You typed “sort out the bathroom” into Magic ToDo, nudged the spiciness up a couple of chillies, and watched one grim chore turn into something doable. Find the spray. Open the window. Clear the edge of the bath. For a few minutes, the fog lifted.
Then the tab closed. Or it became one of forty tabs, and the next time you remembered the list, you were standing in the bathroom doorway holding a phone that knew nothing about it. Maybe you wanted the steps in the app you already use, or reminders, or just a free version.
The trick Goblin Tools does (one scary task in, small steps out) isn’t locked to one app. But where the steps end up afterwards matters more than how clever the AI is.
What does Goblin Tools do well, and where does it stop?
Goblin Tools is a set of small, single-purpose helpers written and maintained by Bram De Buyser, according to its About page. Magic ToDo is the famous one: you type a task, set a chilli-pepper spiciness level for how hard it feels, and, in the tool’s own words, “the spicier, the more steps it will attempt to break it down into.” Smaller helpers rewrite tone, estimate time and sort brain dumps.
Two facts save a lot of searching. The website is free with no ads, kept that way by sponsors and app sales. The Android app is a one-time purchase (99 cents on the US Play Store at the time of writing), while syncing, templates and sharing need Goblin Tools Pro, a subscription. So if price is the only reason you’re here, the website already works in your phone’s browser. If you do buy the app, check the publisher is Skyhook Belgium; the official listing itself warns about copycats.
Where it stops matters for ADHD. The Android app’s own release notes list widgets and notifications as coming “some time in the future”. Until then, the list doesn’t come to you; you have to remember to go to it. For a brain where out of sight really is out of mind, that’s exactly the step that breaks.
Why does breaking a task down help an ADHD brain?
“Deal with the car insurance” isn’t really a task. It’s a cloud with a dozen tasks inside it, and none of them is labelled “start here”. ADHD brains tend to stall right there, not because the work is hard but because there’s no obvious first move.
Small steps fix two things. First, the payoff gets closer. A 2018 study found that adults with ADHD reported far more delay aversion than a matched group without ADHD. Delay aversion is the urge to escape a wait rather than sit through it. “Find the policy number” pays off in two minutes. “Sort the insurance” pays off next month, maybe.
Second, the list holds what working memory can’t. In a 2021 experiment with 172 students copying a layout of pictures, those who could check the original instantly, rather than after a two-second wait, finished faster with no drop in accuracy, and remembered less of it afterwards. The steps do the remembering for you, so they have to live somewhere you’ll actually see them.
That’s the honest test for any alternative. The average app has lost about 77% of its daily audience within three days of install, so the best breakdown is one sitting in an app you’ll still open on Thursday.
What are the best Goblin Tools alternatives on Android?
Every app below was on Google Play at the time of writing; check the catch column before paying for anything. For apps beyond task breakdown, our roundup of free ADHD apps for Android covers the wider field.
| App | Ads | How it breaks tasks down | Account needed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| neurolist | No | AI checklist with time estimates | Not stated | Full version is a subscription |
| Tiimo | No | AI planning inside a visual day plan | Not stated | Subscription; AI may be iOS and web only |
| Gemini | No | Ask for steps in plain words | Steps stay in the chat unless sent to Google Tasks | |
| Microsoft To Do | No | Steps you add inside each task | Microsoft | No AI: you do the splitting |
| Noodl | No | It doesn’t: one next step at a time | No | No AI, no sub-tasks |
neurolist — the closest match to Magic ToDo
If what you loved was the magic button, start here. Add a to-do and, according to its Play listing, the AI generates a checklist, estimates how long it will take and slots it into your planner. There’s also an AI import for messy brain dumps, and a timer that plays the steps like a playlist, each with its own time slot.
The catch is money and plumbing. It’s free with in-app purchases, and its App Store page shows monthly and yearly plans, so expect to pay for the full version. Its privacy policy also lists OpenAI’s API among its services, worth knowing if you care where your task text goes.
Best for: Magic ToDo fans who want steps, time estimates and a timer in one place.
Tiimo — AI steps inside a visual day plan
Tiimo is a visual daily planner built with neurodivergent people in mind. Its Play listing includes AI task breakdown and a Co-planner that helps create, prioritise and plan tasks, plus a focus timer, reminders and Google Calendar integration.
Tiimo’s own AI page says the feature is “currently available on iOS and web app only”, so see what the Android app gives you before paying. And while there’s a free version with core planning tools, the full feature set needs Tiimo Pro, a subscription with a seven-day trial on the yearly plan.
Best for: people who think in pictures and want their steps laid out across the day.
Gemini — free breakdowns that can land in Google Tasks
You don’t need a special app for Magic ToDo’s trick. Gemini, Google’s assistant, will break a task down if you ask plainly: “Split ‘renew my passport’ into steps of five minutes or less. Number them. No tips.” The app is free, with paid upgrades, and needs a Google sign-in.
The useful bit is what happens next. Gemini can add tasks and reminders to Google Tasks once Google Workspace is connected, so “Remind me at 9am tomorrow to find my old passport” puts the first step in a real list with a real reminder. Google’s help page warns that Gemini can get things wrong, so skim the steps first.
Best for: people who want the trick for free and already live in Google’s apps.
Microsoft To Do — break it down yourself, for free
Sometimes the best alternative to an AI breakdown is your own. Microsoft To Do lets you add steps inside any task, so “sort out the bathroom” can carry its own little checklist. My Day suggests tasks for today from your other lists, reminders and a home-screen widget are built in, and the app is free with a personal Microsoft account.
Writing steps yourself is slower, but they come out in your words, at your size. We’ve also compared Microsoft To Do with an ADHD-first task app.
Best for: people who’d rather not hand their tasks to an AI and want reminders attached.
Noodl — for when a long list is the problem
Here’s the counterpoint. A twelve-step breakdown can be its own kind of wall, and for some ADHD brains the fix isn’t more steps but fewer in view. Noodl has no AI and no sub-tasks, so you break the task down anywhere (the Goblin Tools website is fine) and type in just the first step, from the app, the home-screen widget or a Quick Settings tile. Today shows only today’s tasks, with the next one waiting on an Up next card, and the rest can sit in Parked, which has no dates and no pressure. A five-minute focus session on step one counts. It’s free, with no ads and no account.
Best for: people who freeze at the sight of the whole list.
Which one should you try first?
Loved Magic ToDo itself? Try neurolist. Already living in Google’s apps? Give Gemini one task tonight. Rather keep AI out of it? Microsoft To Do and three steps you write yourself go further than you’d think.
Then run one small test. Pick a task that’s been sitting on you for a week, break it down with whichever tool is nearest, and put only the first step somewhere you’ll trip over it tomorrow morning, like a widget on your home screen. If it gets done, the tool worked. If not, the first step was still too big. Make it smaller, then smaller again, until it’s almost silly.