While we can’t yet wave a magic wand over life to solve daily problems, we can exploit technology to ease our day-to-day schedule.
Technological innovations happen fast but let us still pause to see what new tools exist right now to help us sleep better, exercise better and just do a better job staying on top of all the work we do in a given day. For example, …
DAILY ROUTINE
We’re supposed to keep a notepad by the bed for ideas. We’re supposed to have a running “to do” list of all of our tasks that helps us stay super productive once we hit the office. None of that works if you don’t actually do those things. Newer apps take those old ideas and put them in your palm with your beloved smartphone where you might actually use them.
For example, Trello alllows you to maintain a virtual bulletin board where you can post projects, color-code tasks and move them around to give you the best visual of your workload. There are many organizational apps suggested here to get your started. It’s not a laundry list, but suggests apps for the overly busy, the one who needs to collaborate, for those who love an old-school approach, the visual learner, etc.
EXERCISE
If having to leave the house to exercise is your perfect excuse to not exercise, something like the Mirror could be a godsend. Yes, the Mirror is a mirror, when you don’t need to use it as a TV screen. Use it to make sure your top and pant patterns don’t clash and your fly is zipped. When it comes time to get to exercising, the Mirror turns into a smart video screen and an interactive portal to take you to a workout.
You can access different live workouts each week or tap into a catalog of workouts. No joke: It’s a screen that looks like a mirror but also functions like a smart TV for finding and doing exercise from any room in your house. What a time saver!
SLEEP
Getting enough rest each night is a bit of an art form since we need the right temperature (68 degrees), noise (none or soothing) and sleep accessories (comfortable and supportive) to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Those elements are all tied into building a good sleep environment.
Let’s start with noise. Some isn’t all bad if the noises soothe rather than jar you at bedtime. Bose, the company known for its noise-canceling technology, has a tool that will mask noise (street or house noises, snoring, etc.) while you sleep. Their Sleep Buds counter jarring noise with calming water noises, rustling leaves, etc. The earbuds also have an alarm that only you can hear, which won’t wake anyone sleeping in the room.
Too hot, too noisy and too uncomfortable hinder sleep in way that attacks our health. In the interest of good sleep, take a hard look at your mattress while you’re at it. Remember beds start declining after about 7 years. If you’re nervous venturing into the marketplace, first consider your sleep preferences, like sleeping on your side, and your needs, like a mattress to help alleviate back pain. Your mattress can enhance the quality of your sleep.
You can also start using a sleep tracking app on your smartphone, which will clue you in on the quality of your nightly sleep.
LOOKING AHEAD
No one is asking you to give up your gadgets. Let’s just seek out the right gizmos that help – rather than distract – us from the challenge of living well.