Guide

How to use the ADHD Telegram bot

Herding Chickens is a free helper for ADHD brains, inside Telegram. It is for days when starting is hard, the list is too long, or a normal to-do app makes you feel behind.

This page shows the whole daily loop, with screenshots. It takes a few minutes. The bot itself is free.

Open in Telegram What it actually does

What this is

The hard part is often too many open loops, trouble starting, and apps that punish a missed day. Herding Chickens keeps one small loop:

1
Get it out of your head
Type the tasks as they are. No folders, no perfect wording, no sorting first.
2
Pick one thing
One task for today. The rest waits. You are not behind on a pile of overdue items.
3
Stay with it, gently
A check-in asks if you are still on it, not yet, or done. No red badges. No telling you off.

This is a productivity tool. It is not therapy, a diagnosis, or medical care, and it will not do the task for you. It helps you start, and stay with one thing. See the features.

Step 1
Open the bot
Herding Chickens lives inside Telegram. Search for Herding Chickens, or tap Open in Telegram on this page. Then tap Start.
You do not install a separate app. If you already use Telegram, you are ready.
Find Herding Chickens in your chats, or search for the name.
Tap Start. That opens the chat.
Step 2
Agree once
The first message explains what the bot keeps: your tasks, your settings, and which buttons you tap. It also links to the privacy policy, terms, and cookie policy.
When you are ready, tap “I’m 18+ and I agree”. You only do this once. Until you agree, it will not save a task or answer you.
Read the short note, open the links if you want, then agree.
Step 3
Set your day
Tap the city closest to you. That sets your timezone, so “today” matches your day, not the server’s.
Then choose how often it should check in after you pick today’s thing. Every 30 minutes is a calm default. You can change both later in Settings.
Pick a city. “Somewhere else” has more timezones.
Choose how often a gentle check-in is welcome.
Step 4
Type a task
Tap Add task, or just type a message. Write it the way it is in your head. Example: “Go shopping today”. Keep it under 150 characters. A longer note is usually a project, and you can split it into steps once it is saved.
The bot files the task under work, family and friends, health, or personal. If the guess is wrong, tap the right area. This is only so you can notice later if one part of life has gone quiet. It is not a score.
The four buttons at the bottom are the whole menu.
Type the task and send it. No special format.
It saves the task and names the area it chose.
Wrong area? Tap the right one. You can also change it later.
Step 5
See your list
My list is where tasks wait. They are safe there. They do not all shout at once.
Tap a task to choose what to do: make it today’s thing, mark it done, drop it, change the words, break it into smaller steps, or move it to another area.
Only today’s one thing gets check-ins. Everything else stays quiet until you pick it. A long list of reminders is how many ADHD to-do apps become another thing to avoid.
Tasks wait here until you choose one for today.
Tap the task, then pick an action.
Step 6
Pick one thing for today
Tap Today. Choose the one task that would make today feel like a win. That is your main thing.
The rest stay on the list, with no check-ins, until you want them. One thing is the point. You can change it if the day shifts.
Tap the task you want as today’s one thing.
Step 7
Mark it done
When you finish, tap Done. You can do that from the task menu, from Today, or from a check-in. The bot says well done, briefly.
If you tapped by mistake, tap Undo. The task comes back.
Done gets a short celebration. Undo is right there if you mis-tap.
Step 8
Change how it reminds you
Settings is where you change how often it checks in, when the first check-in happens, quiet hours, and your timezone. Quiet hours keep it silent overnight, or whenever you need a break.
Terms and privacy stay one tap away. Start fresh wipes your tasks and settings if you want a clean start. That wipe is permanent.
Everything you set at the start can be changed here.