Forget about fall being a season of falling leaves and dark evenings. It’s a season of time and logistics management apps!
In a fit of panic I downloaded 3 new ones to try and figure out how to make it all work.
The first one shows me my calendar a week at a time with items colour coded, written in small text to fit, stacked and crammed in. A bit daunting and only to peek at when I want to verify how busy it all is. There’s a different colour attached to each item depending which area of my life it’s from. It tells me, “Jenn, pay attention, this isn’t going to be easy. Frankly I don’t think you’re going to pull it off. Just look at all those colours! I’m going to do my best but I’m not sure you’re going to be able to manage it.”
It’s a bit mean and bossy, that app. I mostly just look at it when I want to see some pretty colours.
The second shows a page for just the present day, no colour coding, no scary ‘let’s get busy’ fonts. Just a nice casual type style. Sort of like hand writing. It seems to say “Hey Jenn, no worries. This is what you have going today but it’s going to be just fine. We’re staying casual here. Bet we can find a little space in there to get a chai. It’s all good!”
I think that one might be fibbing and a bit of an enabler, but I’m keeping it around. I like its attitude. I just don’t believe it.
The third one is my favourite. It lets me figure out what I have to do today, tomorrow, this week, and later. I love that ‘later’ category. When I cross something off my list I get to swish a finger across it which feels very very good. Or at least I’m sure it will when I get to do it. (Kidding!) And here’s something I wish I didn’t know. I can just rest my finger on an item and then gently drag it to the next day! It doesn’t look at me sadly, or tsk tsk under its breath. It just stays looking all streamlined and elegant, and says, “That’s probably a good idea. You got a lot in today. Get a good rest and we’ll hit that one tomorrow. You’re awesome.”
I think I love it.
Update (September 28): Except I didn’t love it because the next day it wouldn’t change the date and then it crashed! But now it’s feeling better and we’re trying to work it out. Spend a little time together. Reconnect. Rebuild the trust.