How to Use Tech to Make Your Busy Life Easier. Life gets busy sometimes, and it can often feel like you’re spending each day just trying to keep your head above water.
Whether you’re managing a household, running your own business, raising kids, or all of the above and more, the best way to eliminate that feeling of treading water is by using technology.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a tech expert to make it work for you.
Some simple yet effective pieces of technology can help you make the most of your limited time and help cut down on the mental load.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can use technology to help make your schedule easier.
Get your calendar under control
When your schedule is cluttered, everything will instantly be harder to navigate.
While your memory might be great, it’s easy to let things slip and then fall behind on other important things you need to do.
The most simple solution to this is by using something like Google Calendar.
Not only is it free, but it’s one of the most reliable tools to make sure you stay organised.
You can use it on pretty much any device these days and it will sync across all of them so you won’t miss a thing.
You can colour code different things in your life like home, work, school runs, and appointments.
It’s not just aesthetically pleasing but it helps quickly identify what’s coming next.
Another great part of Google Calendar is that you can share your calendar with your family or your colleagues so that everyone knows what’s going on.
Even if you want to make time to schedule a quick meditation break, it will be clear to everyone that you’re unavailable at that time.
If you use other Google tools it will also sync with those too.
For example, if you’ve got a meeting booked via email, it will automatically show up in your Google Calendar.
Use a task app that works for you
Scribbling something down on a piece of paper in the moment is fine if you have no access to anything else, but they can get lost.
And, if you find yourself with multiple bits of paper with notes jotted down or post-its cluttering your desk, it can be easy to forget what needs to come first (or lose one altogether).
Having a proper task manager is a great way to sort and prioritise everything you need to do.
Again, you could use Google Tasks, but there are other apps that can be a little bit more helpful in the long run.
For example, if you’re juggling big projects that need to be separated, Trello might work better for you.
It helps you break things down into more manageable chunks and set deadlines so you’re always on top of what you’re doing.
If you’re using Trello to manage work and home life, you can separate them on different boards or colour code them to stay on top of things.
Plus, it’s oh-so-satisfying when you start ticking things off and you see your list getting shorter.
Let tech handle the boring bits
We all have those tasks that are boring and repetitive.
Things like sorting emails into the right folders or following up on leads are important, but so boring!
Luckily, you can use tools to help you here too.
Zapier is an incredible tool that can connect your apps to automate jobs like this.
For example, if someone fills out a form on your website, you can set it up so all of their details go to your inbox or a contact list and that a reminder is added for you to follow up with them.
Even for home life, you can automate things like paying your bills or backing up important files.
Not only will you no longer have to do the boring tasks (not completely, anyway) but you’ll free up so much more of your time!
Don’t rely on memory
You’re probably already aware that your brain has enough to deal with.
From booking your child’s dentist appointment to cancelling that free trial, it’s easy to let things slip and then become frustrated when you fall behind.
Reminders are a lifesaver for moments like these.
Luckily, you don’t need anything too fancy to help you out here.
If you have a smartphone, use its built-in reminder app to remind you when those tasks need to be completed.
If you can get into the habit of setting a reminder when those tasks pop into your head, you’ll find that you spend less time worrying about trivial things and more time being able to tick off other important things on your to-do list.
Try out a digital assistant
Speaking of smartphones, it can do more than just set a reminder for you.
You can do things like set timers while you’re cooking, check traffic before you leave, or add items to your shopping list and ask it to remind you when you’re at the grocery store.
The great thing about it is that it’s hands-free and can be done wherever you are by voice commands.
Sometimes there are times where you just need a quick answer to something or help thinking something though.
The last thing you want to do is spend ages researching, and tools like the ChatGPT conversational UI can be really useful in times like this.
This is because you can use it to draft emails, plan your day, or even help brainstorm ideas for your next project.
It’s great because it works like a chat, which means you can ask follow-up questions or change direction if you need to.
Lots of people find it really useful for things outside of the professional realm too.
Things like gift ideas or birthday cake recipes can be found just by inputting some simple details.
So while it’s not a digital assistant per se, it can be really helpful in day to day tasks.
Stay focused when it matters
Distractions are everywhere in this day and age, especially with devices pinging and new TV shows being released every day.
And if you’re working from home or in a noisy environment, it can be hard to concentrate.
Luckily, there are apps that can help.
Consider trying a timer-based app like Forest or Focus Keeper to help you work in short bursts.
They’ll also encourage you to take regular breaks to help your brain from burning out too soon.
You can also get apps like Freedom to block time-wasting sites like social media during your working hours so that you can stay focused on the task at hand.
Not only will you get things done without distraction, but you may even get things done faster than expected!
Take control of your inbox
As mentioned earlier, emails are one of those things that are small, but can take up a huge part of your day.
If manning your emails is an important part of your day, you can use tools to help clear out some of the noise and make it easier.
Firstly, set up folders or labels to keep things organised.
If you find yourself using the same reply to lots of your emails, use apps like Superhuman to help you batch your replies and deal with emails much faster than before.
Also, don’t be afraid to unsubscribe from things.
If you don’t read it, then get rid of it.
Unroll.me can help you mass-unsubscribe and dramatically lower the number of emails you receive each day.
Plan meals without the stress
Meal planning might seem a little out of place here, but if you’ve ever stood staring into your fridge after a long day, you’ll appreciate this one.
Try out apps like Mealime and Paprike to help you plan out your meals to make things easier for yourself.
Not only can it plan meals, it can build shopping lists and save recipes so that when it’s time to cook, you don’t have to spend that much brain power.
Some of them can even connect to online supermarkets meaning you can order the following week of shopping straight away and have it delivered to your home.
Perfect for those that don’t have time to head out to the store!
Keep everything in one spot
Trying to remember where you saved certain files can be a pain, especially if you saved them in a hurry.
While you should try to be organised with your files all of the time, it’s not always as simple as it seems.
Luckily, there are things like Google Keep that can help keep your files much more structured.
If you struggle with organisation, you can use them to help clean up your files so that in the future, it’s much easier to find.
Plus, if you’re saving all of your important things on the cloud, you don’t have to worry about losing documents if you lose your laptop or it breaks down!
Busy days are just part of life, but they don’t have to feel impossible.
The right tech won’t magically fix everything, but it can definitely help lighten the load.
Hope you’ve found our article, How to Use Tech to Make Your Busy Life Easier useful.
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