The Best Technology to Help You Remember Things and Stay Organized
All the productivity hacks in the world won’t help you get things done if you don’t remember what you need to do. I say this as someone who has a million things to do every day, but who wakes up every morning with the fresh brain of a baby, relying heavily on hasty to-do lists I typed into a notes app the night before to give me clues about what. need to do. more precisely, I have to do it. This is where technology can give you some important advantages. Check out these products that will help you remember things and stay organized.
Remembering things around the house
First, let’s talk about smart home devices. My mother has no less than nine (possibly 10 now) Amazon Echo devices in my childhood home, and they help her do everything, including turning the lights on and off, unlocking the door, raising the blinds, and turning on the coffee pot. These are standard features that we all love, but the powerful reminders feature is used less frequently. You can program a smart device like an Echo Dot to audibly remind you when it’s time to take your medication, pick up the kids from soccer, or respond to an important email. When you’re using a productivity system like timeboxing , setting your smart home device to alert you when it’s time to switch to a new task can be a game-changer since it doesn’t require you to look at your phone or constantly check the timer. .
Another clever piece of tech for the home is a digital photo frame, like this one from Maezoe ($71.99 at Amazon). If you keep forgetting how to use an overly complicated TV remote or some kitchen gadget, try writing down the instructions and saving them as a framed photo nearby. If you need a reminder of how something works, open the instructions. If not, show a nice photo of the family.
Speaking of medications, if you take quite a lot of them, try a smart pill dispenser like this one from Betife ($65.99 on Amazon). It has 28 compartments for your monthly pills, and you use a phone app to tell it when to remind you to take them. You receive notifications and alarms and can set them to sound up to six times a day.
If you need to be reminded of something specific when you enter or leave a room, such as hanging your keys on a hook or turning off your hair appliance, try the Waytronic PIR motion sensor ($40.85 at Amazon), which will play pre-recorded recording. sound when he senses your presence. This gentle step is great for forming a habit.
Bonus: Smart stickers coming soon. Rocketbook, which I’ve recommended many times for my smart notebooks, makes reusable sticky notes . Not only are they washable and reusable, but you can scan them just like you would any Rocketbook product to import content into your phone so you can keep track of what you need reminders about most often. They are due out next month. (I’ll update this post when they go on sale.)
Apps for making to-do lists and remembering other things
You don’t always need an entire device to improve your memory if you already have a powerful device in your pocket. Phone apps can be very helpful in reminding you of what you need to do. Try these:
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Medisafe is a free app that tracks your medication dosage and time and sends reminders when it’s time to take your pill.
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If you have trouble remembering all your passwords (and we don’t all), try LastPass . You just need to remember one master password and the app will take care of remembering the rest. It’s free, but $3 a month will allow you to use it on multiple devices and get emergency access.
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Any.do is an app that will remind you of things you need to do, like create a shopping list, send an email, or pick up an item, and then let you do it all right in the app so you don’t get distracted. Tasks and lists, reminders, and planner options are available for free, but for $5 a month you get recurring tasks, reminders sent to WhatsApp, location-based reminders, and other AI-powered features.
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Todoist works on your desktop and mobile devices, helping you create projects, turn them into smaller tasks, and set deadlines that you get reminders about. You get five projects in the free plan and can integrate email, calendar, and more, but for $4 a month you get 300 personal projects, task reminders, and an AI assistant.
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Remember that Milk works with you to find the best reminder layout for your needs. You create your to-do list in the app and then set it up to receive reminders via email, Google Hangouts, Skype, text messages, or even Twitter. All the basic features are free, but for $49.99 per year you get the ability to break tasks into smaller ones and colorize your lists.