Master Your Mania!

Between kids, work, and attempting a social life, your existence can start to feel like a giant hamster wheel of doom. Hectic living is just a part of our world, but that doesn’t make it easy. Luckily there are some low and high tech tools to get your life under your control - until science makes it possible to grow that extra pair of hands!

THE COMMAND BOARD
White boards are magic. And cheap! Markers in jelly-bean colors make that blank space into anything you want. Together
they can be a not-so-secret weapon for keeping your life in line. Companies have been making calendar white boards for years and they run around $35 at your local office store. You know where we’re heading, hang that bad boy in a central location and let your organizational juices flow. Making sure everyone in the house knows what is on the monthly agenda gives you a leg up on the everyday insanity, so it’s not all on you to be the keeper of The Plan.

Anybody can add to the Command Board, allowing all events to get their fair share of attention and planning. If your teen wants a night at the movies, put it on the board. If your sweetie wants a lunch date, the board is where it’s at. Your life will be in one, colorcoded place and nobody in the house will be in the dark, making organization into a team effort.

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GOOGLE
If you have a smart-phone, organization apps seem like gifts from the gods. There are a lot of things out there, and they all offer to solve your organizational woes. Some are shiny and customizable, others are family oriented and have special
little icons for the kidlets and the parental units. Most disappoint pretty soon out of the gate. But not Google Calendar. This one operates on email addresses, allowing you and your partner in crime to add events to the same calendar - so long as you’ve opted to view each other’s information. Set reminders days, hours, or minutes ahead so you always know what’s
coming up. The user interface is ridiculously easy to maneuver and the app works on both iOS and Android systems, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re an Apple or Samsung fan, your info is accessible. The best part? It’s on you all day, every day, so there is no way for soccer practice, date night, play-dates, or anything else you do (there’s a lot!) to escape you.