Apps that Help Me Make it Through the Day (Part 2)

I don't know your definition of "later," but my guess is that it's not over four months. Yet, that's how long it's been since I wrote the first part of this post. If you want to read about some of the other apps that help me each day, look for a post with the same title on November 10, 2021.

So... I'm finally getting back to sharing more about this idea. 

On a side note, if you want to read something really ironic, read my post from February 5, 2022. You'll see why almost immediately after checking it out.

Let's go back to the topic at hand (or at a magnetic stand, as that's where my phone is right now.)

GOOGLE CALENDAR...

Like Chrome, I found the wonders of Google Calendar years ago. There have been several times I've tried to switch to something newer and flashier, but I've always gone back to it.

The best part of this calendar for me is that I can divide schedules into who is affected by them. I'm a very visual person and I can also get overwhelmed easily. Putting my daughter's schedule and my schedule and reminders of when things like bills are due and other tasks is too much for me to be able to focus in the next activity, depending on how I'm doing at the moment. 

Let me give an example of how I use Google Calendar:

When my daughter was younger, there were activities she had that I didn't have to be with her (like Colorguard practice after school). So I made three different "calendars" to take care of this issue. One calendar was for activities I wasn't involved in; a second was for items that I did by myself, and another was for those times we were both included. This part of this system had several advantages.

Why did she need one by herself, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you. My daughter has a lot of health issues and goes to the doctor a good bit. I needed to know when she was free when scheduling an appointment. So when I'm scheduling an appointment, I show all of the three calendars I mentioned. However, if I really need to focus on what I'm doing for the next week, I show only my calendar. 

Bills were another calendar. When my anxiety was high, I didn't need to look at all of the upcoming bills, so I would hide that one during those times. 

I now have one for my boyfriend, for those activities he participates in without me - again, so I won't ever accidentally plan something for a time he's already busy. But like with my daughter, I can also hide his when I need to focus purely on my schedule.

The color-coding provided also helps. You can assign each calendar its own color. I would do little tricks to remember categories - like with the three calendar example, my color was blue, my daughter's was red (our favorite colors) and the one for us together was purple. Bills are a yucky green and work activities were a nicer shade but still green to symbolize getting paid for that time. You probably get the idea.

MONDAY.COM...

While Chrome and Google Calendar have been my friends for over a decade, Monday.com is a new kid on the block.

As a freelance writer and photographer (as well as an odd job person), there are many steps in order to complete each project. I have tried making up various spreadsheets, lists, calendars, and other methods to try to tame this beast. Finally, I got tired of it and decided to dedicate a day to looking for a work organizer app.

I tried many that day. I would find one I thought I liked, get the trial version, start loading my info, only to find out it wouldn't work for my situation. Then I happened upon Monday.com. 

Monday.com has a LOT of templates. I had to mess around with it for a bit before I found a template that I could personalize to meet my needs, but so far it's really fitting the bill.

The only way I can easily describe it is that it's like a spreadsheet that has incredible versatility on what is included in each column. There are drop-down menus, fill-in-the-blank, file holders, upcoming date, and status update options. Once you create a work item, the whole row can be moved into various categories; in my case, this means whether I need to do something soon on a project, or everything might be ready to go but I just have to wait, or it's finished but I want to keep the information in case I work with that client again.

I'm probably not explaining it well, but I highly recommend it. It's one that I'm willing to pay for if I have to - it's that important to me - but so far I've been able to do a LOT with the free version. Look it up if you need a program like that. I know it's worth it to at least check it out.

(And by the way, they have a wonderful app for your phone, so you can access where you are on a project on the go).

BANKING APPS (choose your bank)...

Even though banking apps are really common now, even for normies, there is a specific reason I love them... depositing checks. Keeping up with how much is in a certain account is important, but my social anxiety keeps me from getting out many days unless it's necessary. Being able to skip a trip to the bank helps me get back to the comfort of home that much faster.

Okay... this post included an additional three apps that I love. I have a lot more but I won't bore you with all of them. However, I will provide some insight on a few more that help me... later. (LOL!)