What Goblin Tools is
Goblin Tools' Magic To-Do is a free, web-based AI tool that does one thing: you paste in a task that feels too big to start, and it breaks it into small, concrete steps. No account needed, no app to download. For task-initiation paralysis — the "I know I need to do this but I can't start" wall that ADHD brains hit constantly — it's genuinely useful.
The problem is what happens after. The steps exist in a browser tab. They don't carry into tomorrow. They don't know that you're exhausted today or that you're in your luteal phase and your focus is running at 40%. You still have to decide which step to do, when, and whether you even have the capacity for it right now.
Where Lunar picks up
Lunar has AI task breakdown built in (Pro feature) — same concept, same approach. But it's integrated into a full daily ADHD system:
- Check in your energy each morning. Exhausted, low, okay, or high.
- Log your cycle phase. Period, follicular, ovulation, or luteal.
- Your list filters automatically to show only the tasks you can plausibly do today.
- Break any task into steps from inside the app — and those steps live in your list, not a browser tab.
- Join a body doubling session when you still can't start even after breaking it down.
The breakdown is the same. The difference is the container it lives in.
What Goblin Tools does better
- Completely free. No account, no subscription, no friction.
- Works in a browser instantly. No app install, no sign-up.
- Fastest path for a single blocked task. If you have one thing you cannot start right now, Goblin Tools is the quickest tool to break it open.
Side by side
| Feature | Goblin Tools | Lunar |
|---|---|---|
| AI task breakdown | Yes (Magic To-Do) | Yes (Pro) |
| Completely free | Yes | Free tier + Pro $10/mo |
| iOS app | No — web only | Yes |
| Task persistence | No — browser tab only | Yes |
| Cycle-phase awareness | No | Yes |
| Energy-level filter | No | Yes — 4 levels |
| Body doubling | No | Yes |
| Daily check-in | No | Yes |
Why task breakdown alone isn't enough
Breaking a task into steps solves "I don't know where to start." It doesn't solve "I don't have the energy to start any of these steps today." For women with ADHD, both problems exist — and they show up at different points in the cycle.
During a high-energy follicular week, you might not need breakdown at all — you can just start. During the late luteal phase, you might break a task into 8 steps and still stare at step one. That's not a breakdown problem. That's a capacity problem. Lunar is built for the capacity layer.
The best of both
Many ADHD women use both tools. Goblin Tools to immediately break open a single blocked task — fast, free, in the browser. Lunar to manage everything else: the running task list, the cycle context, the energy filter, the body doubling session for when you still can't start. They don't conflict.
If you want one app that handles both, Lunar Pro does it. If you want the breakdown for free and a separate home for the rest, use both.
Can I use both Goblin Tools and Lunar?
Yes. Break the task in Goblin Tools, paste the steps into Lunar as sub-tasks, then let Lunar's energy filter decide which steps you actually do today. It's a two-step system that works well.
Does Lunar's breakdown work the same way?
Same idea — AI takes a big task and produces concrete smaller steps. The difference is the steps live inside your Lunar task list with all your cycle and energy context already there. You don't have to move between apps.
Does Lunar work if my cycle is irregular?
Yes. You log your phase manually at check-in — Lunar doesn't need period-tracking precision. The energy-level filter works completely independently of cycle phase if you prefer to skip the cycle input.