🚀 StartMode

Everything in your head.
One thing to do next.

Start here

StartMode takes the full brain dump — every task, every worry, everything competing for attention — and hands back exactly one place to start. Not a list to manage. Just the next right move.

Built for ADHD. Works for anyone.

Start 7-Day Free Trial → See how it works
✓ 7-day free trial ✓ Included with Teen Tools ✓ Cancel anytime ✓ 30-day money-back on annual
The moment this is for

9:47pm. Test's tomorrow. Nothing's started.

Backpack's still by the door. Three things need doing and none of them are happening — not because your teen doesn't care, but because an ADHD brain under-functions exactly when it has to choose where to start. Telling them to "just pick something" doesn't work. Neither does a longer list.

StartMode isn't another thing to manage. It's the one thing that gets them moving.

How it works

Four steps. Every single time.

No setup, nothing to organize yourself. Just tell it how you're stuck, and follow the four steps.

1
🎯

Tell it how you're stuck

Four options: too much to do, can't make yourself start, don't know where to begin, or losing it. Whichever fits.

2
🌬️

Reset first, always

A real reset — box breathing, a cold splash, a 30-second shake — matched to how wound up you are. Skip it if you don't need it.

3
💭

Brain dump

Type everything — no organizing, no structure. StartMode reads it and sorts what's urgent from what can wait.

4
✅

Pick your one thing, go

3 to 6 things surface, tagged by urgency — pick the one you're starting with. Optional timer. Done? Same process for what's left.

🌬️

A real reset, every time — not just when things fall apart

StartMode always starts here, before anything else — box breathing, a 30-second shake, a cold splash of water, whatever actually fits how wound up you told it you are. Takes under a minute. Not feeling it? One tap skips straight to the brain dump.

Compared to what you've probably already tried

Most of these ask for organizing skills your teen doesn't have yet.

None of them are bad ideas. They just don't solve the actual problem — starting.

Sticker charts & rewards
Requires them to already start the task to earn the reward. Doesn't touch the starting problem.
"Just sit down and do it"
Requires willpower on demand. ADHD brains don't reliably have that on tap.
A planner or to-do list app
Requires them to organize and prioritize first — the exact step where they're stuck.
Reminders & nagging
Adds pressure, not clarity. Doesn't reduce the number of decisions they're facing.
StartMode
Requires nothing. Brain dump in, one clear action out — the organizing happens for them, not by them.
Why one action, not a list

A full list is still a wall.
One clear action is a door.

Most tools hand a stuck teen the hardest part first: sort everything, decide what matters, choose where to begin. That's the exact step that stalls out. StartMode does that sorting invisibly and gives back one thing to do — because being handed a well-organized pile is still being handed a pile.

This is the same problem Scott set out to solve for his own 14-year-old — a fully organized list never actually got her moving. One clear action did.

See it in action

What it actually looks like.

Real screens from the app, start to finish — swipe through the full flow.

StartMode Calm step: What's going on right now? — four entry options to choose from

Pick what's going on — no wrong answer

StartMode Reset step: Box Breathing instructions, four steps

60 seconds to calm down first

StartMode Pick step: organized, prioritized task list with a contextual insight

Your brain dump, organized and prioritized

StartMode Go step: selected task loaded with an optional 20-minute timer

One task, one timer, no more deciding

StartMode completion screen: You started, with a cross-sell into StudyLyte

That's the hardest part — done

Actual app screens. Sample data shown for demo purposes.

⚡

StartMode is one of the tools included in your Teen Tools subscription — alongside StudyLyte, and every new tool added to the ecosystem going forward, at no extra cost.

See everything included →
Pricing

One subscription. StartMode included.

Full access to StartMode, StudyLyte, and every future tool in the ecosystem. Subscribers when we have 2 tools are grandfathered at that price when we add more.

🔒 Lock in $59/year now — the price goes up when the next tool launches. Subscribe today and keep this rate forever, guaranteed.
Best value
Annual
$4.99 /month

Billed as $59/year — save 38%

  • ✓ Full access to StartMode & StudyLyte
  • ✓ Every new tool added automatically
  • ✓ Grandfathered price as tools are added
  • ✓ 7-day free trial included
  • ✓ 30-day money-back guarantee
Start Free Trial →
Monthly
$7.99 /month

Cancel anytime

  • ✓ Full access to StartMode & StudyLyte
  • ✓ Every new tool added automatically
  • ✓ 7-day free trial included
  •  
  •  
Start Free Trial →

Less than one ADHD coaching session a year — and it's there for every stuck moment, school or home, not just test day.
ADHD coaching costs $75–$150 per hour. Full-year access costs less than one session.

Both plans include a 7-day free trial with full access. Credit card required at signup. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged. Annual plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee after your trial ends. Manage or cancel your subscription anytime at billing.stripe.com.

Questions

Common parent questions.

There's real organizing happening — StartMode tags what's urgent and what can wait, so your teen isn't stuck guessing. But they're never handed a blank pile to sort themselves either. A short, tagged set shows up, and they pick the one that's calling loudest.

Tap a different one — the full set's right there, so switching takes one tap. No new brain dump needed unless they want a completely fresh read.

Totally fine — it's one tap to skip straight to the brain dump. The reset is offered every time because it genuinely helps, but it's never required.

No. StartMode is built for a teen to use independently — pick how you're stuck, reset, brain dump, pick a task, go. Some families use it together at first, but there's no parent dashboard required.

Middle school through high school — roughly ages 11 to 17. Developed and tested with a real ADHD teen across real stuck moments, not a theoretical user.

Yes. Seven days of full access, no restrictions. Credit card required at signup — cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged. Annual plans also include a 30-day money-back guarantee after your trial ends.

One click through your account portal at billing.stripe.com. No phone call, no cancellation flow, no friction. If you cancel, you keep access through the end of your billing period.

One clear action, starting today.

7 days of full access. No commitment. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.

Start 7-Day Free Trial →
✓ Full access from day one ✓ 30-day money-back on annual ✓ Cancel anytime, one click
Start When You're Stuck — guide cover
Companion Guide
Want the print version of "getting unstuck"?

Start When You're Stuck covers the same problem StartMode solves — in a guide you can keep, mark up, and use without a screen. $37, one-time.

Get the Guide — $37 →
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