How to help a fuzzy brain, Part II

Yesterday I posted some links to software that I use to help me remember… stuff. I’m getting to the point where if I don’t have something telling me “it’s time”, I will totally forget. I forgot knit night last month, and I look forward to that all month long. Brain damage is a scary thing.

Anyway, here are a few more things that I find very useful:

1. Google Calendar: I write down everything in here, including my daily chores. Need to make a phone call? It goes in the calendar. Need to remember to water the lawn? Clean the litterboxes? Change the sheets? It all goes in the calendar. You can also share the calendar with anyone who has a Gmail account, so I share mine with my husband so he can double check and remind me if I have something important coming up. You can sync this with a smart phone (I use CalendarPad on my Droid Eris), or with Outlook if you have the right plugin. It’s accessible from anywhere with a web browser. Free.
2. OurGroceries: This is an awesome shopping list program for my phone that I discovered a few weeks ago. You can make multiple lists (Mine are currently Groceries, Automotive, Hardware store and Kitchen wish list), and add items easily to any list. You make an account, and it stores your lists in the cloud. The benefit to this is that you can share your lists with anyone you choose. I installed the program on Brian’s Droid, and when he adds stuff to the list it automatically appears on my phone. This is wonderful when I’m headed to the store when he’s at work. I just call him and tell him to look at the list and add anything he might want while I’m there. This program is available for the Android, iPhone and Blackberry. Free.
3. MyDays: This one is for the ladies. Track your monthly cycle, including ovulation and BMT. Now when the doctor asks you to remember the date of your last period, you’ll have it on hand. Much better than writing it in a calendar, in my opinion. As far as I know, this is only available for the Android OS, but I believe there are iPhone apps that do the same thing. Free.
4. Shazam: This one is just for fun. Don’t you hate it when a song comes on the radio, and you know who it is… but you can’t seem to drag the actual name out of your brain? Tell Shazam to listen, and it will tell you everything you need to know. Song name, artist, album, year of release… this thing is amazing. You can also buy it right from the app. Shazam is available on multiple platforms, including Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Windows and more. Free.

Again, I don’t get paid by any of these people or companies, these are tools I use every day to help keep track of my life. I find them so much easier than pen and paper, and since I always have my phone with me or I’m near my computer, I don’t forget that I have them. If you have the same problem I have, whether it’s fibro fog or another cognitive problem… give these tools a try. I hope they can help make your life a bit easier.

Feel free to add your suggestions... there was a suggestion in yesterday's comments for a pill box with an alarm. Thanks for the great idea, Leebeloola! I'll probably look into getting one of those for myself.

How to help a fuzzy brain

I posted this on the Chronic Bitches forum, and my blog,  a while back, and I figured it would be appropriate for here.  

I was curious what other people use to overcome “fibro fog”, the cognitive/memory problems that come along with fibromyalgia.  I also shared my list of helpful items and software. No, I don’t get paid by any of these people, these are genuine endorsements of stuff I use every day.

It’s been really hard for me when I can’t remember anything on my grocery list, or forget to pay bills. I spend a lot of time on my computer, and I’ve found a few tools that really help.

1. A smartphone: I have an Android phone (HTC Eris), but an iPhone will work for these tools as well. Cost: Depends on your carrier, but I pay $30 extra a month for the data service. Worth. Every. Penny.
2. Evernote: I have this on my computer, AND on my phone. I can keep notes, grocery lists, take pictures of things I need to remember or describe, and then I can access them from anywhere I have access to a computer. Must have. Free, unless you need more storage. I don’t need more yet.
3. PageOne Personal Productivity Assistant: This is a website that you can go to, as well as an app for your phone. Set up all your billing sites on one site, and it tracks bills, due dates, payments and spending. It will send you alerts when bills are due. I only have 3 accounts it doesn’t have, and two of those are my local small town water and trash (the other is Newegg). Free for the website. The app is free unless you want to track more than 10 accounts on your phone, then it’s only $7. I bought it just for the ability to quickly check my bank account without going through all the hassle to log in to my bank site from my phone.
4. Patients Like Me: Website. Track your symptoms, side effects, and medications. Lovely graphs and charting, and they’ll send you an email once a week to remind you to check in. You can also print out a nice chart to bring to your doc. Free.
5. LastPass: Password keeper. I like this one better than any one I’ve ever tried. It stores your passwords on it’s server, so you can access them from anywhere, but they’re encrypted, so they’re secure. They decrypt them on your computer, so they never have access to your passwords. Free. If you want the app for your phone, Premium is $1 a month. I use the free version at this time.

These are the things I currently use on a daily basis. Does anyone else have suggestions?