If you've searched "Tiimo vs Todoist," you're probably looking for the to-do app that finally sticks — most likely because the last few didn't. Both are good apps with very different philosophies, and the right pick depends less on features and more on which part of getting things done actually breaks down for you.
This is an honest comparison of the two, plus a third option — 3ThingsPal, the deliberately tiny ADHD list we make — for when the real problem is that any full to-do app becomes overwhelming.
The core difference: time vs tasks
- Tiimo is a visual planner built around time. It lays your day out as a colorful, timed schedule with timers and reminders, which makes it especially good for time blindness and for nudging you to start.
- Todoist is a flexible task manager built around capture. Projects, labels, priorities, due dates — it can hold your entire life, and it's excellent at organizing a lot of moving parts.
Both approaches are legitimate. The catch for many ADHD brains is that Todoist's strength — capturing everything — is also where things go wrong: the list grows faster than you clear it, and the backlog quietly becomes a source of guilt.
Tiimo vs Todoist vs 3ThingsPal at a glance
| Tiimo | Todoist | 3ThingsPal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | Visual time-blocking | Flexible task capture | Just three things today |
| Best for | Time blindness, starting tasks | Organizing lots of projects | Beating overwhelm |
| Risk for ADHD | Setup can be fiddly | List grows into a backlog | Almost none — it's tiny |
| On your Lock Screen | Yes | Widget | Widget + Live Activity |
| Account | Required | Required | None required |
| Pricing | Subscription | Free tier + paid | Free + optional upgrade |
Where Tiimo wins
If your hardest moment is starting — knowing a task exists but not being able to begin — Tiimo's visual schedule and timers are genuinely helpful. Seeing the day as blocks of time, with a clear "now" and "next," is a great fit for time blindness, and it's one of the more thoughtfully designed neurodivergent-first planners out there.
Where Todoist wins
If you're managing a job, side projects, and a household and you need one trusted place to capture all of it, Todoist is hard to beat. Its projects, labels, and natural-language input are fast and powerful, and for people who genuinely enjoy organizing, that structure is a feature, not a burden.
Where a tiny list wins
But if you've tried apps like these and bounced off them, the issue often isn't the app — it's that every full-featured to-do app eventually overwhelms you. The list balloons, yesterday's undone tasks stare back at you, and the "snowball of shame" makes you avoid opening the app at all.
That's the exact problem 3ThingsPal is built around. You pick three things for today — that's the whole interface. There's no project tree to maintain, no backlog to feel guilty about, and your three things live on a Lock Screen widget and Live Activity as a gentle external brain. It's not trying to hold your whole life; it's trying to get you through today.
"Todoist became another inbox I was afraid of. Three things a day is the first system I've actually kept up with."
The bottom line
Choose Tiimo if time blindness is your wall and a visual schedule helps you start. Choose Todoist if you need real project management and you like to organize. And if the honest truth is that big to-do apps just make you freeze, try going small — three things, today, nothing else.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tiimo or Todoist better for ADHD?
It depends on what trips you up. Tiimo is built around visual, time-based schedules and timers, so it helps most with time blindness and starting tasks. Todoist is a powerful, flexible task manager that excels at capturing and organizing everything, but that flexibility can become its own source of overwhelm for ADHD brains. If both feel like too much, a radically simpler daily list may work better.
Why do traditional to-do apps overwhelm ADHD brains?
Full-featured task managers reward you for capturing everything, so the list grows faster than you can clear it. The unfinished items pile up into a visible backlog — a snowball of shame — that creates guilt and avoidance instead of momentum. For many people with ADHD, a shorter, deliberately limited list is easier to actually act on.
Is there a simpler ADHD app than Tiimo and Todoist?
Yes. 3ThingsPal asks you to pick just three things to focus on today, so the list can never spiral into an overwhelming backlog. It keeps your three things on a Lock Screen widget and Live Activity as a gentle external brain, without projects, labels, or subscriptions to manage.
Is 3ThingsPal free?
3ThingsPal is a free iOS app with an optional upgrade. It's privacy-first, with your tasks kept on your device, and requires no account to start.
When the to-do list is the problem, shrink it
Three things, today. A Lock Screen widget keeps them in view — no projects, no backlog, no account.
Download 3ThingsPal on the App Store →Want the wider field? Read The 7 Best To-Do List Apps for ADHD. Questions? Email us.