Do you find yourself bookmarking or printing articles you’ve read online, only to have a disorganized collection of information? If so, here’s a free app, Clipparoo, that lets you organize those articles, and even easily share them with others.
Below is an example of someone’s account to give you an idea of the app.
It’s not too early to plan for the holidays, especially this year: disruptions in supply chains could mean that items you were hoping to purchase for gifts could be difficult to come by. Even books are affected because of limited supply of paper and because some popular gift books are printed overseas. This includes coffee table books, children’s picture books, books with fancy paper or covers—in other words, gift-y books. Supply chain issues across industries are predicted to hamper holiday shopping, so if you usually wait until after Thanksgiving to shop, you might be out of luck.
An early start also lets you take advantage of sales. Try these lists to begin.
Gift list: One of the first lists to create is the gift list. Who will receive gifts? How much do you want to spend on each person? What gift ideas do you have for each recipient? This list can be done using pen to paper, an Excel spreadsheet, or an app. A client of mine uses Giftser for her family. It’s easy to use and functions not only for the holidays, but for birthdays, and other special events.
Another app creates a wish list maker for Christmas. In 2020, PC Magazine put together a list of 9 apps to help you organize your holiday gift list which you may find helpful if you want to create your list digitally this year.
Alternatively, you may want to try the family “gift suggestion folder”: Each family member has a folder. When someone has an idea for what they’d like as a gift, they should write it on a slip of paper and put it in the folder. Or they can use an ad, rip a page from a catalog, or print a page from a website. Then when it’s time to gift that person, others can choose items from the folder. You’ll give what the person wants, and chances are they’ve forgotten what they put in the folder (if you start it early enough) that it’ll be a surprise. Even if it’s not a surprise, it’ll be a gift that won’t be returned.
Card list: Decide if you will be using ecards, paper cards, or both. Update your mailing list. If you send printed, personalized cards, plan the family photo, and order the cards. Go to the post office now to buy your holiday stamps before the mad rush begins. Did you know you can order your postal stamps online? The holiday stamps are now available online.
Grocery list: I am sure you have family favorites you enjoy eating over the holidays. After all, a lot of the food is a tradition for your family and what many look forward to eating all year long. Since you know what you will be preparing, you can add a few non-perishable items each week to your grocery list. That way, you are not only done with shopping early for those items, but also not putting a crimp in your budget by having to purchase extra things last minute when you are always stretched to the limit from gift buying.
Well, let the countdown begin… But most importantly, enjoy your friends and family over this holiday season!
Photo: Pixabay
Hurricane season is waning, but winter is around the corner. Are you prepared to deal with the aftermath of a catastrophic storm? What if you needed to evacuate because of a chemical spill from a truck rollover on a nearby road? How well would you handle a disaster? Rather than recreate what already exists on many websites and in guides, I will highlight a few resources that do provide valuable information to make sure you are prepared.
Are you ready for an emergency? To see if you are, take the American Red Cross quiz or download this FEMA guide to learn more about basic preparedness.
Preparedness falls into 6 categories: water, food, first aid supplies, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies, and special items for medical conditions.
Here are resources to help you prepare:
A blog that lists 55 emergency preparedness items (to get you thinking).
FEMA has an emergency supply checklist.
The Red Cross website suggests items you need in a survival kit. Scroll down pass the ‘Take Quiz’ section to see them.
The Denver Red Cross website features a great emergency preparedness checklist.
The CDC checklist is also very valuable.
If you have pets, you need to plan for them as well:
Combined pet emergency kit checklist and disaster preparedness
As Stephen King says, “there is no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst.”
Photo: Pixabay
Dawn Link
Posted in Apps, Computer, Electronics, Habits, Self Care, Stress, Technology, Time Management, Working From Home
Just because technology enables you to be available 24/7 doesn’t mean you have to be. You need some down time for your mental health.
You may ask how is that even possible in this day and age? Here are some ideas to take you off the 24/7 treadmill.
Manage your phone usage – If you use your personal cell phone as your business phone, don’t feel the urge to pick up the phone during non-working hours. That is what voicemail is for. If you don’t recognize the phone number, let it go to voicemail.
Filter emails – Using rules within your email to send certain emails to a separate folder other than your inbox enables you to be in control of when you want to look at those specific emails.
Turn off notifications on apps – Explore the settings on your phone or Google how to turn off notifications so that you aren’t interrupted every time something new comes into your phone
Use Android Pocket Mode – If you experience pocket dials or mishaps when your phone is in your pocket, you will want to activate Pocket mode on your Android phone. When Pocket mode is turned on and your phone’s screen is blocked (as it would be if your phone were in your pocket), no operation of the phone will work (ex: turning phone on via your fingerprint or tapping on the screen).
Note: On an Apple phone there isn’t a simple way to disable pocket dialing. You must either lock your phone and/or turn off auto-wake.
Set time limits – Use your device to help you stay away from your screens. You can set the limits in your settings using Screen Time or other such settings to turn off your apps except the ones you want to use.
Use grayscale – For some people seeing all the various pretty colors and bright lights on their screen makes them not only happy but they are drawn to looking at their devices.
Turn on Do Not Disturb at bedtime – If you are not on call for your job or need to be alerted in your personal life, make sure you either turn off your phone, turn off the ringer and put your phone in vibrate mode, or check your settings to turn on Do Not Disturb.
Remember, you are in control of your electronic devices, not the other way around.
Photo: Pixabay
You’ve taken care of all your estate planning and have a health care proxy, power of attorney, and executor of your estate. Bravo! However, your estate planning really shouldn’t end when you write your will.
Consider this: what if the unspeakable happens and you are incapacitated or die. Does your health care proxy know how you want to be cared for? Do you want to be kept on life support, and if so, under what circumstances should life support be continued or terminated? Does your power of attorney know where you keep your important papers? Does your executor know where to find your will and, if you have any, trust documents?
Organize these important papers in one place or create a master list of where they are located. Let your key people and family members know where to find them.
If you have papers in a safe deposit box, your power of attorney will need to know where to find a key. You could staple your spare key to the master list you created to make it very easy to retrieve.
Another useful document to create and to give to a trusted friend or family member is a list of people to be notified in case of your death, with their phone numbers, and how you know them. Update this list annually. Include friends, business associates, contacts at organizations you belong to where other members would want to know (and attend your funeral). If there is one person who can notify the group, all the better—make a note of that. That’s where it’s important to write down how you know each person. For example, you might have several contacts listed for the PTO or Rotary Club, but in each case, you can designate one person who can notify the other members.
Also list people who do regular work for you such as your house cleaner since your death might affect their scheduled work. Doctors and other medical providers will also need to be notified, especially if you have any upcoming appointments that will need to be cancelled.
The other important aspect of estate planning is to plan for your social media. Do you want your accounts such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram taken down? Who will monitor those sites? In your digital world, how are you keeping track of your passwords? Would your trusted someone know how to access all your accounts including your email?
We live in a very complex world and all the planning you do now will make your executor/personal representative’s job much easier and smoother to facilitate.
Photo: Pixabay
Do you use the same password over and over because it’s too difficult to remember multiple passwords? If you do, then all you need is one website to be hacked to put your information at risk, and you would need to change your password everywhere.
Or … are your passwords scribbled on a piece of paper, tucked in a drawer—where you don’t have access if you’re away. You could lose the password information if you spill coffee on the paper, or your dog chews it, or you simply misplace the paper. It is also a risk that someone with access to your house can find that paper.
Solution? A password manager. This is an app that can generate secure passwords, store them, and fill them in automatically on websites. Since the passwords are stored on the password manager websites (using encryption for security), they are available everywhere. You log into your password manager with a master password, and from there you have access to all your passwords. You can also upload images of your driver’s license, health insurance cards, passport, and other important papers that you might want to have available from your phone, in a secure way.
Some products let you share passwords with a family member. They vary in price (some are free) and features.
The most popular password managers are 1Pass, LastPass, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.
Here are some reviews to help you decide which password manager suits you best. Keep in mind that *any* one is better than that wrinkled paper in your drawer.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-password-managers
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-password-manager/
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3207185/best-password-managers-reviews-and-buying-advice.html
Photo: Pixabay
With Labor Day and the annual frenzy of returning to school and work approaching, let’s talk about finally striving to achieve a reasonable work/life balance.
Many of us fall into the trap of working all the time, thanks to tools and technology that make this possible, especially for those who work from home. While it can be satisfying to accomplish a lot, it can also be detrimental to our mental health. We all need down time, fun time, and family and friend time. How can we achieve that if we are being constantly sucked back into our work life in our off time? So… How can we start to carve out some time for ourselves?
Begin by setting limits on yourself. Shut off the computer at 5:00 or your COB (Close of Business) time. At the very least do not allow yourself to feel obligated to check work emails after that. One trick is to use different email addresses and/or different mail clients to ensure personal and work emails are separated. Someone I know has different emails for friends, shopping sites, and work, and she does not have her work email set up on her cell phone. Instead, she uses Outlook for work and the Outlook app on her phone so that she can still get the emails and not miss anything important. However, since those emails aren’t coming to her regular inbox, they aren’t commanding her attention when she’s at the beach or dining out with friends. They’re available when she goes looking for them, but not “in her face” when she’s off the clock.
Inform colleagues and co-workers of the hours you are not available. Just because people can text and email at all hours of the day, it does not mean you HAVE to respond the moment you receive something. A word of caution, though: it goes both ways. Don’t break your own rule by texting and emailing a brilliant idea on your off hours. If you do craft that sure-fire, million-dollar idea and feel you must get it down on paper while in a creative way, write the email or text, scheduling it to be sent during your defined work hours.
Finally, be careful not to over-promise. I don’t know why it is, but there must be something in the air either 2 hours before the end of the workday, or more frequently, the latter part of a Friday afternoon. At those times, doesn’t it seem like people have gotten their second winds, awakening with the best, last minute requests and expect results by the next business day? Don’t fall into the trap of promising that the work will be completed by the next day. Unless you can complete the task by the end of your current workday, you know darn well that you will now feel compelled to work on it well into that evening, or God forbid, over the weekend. Work hard against that compulsion. As my sister tells her graduate students at a top-notch university: “Unless you are the president of a Fortune 500 company or a surgeon performing a life-saving operation, it is simply not necessary.” No one could reasonably expect that!
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule for which only you can be the judge. That said, to achieve the goal of establishing a better work/life balance, it is incumbent upon you to set the boundaries and to stick to them. Doing so can ultimately lead to a happier life.
Photo: Pixabay
We all have that kitchen drawer: the one with whisks, can openers, vegetable peelers, and dental floss. (Dental floss? Yes, for slicing soft cheese like goat cheese.) Is your kitchen drawer a jumble? A place where you need to go on an expedition? Do you ask, “I know it’s here somewhere, but … where?”
Here are three tips to organize your kitchen utensils:
Your kitchen drawers do not have to be a tangled mess that requires a map to locate that one utensil you are looking for. Just heed these simple measures above to avoid that and get to the real reason you’re in the kitchen to begin with: to prepare tasty treats for family and friends!
Photo: Pixabay
Have you ever misplaced something, often a precious item or something you are on a deadline to retrieve, only to finally find it, thanking your lucky stars? Did you keep on looking for it once located? Of course not! You stopped, likely relieved beyond measure, swearing this would ‘never’ happen to you again, right?
When I work with clients, in similar situations, they will often ask me “Where should I put this?” I ask them, “Where would you first expect to look for it?” Indeed, there are natural spots for items to be stored such as pots and pans in your kitchen. Then there are other items that you store that are not so obvious such as sheets. One can store sheets in a linen closet or in the bedroom in which they are used. There can, in essence, be multiple places to store items, which often proves to be the source of confusion when attempting to locate them.
That said, the next time you go searching for something—an article of clothing, a tool, a piece of paper, a file on your computer—make a mental note of the first place you frantically began your mining. When you finally find what you are looking for and finish using it, store it in that first place you looked, because that’s where it belongs to your way of thinking. Or at least it will be the first location you will look the next time. If you do so, you won’t have to waste time searching all those other places because now it is where you naturally would go to retrieve it.
Photo: Pixabay
If you have ever been to a real estate open house, you may have noticed most have a binder on the kitchen table with notes about the house. The binder may contain information about where the water shut-off can be found, appliance manuals/instructions, and recommended providers of home services. This item serves as your handy-dandy all-in-one-place binder.
Why not make a such a binder now, even when your house is not on the market? It’ll be a handy reference for you, family members, house guests, and house sitters.
You can include information that might not be appropriate for a real estate open house (names and contact information of neighbors). The binder may also include a household maintenance schedule to ensure you are maintaining the upkeep on your home.
I have a client who has such a binder. It was invaluable when she hired a house manager. When she was traveling, the house manager was able to pull out the binder and see whom to call when she needed a plumber. She also knew how my client liked her home maintained and what time of the year certain tasks needed to be done.
Photo: Pixabay
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