Most people are full of lofty dreams of keeping their household schedules organized. But when kids are going a million different directions and moms and dads are balancing work and family, it can seem like a full-time job.
Thankfully, as technology continues to advance, new tools are arriving — and older organization methods are getting upgrades — that can make the process smoother.
Check out these organization options and see if they could work for your family.
Skylight calendar
The days of hanging a family calendar or planner on the wall for all to see has gone by the wayside for the most part, and the benefits of a color-coded, instantly updatable digital calendar are undeniable.
With a digital option, everyone can see the same calendar on any device and can see when an event is added or adjusted. That’s a great advancement, but you may miss glancing at that family calendar on the wall as you head out the door, or the ability for everyone to gather around it as you remind everyone of an upcoming party.
The possibility does exist to have the best of both worlds. The Skylight Calendar is an all-in-one smart family calendar with a touch screen that can sit on a countertop or mount to the wall. It auto-syncs with nearly every calendar system and uses a custom app, as well.
Skylight offers options for chore charts, meal plan displays and to-do lists with a subscription. It’s Wi-Fi connected and works with a free mobile app that even integrates the weather for each event on the schedule.
The model with a 10” screen starts at $159.99. Sizes and prices go up from there to the 27” Calendar Max in a shadow box format for $629.99.
The Skylight calendar auto-syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Cozi and Yahoo. Buy the calendar online or find it at most big box and warehouse stores.
Google Tasks
If you aren’t yet using it, it’s time to take a look at Google Tasks to help you get organized.
You can enter your to-do list manually or simply say to Google Assistant, “Remind me to pick up Bob’s birthday cake in two days.” That reminder will immediately go into Google Tasks.
Another helpful feature in Google Tasks is the collaboration option. If someone assigns you to a task in a Google Doc, it will be listed in Google Tasks with a link to that document.
And if you create a task in Google Calendar, that also populates into Google Tasks.
Your Google Assistant can peek at your list. Ask it out loud and it will quickly let you know what your tasks are for that day.
Apple Reminders
For those who prefer the iOS universe, Apple Reminders is full of features to keep you on track.
See reminders due on the day you’re checking, as well as all those scheduled for the future. You can also organize tasks into separate lists.
Apple Reminders gives you the ability to set one-time or recurring reminders, flag important reminders and set how high the priority is for the task.
Recently, Apple gave users the ability to see reminders right on their calendars with auto-syncing.
Unlike with Google Tasks, Apple Reminders allows you to collaborate on tasks in case you want to get more hands on a certain project.
Rocketbook Reusable Sticky Notes
Lastly, for anyone clinging onto those yellow post-it notes for dear life, here’s an upgrade you may enjoy.
Rocketbook Reusable Sticky Notes are just what they sound like: reusable and restickable sticky notes. They’re made of material that feels like paper, although it’s a little slicker, and they come with a space-age adhesive on the back that you can stick and re-stick hundreds of times.
The sticky notes are compatible with any Pilot FriXion pen, marker or highlighter and they wipe clean with water.
The sticky notes come in a starter kit for $23.99 that has 15 sticky notes, a case, a towel and a pen. A free pocketbook app can scan the sticky notes and send them to the cloud. Rocketbook offers discounts on these for teachers, students, first responders and military members.