Spicy Focus: ADHD Timer
Focus Timer for ADHD Brains
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Built on ADHD neuroscience. Not another generic timer.
Spicy Focus - Science-Based Timer for ADHD Brains
Every feature in Spicy Focus is grounded in peer-reviewed ADHD neuroscience. Not productivity advice repackaged with a "for ADHD" label — actual research.
Here's what's inside and why.
FREE FEATURES
Smart Duration Recommendations ("Focus Calibration")
ADHD brains literally cannot predict their own focus capacity — that's time blindness (Barkley, 2015). And choosing from 7 duration options triggers
decision paralysis (Baumeister's decision fatigue research). Spicy Focus learns from your history — energy levels, completion rates, time of day, activity
labels — and auto-selects the duration you're most likely to complete. It nudges you up when you're on a streak (adaptive difficulty from game design) and
pulls back when you're struggling. You can always override it. But you'll rarely need to.
"Just 5 Minutes" Micro-Commitment
ADHD brains need 2-3x more dopamine stimulation to initiate tasks (Volkow et al., NIDA PET imaging study). The 5-minute rule is the #1
clinician-recommended technique for overcoming initiation paralysis. Commit to 5 minutes. When it's up, you choose: extend or stop. Research shows 80%+
continue past the initial commitment.
Session Intentions
Vague goals are executive dysfunction's worst enemy. Research on implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 1999) shows that specifying exactly what you'll do
— "I will write the intro paragraph" — dramatically increases follow-through. Set one concrete task before each session. Check it off when you're done.
Hyperfocus Nudge
68% of adults with ADHD report frequent hyperfocus episodes (Ashinoff & Abu-Akel, 2021). The optional Focus Nudge gently reminds you to stretch, drink
water, or rest your eyes without interrupting your flow.
Ambient Soundscapes
A 2024 meta-analysis found that ambient noise has a statistically significant benefit for ADHD focus (effect size g=0.249, p=0.0001) — but a negative
effect on neurotypical brains. The benefit is ADHD-specific (Soderlund, Sikstrom & Smart, 2007).
Also free: countdown timer, stopwatch mode, energy tracking, session history, and dark mode.
SPICY FOCUS PRO - $4.99 (with 7-day free trial)
Unlock the full toolkit:
- Insights dashboard with focus trends, heatmaps, and energy correlation charts
- Focus streaks with Grace Days — your streak won't break if you miss a day, because shame-based systems backfire for ADHD brains (backed by RSD research)
- Daily goals with flexible tracking
- Pomodoro mode with customizable intervals
- XP and leveling system for long-term motivation
- Premium soundscapes
- Personal records and streak calendar
Every feature cites its research in the in-app Science section. 366 million adults worldwide have ADHD. This app was built for you.
Ratings & Reviews
The developer, Sina Sima, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Sina Sima
- Size
- 6.8 MB
- Category
- Productivity
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Spicy Focus Pro $4.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Sina Sima
