Our flagship app
Your next event is scheduled. Getting ready for it is not.
Knowing what to do isn't the same as being able to switch into doing it.
You can care about the appointment, know what time it starts, and genuinely intend to be early, and still stay with the current task until the preparation window has collapsed.
That is not a shortage of calendars or good intentions. The missing support is between "later" and "now": making the lead time real, disengaging from what already has your attention, and beginning the next small action before urgency takes over.
Tell LeadTimer when you need to be ready. Add the things that must happen first and how long each one takes. LeadTimer places every step on the clock before that deadline, then sounds an iPhone alarm when each step begins.
Seven days free. $7.99/month after. Requires iPhone, iOS 26.5 or later.
How it works
Give LeadTimer the time you need to be ready. It schedules what has to happen first.
Set the ready-by time
Choose a calendar event or enter the time yourself. Calendar connection is optional.
Add what has to happen first
Start with a template or make your own sequence. Add steps such as "wrap up," "change," "pack bag," "leave," or "open meeting notes," then set how long each should take.
LeadTimer places the steps on the clock
Using the ready-by time and your step durations, LeadTimer calculates the time each step must begin and lays out the full sequence before the deadline.
Set it once
Starting the sequence schedules an iPhone system alarm for every step boundary. You do not have to keep reopening the app or set several alarms yourself.
Follow one cue at a time
The running view shows the current step, its remaining time, and what comes next. When the next step begins, its alarm names the action that starts now.
Adjust without rebuilding
If a step runs long or the schedule changes, update the timing and continue. A delay does not have to erase the rest of the plan.
LeadTimer provides active support for the distance between intention and action.
The problem with passive tools
Your apps shouldn't rely on you to remember to open them at exactly the right moments. Most productivity software records what you intend to do, then waits. You still have to notice the right moment, reopen the app, interpret the plan, start the next action, and keep yourself moving. Those are not minor details. They are often the hard part.
LeadTimer is different
LeadTimer doesn't just remind you to get ready. It runs the steps that get you there. A typical reminder might tell you to leave at 1:40. That still leaves you to notice when to stop, remember everything that must happen before leaving, estimate the time, and initiate each switch yourself. LeadTimer schedules the whole chain. Every step has a real start time. Every handoff has a system alarm. The active view changes with the sequence, so the app keeps answering the only question that matters in the moment: What do I do now?
Designed around actual friction
Built for everything "just get ready" leaves out.
"Just get ready" can require several executive functions at once: sense how much time is left, disengage from the current activity, recall a sequence, estimate each part, begin without urgency, and keep switching until the preparation is complete.
When future time does not feel real
LeadTimer turns the time before a commitment into visible steps with real start times.
When the current task is hard to leave
A system alarm marks the handoff before last-minute panic becomes the only thing strong enough to interrupt.
When the whole sequence is too much to hold
LeadTimer stores the plan and keeps the current action in view.
When every step requires another decision
The sequence advances from one predefined action to the next, reducing the need to re-plan in motion.
When the plan has already slipped
Timing can be adjusted so a delay becomes a change to manage, not a reason to abandon the whole attempt.
The goal is not to make you feel more urgency. It is to make urgency less necessary.
Any commitment with a "before" can use a LeadTimer.
LeadTimer was designed from the lived experience of adult ADHD, but you don't need an ADHD diagnosis to benefit from it.
Leave for an appointment
Stop, gather what you need, get ready, travel, and arrive before the appointment begins.
Join an online meeting
Exit the current task, open the link and materials, reset your attention, and join ready.
Change work blocks
Close out one mode of work, take the intended reset, and begin the next block before the gap turns into drift.
Get ready for bed
Give winding down a real start time and move through the small steps that make the intended bedtime possible.
Exercise
Change, fill a bottle, gather gear, travel if needed, and begin.
Go to a social plan
Move from "I still have time" to ready without making the last ten minutes carry the entire transition.
Try the full app for seven days free. Then $7.99 per month.
Requires iPhone running iOS 26.5 or later. Cancel anytime through your Apple subscriptions.
Frequently asked questions
Is LeadTimer a calendar?
No. A calendar records when the commitment happens. LeadTimer schedules and cues the things that must happen before you are ready for it.
Do I have to connect my calendar?
No. You can enter any ready-by time yourself. Calendar connection is an optional shortcut for anchoring a sequence to an existing event.
What is a ready-by time?
It is the time you want preparation to be finished. It might be the time you want to leave, arrive, join a call, begin a workout, or be in bed. LeadTimer places the preceding steps against that time.
Does LeadTimer change my calendar?
No. Calendar access is optional and read-only. LeadTimer does not add, edit, or delete calendar events.
Do the alarms work when LeadTimer is closed?
Yes. After you authorize alarms and start a sequence, LeadTimer's iPhone system alarms remain scheduled when the app is not open. System alarms can break through Silent Mode and Focus.
What if I start late or a step takes longer than planned?
LeadTimer is built for adjustment. Update the active timing and continue instead of discarding the sequence and starting over.
Is LeadTimer only for people with ADHD?
No. It is designed around ADHD, time blindness, working-memory limits, and task-switching friction, but anyone who finds the time before a commitment difficult can use it.
How much does LeadTimer cost?
LeadTimer includes a seven-day free trial, then costs $7.99 per month through the App Store. You can manage or cancel the subscription through Apple.