which plant real trees through their partners, Trees for the Future. To date they have planted over 1,658,806 trees, great for the environment and productivity!

---

Focus Quest: Pomodoro ADHD app

​Focus Quest is a productivity RPG gamification. This app helps to beat phone addiction, manage ADHD, avoid distractions, stop procrastination, and improve work productivity, self-control, and concentration.
 
Create a hero avatar that completes challenges and earns rewards, all based on staying focused and task-oriented. This app unfolds like a story that is controlled by upgrading the hero and completing quests. It is even a good introduction to meditation through its gamification. Daily pie graph charts help show how time is spent throughout the day. 
 
This app is best suited for people 10 and over, as there is some fantasy violence when battling monsters.

---

​Technology should always make our lives easier, and these apps do just that. Finding the app that works best for how your brain processes and solidifies information is important. Try one at a time and see which makes the most sense for you! By adding in fun functions, organizational lists, and mindfulness exercises, anyone can use any of these apps!
 
If any Apps have been helpful that we didn’t mention, we would love to hear about them! Comment below!