Tuesday, 23 March 2021

the apps I can't live without - and a few more that I've heard about

 Any.do - a great list-making app, which includes a grocery list that will sort your entries into categories for you, intuitive and simple, can have on both a computer and a phone, offers a very satisfying "strike through" approach to marking items as done - free and paid subscription versions available

Evernote - a classic, available for both phone and computer, in both free and paid versions, can do much more than I use it for, which is essentially keeping an easily accessible record of information I need to refer to, like family birthdays, instructions to infrequently performed tasks, notes on research into service providers, books I want to purchase, shoe sizes of family members, etc. - free and paid subscription versions available

Dropbox - an easy way to share files, even if just with yourself; right now I'm using it to have a centralized location for program logins and materials for my son's various online programs so everyone who supports him in them has the info handy, but I also use it for storing photos and for my book journal - free

All Trails - a handy guide to places for walking, with ratings on difficulty and user reviews

GoHere for Android or Apple washroom locator app - a handy guide to publicly available washrooms wherever you might go (extra points for the name)

Medito for Android or Apple- a free, add-free, beautifully designed app that offers guided meditations in different categories, including meditations for walking, ones specifically intended for teachers, and even a meditation timer for use with your own meditation routines

A transit app (there are a lot of them out there) is helpful while moving around the city, suggesting alternative routes if possible and showing you the details and timing for your selected route. [added March 2022]

I use Prey Project for tracking devices, in particular, for tracking where my son's phone is because almost always, that's where he is too. You can also use it to sound an alert on the tracked device. [added March 2022]

Most mobile phones come with a built-in "health" app that lets users know how active they've been, and there are a ton of these on the market.[added March 2022]

The Medito app offers a good selection of guided medications for sleep and other purposes, with the option to choose different voices. [added March 2022]

what3words is the result of a project that is attempting to provide a unique 3 word address for every 3sq meters, in the world! For example, my office is located at keen.when.reacting. The idea is that you can share that address with another user when you're in a place that doesn't have actual addresses (like the middle of a forest), but it also could be useful for someone who might have challenges clearly identifying where they are. (Word lovers might just enjoy clicking on the map to see the various combinations - who wouldn't want to suggest meeting at sticking,strange.limes or royally.scoots.insect?)

https://www.careeasy.ca/ is an app for caregivers that lets you share tasks and expense information for budgeting purposes. [added Oct 28 2021]

Although I rarely need to make visual schedules any more, I've always been a fan of Picto-Selector. This free tool (the website looks a little sketchy these days, so be careful what you click) offers a library of simple pictographs/line drawings for every conceivable part of daily living, e.g. many different "pictos" for bathing or eating, and others intended to represent more complex concepts. Available in different languages and able to be printed in colour or black and white. I just usually do a screen-grab of the ones I want to use, but you can also create "picto sheets" with different grids and just place the pictos in the appropriate slots. [added May 30 2021]