This is an honest comparison of Structured and 3ThingsPal, the deliberately minimal ADHD to-do list we make. Structured is a genuinely excellent app with over 160,000 five-star ratings, so we'll be fair about what it does well — and clear about where 3ThingsPal's stripped-back approach fits better.
The core difference: a full day vs three things
Structured gives you a visual timeline of your entire day — you drop tasks, events, and routines onto an hour-by-hour schedule and time-block your way through it. 3ThingsPal does almost the opposite: it asks for only three things today and shows them on your Lock Screen. One is built to organize a busy day; the other is built to rescue a day that already feels impossible. That difference decides which one you'll still be using in a month.
3ThingsPal vs Structured at a glance
| Structured | 3ThingsPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Planning and time-blocking a full day | Beating overwhelm with a tiny daily list |
| How you plan | Drag tasks onto an hour-by-hour timeline | Pick three things — that's the whole interface |
| Calendar & time-blocking | Yes, with calendar sync and routines | No — intentionally left out |
| On your Lock Screen | Widgets & Live Activity | Lock Screen widgets, Live Activity & Apple Watch |
| Price | Free with a premium subscription | Free, no subscription to start |
| Privacy | Account-based sync | Local-only, no account, no tracking |
Where Structured still wins
If your day has real structure — meetings, classes, appointments, a routine you're trying to build — Structured is superb at making it visible. Seeing the whole day laid out as a timeline is a legitimately powerful ADHD aid: it externalizes time, reduces "time blindness," and helps you see when you've overcommitted. With calendar sync, recurring routines, and a huge, well-supported user base, it's the stronger choice when your problem is organizing a lot rather than starting at all. For many people, that timeline is exactly the scaffold they need.
Where 3ThingsPal fits better
The trouble is that for some ADHD brains, a full timeline is itself the trigger. A day mapped out hour by hour can read as one long list of ways to fall behind, and a single slipped block cascades into the "snowball of shame" where you abandon the whole plan. 3ThingsPal is designed around that exact failure mode. There's no timeline to fall behind on and no backlog to shame you — just three things, chosen today, sitting on your Lock Screen as a gentle external brain. It's the pick when the problem isn't that your day is unorganized, but that a long list makes you freeze. We wrote more about why that happens in why guilt-based focus apps backfire.
The bottom line
Choose Structured if you want to time-block a busy, appointment-heavy day and a visual timeline helps you stay on track. Choose 3ThingsPal if planners have historically made you feel worse and you need the smallest possible list — three things — to actually start. Many people even keep both: Structured for the calendar-shaped parts of life, 3ThingsPal for the days that just need to survive to three checkmarks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Structured or 3ThingsPal better for ADHD?
Neither is universally better — they solve different failure modes. Structured helps when your problem is a shapeless day and you need a visual timeline to time-block and stay on track. 3ThingsPal helps when your problem is overwhelm and paralysis, by asking for only three things so a long list can't shut you down. If planners have historically made you feel worse, start with 3ThingsPal.
Is 3ThingsPal free?
Yes. 3ThingsPal is free to download and use. It stores everything locally on your device with no account and no tracking, and offers Lock Screen widgets, a Live Activity, and Apple Watch support without forcing you into a subscription to get started.
Can 3ThingsPal replace a full daily planner?
It's not trying to. 3ThingsPal deliberately leaves out calendar sync, time-blocking, and long project lists — that restraint is the point. If you need to map an entire day hour by hour, a full planner like Structured is the better tool. If a full planner is exactly what overwhelms you, 3ThingsPal is the antidote: pick three things, see them on your Lock Screen, done.
When a full planner is the thing overwhelming you
Pick three things. See them on your Lock Screen. No backlog, no snowball of shame — just a gentle external brain for ADHD days.
Download 3ThingsPal on the App Store →Related: 7 ADHD To-Do Apps Worth Trying, The Wall of Awful, and why guilt-based focus apps backfire. Questions? Email us.