Hi, I'm CG Pandey
I'm a dad in India, a programmer and a partner at PRP Webs. My son has ADHD, and the more I read about it, the more I recognized myself. I build TimeNinja for both of us, and for parents like me.
Our story
My son is 8 now. I first noticed something was different when he was three or four. He was more active than any other child we knew: he ran everywhere, fast, he couldn't sit still, and he was restless at night. Impatience was the first thing anyone could see.
Around five, the gaps grew harder to miss: understanding things and writing were harder for him than for other children his age. We went for an assessment, half expecting to hear the word autism. We saw three different doctors. Each one gave us rating forms to fill in, asked us questions and talked with him, and all three came to the same view: ADHD. Some of them want to keep watching for signs of autism too, so that part is still open.
We started therapy, first with a doctor who was also a therapist, then at a therapy center. It helped a lot, and many things got better. The ADHD part didn't. Unless the TV or a phone is on, he can't sit still; he jumps, on the floor and on the sofa. And time slips past him. He goes into the bathroom and doesn't come out, because he has no sense of how long he has been in there.
His days now
School is still hard. Staying calm in class takes everything he has, an hour of study feels endless, and homework is a daily battle. Playing is easy. Some days bring tantrums; much depends on how he slept and what mood he woke up in.
A good day looks like this: he sleeps well, goes to school happily, comes home happy (sports days are the best), goes to tuition, plays in the garden, and goes to sleep. It's challenging for us as parents, but things are getting better.
I see it in myself too
As I read about ADHD in adults, I kept recognizing myself. As a child I couldn't concentrate for long or sit still through a 50-minute class, and I couldn't wait my turn to speak. I still find that hard. In meetings I lose track of how long I have been talking, and I interrupt people before I can stop myself. For years I missed deadlines, left work to the last minute and arrived late to parties. With practice I'm better now, but I know exactly where my son's struggles come from.
Why I built TimeNinja
ADHD has no cure, but it can be managed with the right tools. So I decided to understand each challenge and answer it one by one, with the thing I know best: programming. I built TimeNinja for the two of us first, and then to share with every family that needs it.
- Time blindness: I wanted him to see time passing, in a way he enjoys watching.
- Routines: he couldn't follow one from memory, so the app walks him through it, one step and one photo at a time.
- Backward planning: that one is for me and other adults. We never know when to start, or when to stop.
- Estimates: ours are always wrong, so the app has you guess first and then shows what really happened.
I had tried plenty of apps, timers and to-do lists. The worst part was the guilt: the list kept growing, I kept missing things, and the apps made me feel worse until I stopped opening them. I wanted an app that never makes you feel guilty or bad. I use TimeNinja every day now, and it doesn't.
For learning at home, I also made free games and printable practice sheets, so parents like me have something simple to use at home.
Our mornings
Getting him ready for school used to be the hardest part of the day: waking up, the bath, brushing his teeth, getting downstairs. Some days it felt like he didn't hear a word.
With his routine in the app, mornings are sorted now. The visual timer excites him. He knows what's coming up and how long each step will take. Sometimes he watches the timer longer than he needs to, and that's fine; he understands "I get this much time", and he follows instructions far more easily than before.
He still finds time hard, and his school doesn't allow a phone or a watch. But our mornings and evenings are much calmer, I finish more myself, and I get him to school on time.
What TimeNinja is made to help with
These are the problems I see in my son and in myself, and what the app does about each one.
- I lose track of how much time has passed.At work my meetings run long without me noticing. My son is the same: a bath or a game simply doesn't end. TimeNinja shows time as a shape that shrinks, and the Apple Watch taps your wrist when the time is up.
- Time is hard to understand for a child.Minutes mean little to a young child. The visual timer lets them see time going, with a photo of the activity, instead of being told "five more minutes".
- Routines don't stick.Morning and evening routines run one step at a time, with reminders, so nobody has to hold the whole list in their head.
- Hyperfocus: not knowing when to stop.The timer keeps the end in view and says clearly when time is up. If you need more time, the extra minutes are counted honestly, not hidden.
- I can't guess how long things take.You estimate first, then the app times what really happened. Over a few days you see your real range for each task.
- I never know when to start.Backward planning works from the deadline. For a flight: find the passport, pack the bag, book the cab, ride to the airport, board. Add the steps and the app tells you when to start the first one.
- Everything happens at the last moment.The start time comes from backward planning, and a reminder arrives before a task begins, while there is still time.
- Out of sight, out of mind.Today shows the one thing to do now and what comes next. A widget and the lock screen keep the timer visible without opening the app.
- I don't feel in control of my day.Today is one list in the order of the day. Each part of the day shows only what belongs to it, so the rest can wait.
- Other apps made me feel guilty.There is no red, no overdue and no streak to break. Something late just shows the time it was planned for, and you can move things to tomorrow in one tap.
- Getting started is the hardest part.A big task can be broken into small first steps, and there is only ever one "Start now" button.
- Switching from one thing to the next.A reminder before the next thing starts means the switch isn't a surprise, which is when many meltdowns happen.
- Being interrupted and losing my place.If you stop part-way, the minutes you did are kept and you can continue later.
If your child has just been diagnosed
Parents in that spot usually want to know one thing: will this really help? Here is what I'd try first.
- A visual timer and a routine. Let your child see the time for each step, not just hear "hurry up".
- Photos and your own voice. Take a photo of each real thing (their toothbrush, their school bag) and record each step in your voice, then watch how easily they understand it.
- Time on the wrist. If your child can wear an Apple Watch, the timer goes with them and taps their wrist when time is up.
Once a child can see how much time a task needs, things get calmer for everyone, parents included.
What I am, and what I'm not
I'm a parent and a developer, not a doctor. The articles on this site draw on published research and on what I've lived through at home. For a diagnosis, medication or therapy, please talk to your child's doctor or therapist.
Say hello
If something in the app or on this site helps, or doesn't, I'd like to hear it: cg@prpwebs.com.