Why I Built Done: A Task Closer App for ADHD Brains That Can't Stop Starting

I have about forty productivity apps on my phone right now.

Not because I’m indecisive — though, sure, that too — but because I keep downloading new ones hoping this one will be the one that finally helps me finish things.

They never do.

Here’s what every productivity app gets wrong: they’re designed for people who already know how to stop. They assume the hard part is starting. They give you project boards, habit trackers, pomodoro timers, motivational quotes — all front-loaded before the work begins.

But for ADHD brains, the hard part isn’t starting. It’s stopping.

The goalpost-moving subsystem is real

If you have ADHD, you know the pattern:

You start a task with a clear idea of what “done” means. Ten minutes in, you’ve expanded the scope. Twenty minutes in, you’ve discovered three adjacent tasks that also need doing. An hour in, you’re deep in a rabbit hole, the original task is half-finished, and you have no clean way to call it quits.

So you just… don’t. You leave tabs open. You leave the task half-checked. You carry it around mentally for days, adding to the pile of things that are sort of in progress.

I call it the goalpost-moving subsystem. It’s not a bug — it’s running constantly, in the background, like a daemon you never installed. You start a task with a finish line, and your brain moves it before you get there. Every. Single. Time.

Productivity systems call this “context switching.” Your brain calls it Tuesday.

Externalizing what your brain can’t maintain

Done was born from a simple observation: the ADHD brain is great at starting and terrible at defining “finished.”

The solution isn’t another system to remember. It’s externalizing the system your brain can’t maintain internally. Three rituals — one before you start, one while you work, one when you stop.

1. Define done (before you start)

Before any work session, Done asks you to write down clear, checkable criteria for completion. Not aspirational. Not vague. Concrete. The kind of criteria a reasonable person would look at and say “yep, that’s finished.”

When you can’t define what “done” looks like, you’re not ready to start. This single checkpoint prevents the goalpost-moving that turns a 20-minute task into a 3-hour marathon.

On supported devices, Done+ can suggest done criteria from your task description using on-device AI — so even the “I don’t know what done looks like” hurdle gets a head start.

2. One task at a time (during the work)

No project boards. No sidebar of tempting tasks. One screen. One task.

This is intentional. You can’t accidentally switch to something shinier because the shiny things aren’t visible. Done doesn’t help you plan your week. It helps you finish the thing in front of you right now.

3. Close the loop (when you stop)

The shutdown ritual. When you’re ready to stop — whether the task is done or not — Done guides you through a three-line handoff:

• What is true now (what actually got done)
• The next concrete action (so future-you can restart without re-reading everything)
• What can safely wait (permission to let go)

This is the part that broke the cycle for me. Even unfinished tasks get a clean stopping point. You can put the work down without carrying it around like a backpack full of rocks.

Why it’s not another task manager

Done is a task closer, not a task manager.

There’s no list of upcoming tasks. No calendar integration. No “inbox” to process. You don’t use Done to plan your week. You use it to finish the thing you’re working on right now.

This distinction matters because the thing ADHD brains struggle with isn’t organization — it’s completion. We’re actually pretty good at starting. We’re world-class at starting. We’re so good at starting that we have twenty projects in flight at any given moment and nothing shipped.

Focus Bear, Tiimo, Inflow — they exist, and some are great. But none focus specifically on task closure and the shutdown ritual. That’s the gap Done fills.

Built for ADHD and AuDHD

Done is explicitly designed for ADHD and AuDHD brains, and it’s honest about that. The tagline says it upfront: “Define done before you start. Close the loop before you stop.”

But the patterns it addresses — difficulty with completion, task-switching stress, losing context when you stop, the anxiety of open loops — aren’t exclusive to ADHD. Anyone who struggles with clean stopping points, mental carryover between tasks, or restarting after a break will find Done useful.

The difference is that most productivity apps treat these as edge cases. Done treats them as the whole point.

What’s in the app

Done is free to download and use, with a one-time upgrade (Done+, $4.99) for AI-assisted features:

Free features:

• One-task-at-a-time sessions
• Define-done checklist before work starts
• Shutdown ritual to close loops
• Reusable templates for common task closures
• Session history for quick context recovery
• Siri Shortcuts / App Intents — “Hey Siri, I’m starting a task” for hands-free entry

Done+ unlocks:

• AI-assisted done criteria suggestions (on-device, no cloud)
• AI-assisted wrap-up note suggestions
• Expanded formatting and unlimited history

No subscriptions on the free tier. No account required. No tracking. Your session data stays on your device.

Try it

Done is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision.

Download Done: Task Closer on the App Store

It’s free to try. No account, no subscription, no tracking. Just a better way to stop.

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Done is published by Creatuity Corp and requires iOS 26.0 or later.