Paper Doll
You Are Invited to the 2019 Productivity Summit!
What did you accomplish today? Was it everything you’d hoped?
What do you think of when you hear the word “productive” bandied about? There’s a commonly-held but false belief that productivity is just about getting a lot of things done. But productive has two definitions: it can mean both prolific (quantitatively measuring how much gets done) and useful (qualitatively measuring how worthwhile and valuable an endeavor is).
Being productive means not just accomplishing a lot, but accomplishing the right things.
How many times have you gotten to the end of your day and realized that you’d been incredibly busy, completing many tasks (both the ones you planned as well as putting out small fires), but you didn’t feel fulfilled? Perhaps you read lots of blogs (like this one) and books, and have incorporated some of the advice. Maybe you theme your days or time-block your work projects. Hopefully, you eliminate as many interruptions as possible. But you know there’s more you could be doing. You know you could be doing better.
I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be participating in a special project, the brainchild of my colleague Ray Sidney-Smith, whom I met a few years ago when we were getting certified as Evernote consultants. Ray knows how to figure out what someone needs to know and presents that material in a way that’s easy to absorb. So Ray came up with the Productivity Summit!
Ray says “The 2019 Productivity Summit is going to be the most productive two days of your life,” and from what I’ve seen, I believe it!
I’ve attended a variety of internet-based conferences and summits on topics ranging from organizing and time management, to ADHD and hoarding, to writing and publishing. The material can be great, but it can often feel a little hokey, as it’s obvious those other virtual summits are just pre-recorded presentations released on a “drip” schedule, with no opportunity for attendees to ask questions or interact with the speakers.
The 2019 Productivity Summit is a LIVE, two-day remote conference with more than 40 expert speakers presenting in real-time about personal productivity, technology, organization, and business development. And your own Paper Doll will be one of them!
PROGRAMMING TRACKS
The 2019 Productivity Summit has four concurrent tracks of programming:
- Productivity – This track focuses very specifically on how to be more personally productive using the speakers’ recommended principles, strategies, and techniques.
There are some real powerhouse talents in this group, including Canadian rockstar and friend-of-the-blog Mike Vardy, the author/coach/podcaster known as The Productivityist. Where Mike is, the fun follows. I’m also excited to hear what Keep Productive’s Francesco D’Alessio has to say about Notion, a (geeky) up-and-comer that some people thinks give Evernote a run for its money. And Thanh Pham from Asian Efficiency is also on-deck, and his take is always a must-seeand must-listen.
- Technology – This programming track is focused on what and how to use specific technologies to get things done.
As much as I’m truly a Paper Doll, I know how technology is key for making work and life run more efficiently. My colleague Stacey Harmon is my go-to for Evernote coupled with David Allen’s GTD. From the ergonomics of productivity to leveraging systems to specific technologies, this programming track is for those who want to geek out as well as those who just want stuff to work so they can get on with their lives.
- Organization – For this track, it’s about the nitty gritty of getting your home or office more organized – it will cover the physical, intellectual, and psychological skills for dealing with clutter and disorganization.
Hey, that’s me up there!
If you follow organizing blogs or the professional organizing industry, you’ll recognize most of the people participating in this programming track. There’s industry standard-bearer Barbara Hemphill, fellow Certified Professional Organizers Kim Oser, Dawn George, and Kacy Paide. We’ll be joined by sharp and savvy NAPO colleagues like Andrea Hancock, Terri Blanchette, Penny Bryant Catterall, and coach Alexis Haselberger. Topics we’re covering range from the economics of clutter to how to organize your digital resources, from conquering fear of letting go of what’s on your desk to trying to go paperless when you can’t let go of the paper. Me? My presentation is called Organize for Maximum Productivity When You Work From Home.
- Business Development – This track is for those looking to build or grow their businesses more effectively and efficiently.
This is another power-packed lineup. These speakers will cover general business leadership topics like improving focus, growing sales, and developing entrepreneurial mindsets, but also delve into niche issues like video marketing, podcasting, and publishing. My longtime colleague, Nicole Chamblin is first up on Saturday morning, so I’ll be checking her out while I wait in the wings.
PRODUCTIVITY PANELS AND KEYNOTE AND DIGITAL INTERACTIVES, OH MY!
In addition to these concurrent programming tracks, there will be panel discussions across specific time slots. On Friday, October 4, 2019, summit host, Ray Sidney-Smith, Google Small Business Advisor for Productivity, will lead a panel of productivity technology experts entitled, “The Future of Productivity Technology.”
Then, on Saturday, October 5, 2019, Demir Bentley of Lifehack Bootcamp and Lifehack Tribe, will be keynoting the Summit with his presentation, “The Biggest Cover Up In Productivity History.”
There will also be a Digital Interactives area where speakers will be placing education-oriented quizzes (not the Facebook-style kind), polls, and more so you can engage with what you learn at the Summit. Finally, each day will end with with live, virtual networking events for summit attendees.
THE DETAILS
The 2019 Productivity Summit is free to attend live, and it’s all accessible through your Web browser. Visit the 2019 Productivity Summit page to see all the participants and topics, and I bet you’ll be as impressed as I am.
Register and get complimentary replays of the sessions through Sunday evening (Eastern time), October 6, 2019 , so you can watch missed sessions or rewatch sessions you found especially helpful.
Want more time to watch? You can buy access to the 2019 Summit video replay library. As I write this, early bird pricing is still available (until 9/13/19 4:59 PM US EDT); it goes up as the summit nears, and will rise again after the complimentary replays end.
Reach the summit – the 2019 Productivity Summit – and learn how to get more of the right things done.
Paper Doll Post:
Paper Doll on the Smead Podcast: Essential Lists For Organized Travel
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Whether you’re going over the river and through the woods for a holiday with Grandma or jet-setting off to some foreign rendezvous, travel can be both exciting and nervewracking. There are so many issues, from worrying that you’ll forget your medication to figuring out how to pack properly for the weather, that it’s easy to become anxious or overwhelmed.
Taking Twain’s message to heart, I would rather spend my twilight years remembering the joys of my madcap adventures (even if they involved some momentary anxiety) than basking in the coziness of never making a misstep due to never having taken a step at all.
Readers, you’ve heard me say this before: organizing cannot prevent all catastrophes, but it can prevent them from being so catastrophic.
Organizing cannot prevent all catastrophes, but it can prevent them from being so catastrophic. Share on XI’m a big believer that lists help keep our space and time organized, and work particularly well for banishing – or at least keeping at bay – some of that pre-travel anxiety.
You may recall my post from last fall, Paper Doll’s 5 Essential Lists For Planning an International Vacation, which I wrote after returning from my grand tour of Italy. Recently, that post prompted a great two-part conversation with John Hunt on the excellent Smead video podcast, Keeping You Organized.
We discussed exactly how you can use lists to conquer your trip-preparation fears and travel more confidently. For convenience, both parts of our conversation appear below.
Essential List for Organized Travel – Part 1 (Keeping You Organized, episode #263)
Essential List for Organized Travel – Part 2 (Keeping You Organized, episode #264)
If you’d rather listen to the podcasts (perhaps while packing or roaming through romantic, far-flung airports than be distracted by my hair (which I swear always looks better ten minutes before the podcast starts), you can visit the podcast pages directly at Smead and download the mp3s:
Essential List for Organized Travel – Part 1 (Keeping You Organized, episode #263) Audio Only
Essential List for Organized Travel – Part 2 (Keeping You Organized, episode #264) Audio Only
On the podcasts, I talked about the kinds of lists I use, as well as the apps, products, and services that I think help create a more organized travel experience. One of those items wasn’t widely available yet when I went to Italy, nor when I wrote my recap.
Last February, I was watching Smead’s myOrganized.life daily Facebook show. When I tuned in, I learned that friend-of-the-blog and Smead personality Leiann Thompson (John Hunt’s partner in crime) was stuck in a snowstorm and John was on his own, touting a new product: the Smead Poly Three-Divider Travel Organizer File.
Once John showed off the Travel Organizer File, I knew I had to get a closer look at this hybrid tool for organizing travel documents and necessities. It’s made of durable poly material, so it’s tear- and water-resistant. The back portion of the letter-sized organizer has three 1/3-cut tabbed divider sections, each of which has a 25-sheet storage capacity. The sections are useful for sorting documents by:
- different days of your itinerary
- different aspects of your trip (family reunion notes, conference documents, sightseeing itineraries), or
- different travel elements (airline reservations, hotel bookings, ground transportation info, etc.)
The Smead Poly Three-Divider Travel Organizer File also has a snap-closure pocket (also made of poly material) for collating travel expense receipts, baggage claim or valet tickets, restaurant/business cards, walking tour maps, and anything you collect along the way.
Smead has three colorful, fun designs, all of which give your enclosed documents some privacy from prying eyes. (You know, there’s always that one seatmate looking over your shoulder!) The teal-white flowered is shown above; Smead also makes purple and teal versions with a charcoal privacy design (below):
You can find a two-pack of the Smead Poly Three-Divider Travel Organizers at Amazon for around $9, as well as at Smead, and most office supply stores and stationers.
Happy (organized) traveling!
Paper Doll Post:
NAPO 2019: Organizing With a Heart as Big As Texas
As you read this post, professional organizers from all over the United States – plus many of our colleagues from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia (and surely some from a few surprise locales I don’t yet know are coming) – are about to touch down in Ft. Worth, Texas to attend the annual NAPO conference.
First, there will excited squeals of delight as we find one another in the hotel lobby and hallways like high school students returning after a long summer away. Before we officially begin, there will be leadership training events and half-day pre-conference sessions on productivity and marketing.
By Thursday afternoon, once our opening keynote kicks off, until late Sunday, when we roll our organized (if possibly overstuffed) luggage to the curb, there will be classes and meals, networking and dancing, business goals made and diets broken.
If you hear the hum of far-off applause, I suspect it will be for Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, and one of our keynote speakers. Her new book, Outer Order, Inner Calm – Declutter and Organize To Make More Room for Happiness came out this month, and I suspect professional organizers will be clamoring to hear her take on championing our passion for order.
You may notice fewer blog posts from those in the organizing community in the next few days, but be assured, we will all just be amassing knowledge of new products, productivity methods, and organizing practices to share with you upon our return.
They say everything is bigger in Texas, which means you can expect big news and long posts when I return. Until next week, you can peek behind the curtain by following the #NAPO2019 hashtag on Twitter. And, of course, you can read Paper Doll posts from the past dozen years of NAPO conferences just by typing “NAPO conference” in the search box on the left.
Y’all come back now, y’hear?
Paper Doll Post:
Paper Doll Interviews Melissa Gratias, Author of Seraphina Does Everything!
Today’s post is special – I’m introducing a new “friend of the blog.” Her name is Seraphina, and she’s the brainchild of my colleague, friend, accountability buddy, and Skyper-in-Crime, Melissa Gratias, Ph.D.
Melissa, known for her expertise helping busy professionals with their productivity, has authored a book about overwhelm and trying to juggle too many activities. And in a delightful twist, my girl Melissa has written this book for KIDS!
I was an early reader (and fan) of Seraphina, so when I found out that Seraphina Does Everything! was being released on April 9, 2019, I knew I wanted to spread the word to Paper Doll readers. This post is your chance to meet Melissa and Seraphina, and to avail yourself of a nifty bonus opportunity. (Stick around after the interview for important information about pre-sale orders and bonus bundles.)
Interview with Melissa Gratias
You and I met when you lived in Chattanooga and were starting your career as a professional organizer and productivity coach. But you’ve had a ZAM-POW-packed personal and professional life. Will you tell the Paper Doll readers how you got here?
Looney Tunes style…with Acme Rocket-Powered Roller Skates. Fortunately, things have gone better for me than for the coyote!
Part one of my life was academic: I received my master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Virginia Tech. I also enjoyed teaching at a university in Chattanooga.
Part two was corporate: I was a human resources specialist and eventually led several teams of people smarter than me.
Part three was entrepreneurial: I started my productivity consulting business in 2007 with some great advice from Paper Doll [Editor’s note: blush] and a lot of gumption. Since then, I have helped my clients through specialized productivity training, coaching, and consulting.
Part four is unfolding right now: Seraphina Does Everything! is an exciting project and has the potential to be a storybook series.
You have a lot of experience writing blog posts and ebooks for adults. How did you come to write a children’s book?
I started writing poems in fourth grade. I had a wonderful creative writing teacher, Mrs. Sapp, who I still remember fondly.
Then, I took a 30+ year break from writing poetry…well, except for that one about trees, graves, and deflated balloons that I wrote in the 9th grade. (I’d had a bad breakup.) [Editor’s note: We’ve all been there.]
During a speaking engagement in 2017, the president of a publishing company commented on my storytelling ability and asked if I would be interested in writing for kids. I was intrigued by his comment, went home, and wrote my first poem since elementary school. (The one with the dead tree doesn’t count).
My publisher, the National Center for Youth Issues (NCYI), has been producing storybooks since Mrs. Sapp told me I was a writer. I am writing stories for NCYI to help kids resolve the same issue that adults struggle with – how do we achieve balance?
The writing experience is different for every author. In the lingo of NaNoWriMo, there are plotters (people who outline and plan) and pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants). What are you? How did Seraphina go from being an idea to a fully fleshed-out little girl with a life of her own?
I’m a dictator. Wait. That came out wrong.
I dictated the majority of Seraphina Does Everything! to my iPhone while sitting in the parking lot of the aquatic center where I live in Savannah, Georgia. My son is a competitive swimmer and I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime in that parking lot.
The story took several weeks to flesh out, and no, I’m not really an outliner. I could “see” the arc of the story in my head, but I wrote (spoke?) the story in no discernible order. Lots of verbiage ended up being cut, and at my publisher’s encouragement, I slip in and out of prose a few times in the book. I’m no Dr. Seuss, after all.
One fun aspect of writing Seraphina Does Everything! was naming my character. I searched baby name sites for hours. [Editor’s note: I neglected to ask if that raised Melissa’s husband’s eyebrows.] I wanted a name that reflected the energy of the amazing girl I’d grown to love. The name Seraphina means “fiery angel,” and that’s just what she is.
What aspect(s) of the book do you think will resonate the most with kids?
The kids who have read Seraphina Does Everything! love hearing Seraphina talk about her many activities. They get excited that Seraphina does some of the same things they like to do, including ballet, soccer, karate, art classes, and music lessons.
What’s interesting is to see them become a little pensive when Seraphina confesses to her dad that she is feeling sad. But my favorite part is when kids get a knowing smile on their face at the end of the book, just like Seraphina has. Kids are wiser than we sometimes give them credit for.
What’s in Seraphina Does Everything! for adults?
There are three words I hear most often from the teachers and parents who have read the book:
“I am Seraphina!”
Who doesn’t fall into the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) trap from time-to-time? Many of us get overscheduled and overcommitted. We all must step back and re-evaluate our lives and work.
What is your favorite passage or section of the book?
I loved writing Dad’s responses to Seraphina’s dismay in the middle of the book. I could feel his affection and admiration for his daughter when she was crying in the back seat of the car.
Parents are demonized in the world too often. We are berated for both doing too much and not enough for our children. Most of us are just people who want the best for our kids. We want them to have options and opportunities. Seraphina’s dad is one of those people. He doesn’t drive her around to her activities for his own benefit. He loves his daughter. He wants her to have a good life. I relate to him.
The illustrations in Seraphina Does Everything! really make your great story pop off the page. What is your favorite illustration?
My publisher found the most amazing illustrator, Sue Cornelison. We selected her because of her ability to draw beautiful, diverse characters that communicate energy and emotion to the reader.
My favorite illustration is in the middle of the book when Seraphina is eating dinner in the back of the car. You see Seraphina’s thought-filled face on the left and the reflection of her face in the car window on the right. Behind the reflection is a girl in her driveway petting her dog. This image perfectly captures Seraphina’s internal struggle: Am I doing the things that really bring me joy?
Do you think there’s a stealth message for overextended parents in this book?
I’m hearing the theme song from Mission Impossible in my head right now…anyone else?
Yes, there is a message for us grown-ups, and it’s probably not very stealthy. After all, it is a storybook.
We all have busy seasons in our adult lives. It is easy to get carried away by our multiple commitments. If we are lucky, there will be someone to help us prioritize what’s important. And, like Seraphina, we can learn that “everything” isn’t something you do…it’s something you are.
[Editor’s note: The book also has tips for educators and parents, to help them guide children toward better balance and time management.]
How to Meet Seraphina
Seraphina Does Everything! is available in both softcover and hardcover. Grownups and tiny humans can read Seraphina and then create some breathing room for themselves in every day.
If you’d like a really special experience, you can also purchase the book directly from Melissa’s site. You’ll get an inscribed and signed copy of Seraphina, plus a not-available-anywhere-else essay by Melissa on how to teach life balance to children and teens.
Seraphina Does Everything! But you (and the tiny humans in your life) don’t have to do it all! Seraphina is a great role model for grownups and kids for prioritizing the best, and leaving aside the rest.
Paper Doll Post:
Paper Doll Finds Your Lost Eyeglasses: Technology Beyond Checking the Top of Your Head
Last time, in Paper Doll Finds Your Lost Keys, Wallets, and Phones: Bluetooth Trackers 2019, we talked about the big names in Bluetooth trackers that can help you find your lost keys, wallets, purses, passports, luggage, phones, and any of a variety of items in your life. Certainly, it’s better to not to lose things in the first place. But how do you do that?
HOW TO NOT LOSE STUFF
As a professional organizer, I start by decluttering the backlog that hides things from clients. After that, the path to not losing things is pretty straightforward, in theory. Any good system has two parts: the location and the behavior:
- Designate a home for every item. Think about the first place you’d go to look for something, and then make that the home. There’s your location. Ice cream goes in the freezer. Toothpaste goes in the bathroom.
- Don’t put things down; put them away. Too often, people randomly put their wallets or keys or whatever down near them instead of the home they’ve assigned. Stop that! Your wallet goes in your purse or your pocket when you’re out and about. Don’t set it down on the cashier’s counter or the restaurant table. When you’re home, keep it in your purse or designate a tray on your bedroom dresser (or wherever works for you).
That’s it. But if that’s all there is to it, why do so many people continue to misplace things? Sure, sometimes it happens as we saw at the start of last week’s post, when someone’s toddler (or pet, or “helpful” spouse) moves something. But usually, it’s because we fail to put things away because we’re focusing on things we deem more important in the moment. We have to pay attention!
No, this isn’t a post on mindfulness. Yes, if you practice mindfulness, stop multitasking, and focus on one thing at a time, you’re much more likely to put things away instead of randomly down. But unless you’re a fairly magical television character able to suddenly remember things that happened in the blurry background while you were focusing on something else, your lack of mindfulness up until now isn’t going to help you find what you’ve mislaid.
So what will? That’s why we’re here. Last time, we saw how some of the big name general Bluetooth trackers can help us find a whole smattering of things we’ve lost. But those trackers, while not large, are still too big to attach to the one thing people are constantly losing (other than their minds, while searching for lost items). Eyeglasses!
ORBIT GLASSES
Last time, I pointed out that most of the various Orbit products, including Keys, Card, Wallet, and PowerBank all did double (or, with regard to the wallet and power bank, triple) duty. Not only do they help you track your lost items, but their buttons can be used as selfie remotes! Well, this special Orbit product doesn’t help you create a photo so you can look fabulous, but it does ensure that you can see how gorgeous you are in the mirror or in pictures.
Orbit Glasses work the same way most of the Bluetooth trackers we’ve already described. The company claims it’s the world’s smallest Bluetooth device. (Note: A number of trackers make similar claims – the smallest device, the loudest ring, the widest range. In general, claims about metrics are unimportant. However, when you want to hide a device somewhere on your eyeglass frame, size does matter.)
As with all Bluetooth tracking devices, you’re dealing with a device and an app. Start with the Orbit Glasses device, which is 1.2″ (28mm) long and 0.2″ (5mm) wide; it’s only a third of an ounce in weight, so it isn’t going weigh you down.
Unlike most use cases for trackers, your device won’t be dangling from a string. (That would be annoying, like turning your glasses into a charm bracelet!) Instead, attach the device directly to your glasses. Affix it with the device’s 3M-brand double-sided adhesive, allegedly the strongest adhesive 3M makes. (Who knows better than the company that created Post-its® and Scotch tape?) The instructions note that while the device can be removed and repositioned, it should otherwise stay firmly affixed.
In most cases, Orbit Glasses will fit on the inside of the arm, either by your temple or on the back-most part of the earpiece. The surface needs to be at least 4mm wide. The arms of my glasses are extremely narrow, perhaps 1.5mm, but if you have more typical eyeglasses or sunglasses, the Orbit should stay discrete.
Next, download the Orbit app from the App Store or Google Play. As with all of the other Orbit trackers, if you misplace your glasses, whether on top of your head, in your car, or anywhere out in the world, you can use the app to make your glasses ring if they are within Bluetooth range; otherwise, check last known GPS location on the app’s map. The Orbit Net Crowdfinder community boosts your signal, so if an Orbit app user is anywhere near where you left your glasses, it will improve your chances of pinpointing where you need to go.
Orbit Glasses also has a nifty separation alarm, commonly known in the tech world as “geofencing.” That means that if you wander away from your glasses (or the cafeteria staff carries off your tray with the glasses still sitting on them), and the difference between you and your glasses exceeds Bluetooth range, it will proactively trigger an alert in your app.
Have a big house? You can turn on the SafeZone feature so the separation alarm won’t be triggered on your home WiFi. (However, if you tend to lose your glasses in your house, perhaps it’s better to suffer the indignity of a few alarms until you get used to using some mindfulness techniques?)
Orbit Glasses has a rechargeable battery with a one-month charge life, so there’s no need to make additional purchases or detach the Orbit from your specs. Just plug and charge, which should take two-to-three hours. Given that the charger goes where your face normally belongs (as indicated below), you can’t charge the device while wearing your glasses, so plan to charge it while you’re sleeping, wearing different glasses, or otherwise not needing the sharpest vision.
The Orbit Glasses device is a really teeny tracker, so it can’t be used in reverse to call your lost phone (as the other Orbit trackers can do). Paper Doll logic leads me to believe that if you have your glasses but not your phone, you can at least look for your phone, and if you have your phone (with the app), you can find your glasses. Of course, Orbit hopes you’ll buy multiple versions of their products, so if you have your glasses, you can use the button on any of those to find that pesky wandering phone!
Orbit Glasses will work with iPhone or Android. They come only in black, and are $39.99, whether directly from Orbit or Amazon. Orbit offers bulk discounts ranging from 25%-40% off for purchases of 4, 6, or 8 Orbit Glasses (or other Orbit products, in various combinations). Note: If you purchase from Orbit, remember to reset the drop-down from Australian to U.S. dollars.
FINDY
Orbit may be the bigger name in teeny eyeglass trackers, but they aren’t the only name. FoxSmart, a Swiss company which (incorrectly, and amusingly) claims it makes the only eyeglass tracker, sells FINDY.
At 28mm x 5mm, the same size as Orbit Glasses, FINDY claims to be the “smallest Bluetooth tracking device on the market.” Where have we heard that before? The website says:
“With our special adhesive FINDY is fitted on your eyewear frame. FINDY will not bother you in any way. In most cases FINDY is completely invisible to you or anyone else. FINDY disappears on the inner side of the temple or behind your ear. FINDY suits any frame material.”
FINDY comes in two colors, black and a sort of frosted white/clear. As with the Orbit Glasses, this isn’t the product for you if the temples or arms of your glasses are wires or very thin plastic.
Once you have the tracker in place, download the FINDY app from Google Play or the App Store. FoxSmart has concentrated all essential features on one main screen. Simply press the “buzzer” button on the app to force the FINDY tracker to begin beeping. If you are within range (the measurement of which FoxSmart does not specify), you will hear the beeping.
Here’s where it gets interesting, though, as FINDY has some unusual approaches. What if you don’t WANT your glasses to beep? Maybe you’re in a library, or your spouse or children are sleeping, or you don’t want anyone to know that you’ve lost your glasses once again. FINDY has you covered. Press the “smart track” button on the app and it will display a silent “signal receipt meter” to help you locate your eyeglasses without using the buzzer.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! The company recognizes that not everyone uses a smartphone. (Although they focus on use by seniors citizens, many people may lack smartphones and have no app access.) FINDY’s manufacturers have thought of that. The FINDY Smart Button (perhaps the European cousin of Staples’ Easy Button?), sold separately, is a one-touch button you can permanently attach to any smooth surface, like your fridge, filing cabinet, nightstand, etc. Just press the Smart Button and the buzzer function of FINDY will be activated.
The company says that one Smart Button will cover a three-to-four room apartment, through for a multi-story home or larger apartment, one Smart Button on each floor in a centralized location might be wise.
FINDY devices operate on a single, standard coin cell battery. When the battery level goes below 7%, the FINDY App prompts users to replace the battery.
FINDY sells for $39.95; the Smart Button is $34.95. Shipping is free to the 48 contiguous states and to Canada. (Sorry, Hawaii and Alaska!)
LEVEL SMART GLASSES
What if keeping track of your spectacles is only one of the many things you want? What if you also desire:
- fashion-forward, precision-calibrated eyewear?
- fitness trackers built into your glasses so you can track your step count, distance traveled, overall active minutes, and calories burned?
- wireless syncing of your fitness tracker without having to remember to put on a smart-watch or clip on a device?
Level Smart Glasses takes all of these needs into account. VSP Global, a 60-year-old eyeglass company, has joined forces with the University of Southern California’s Center for Body Computing to develop eyeglasses that are for more than just vision correction.
These $328+ Level Techology glasses combine new technology, fashionable frame design, and smartphone app communication to create true 21st-century eyewear. And yes, one thing the technology can accomplish is finding your glasses when you’ve put them down and can’t locate them. (Somewhere, Geordi LaForge is smiling!)
Think of it this way: If you don’t lose your glasses, you’re more likely to wear them. And if you’re wearing them, you’re more likely to get credit for your fitness behaviors since Level bakes fitness tracking right into the frames. So, the more you move, the more likely you are to get points for hitting your daily fitness goals and stretch goals – and here’s another advantage to Level Smart Glasses! Every time you accrue 50 points in the app, VSP will give a person in need both an eye exam and a pair of glasses, at no charge, through the Eyes of Hope charity.
So, if high-tech glasses that help you find them, track your fitness, and give charitably are what you’re looking for, find Level Smart Glasses near you or buy online. In many cases, you can use your vision insurance coverage to defray the cost.
AT-HOME SHORTCUTS
If you don’t have a tracker but can’t find your glasses at home, searching everywhere is counterproductive. There are still some low-tech and no-tech solutions.
If you’ve mislaid glasses for distance vision in your house, you probably wore them to watch TV. Go sit down as if you were watching television and feel around. If your distance vision is too wonky to find your glasses on your own, try taking a few snapshots on your cell phone and then carefully enlarge sections of the screen to see what would otherwise be blurry.
If you’re looking for your reading glasses, check the following locations where you tend to read:
- next to the computer
- next to/on top of the book or magazine you’ve been reading
- on your bedside table (reading at bedtime?)
- on the bathroom countertop (did you remove them to put on makeup or wash your face?)
- on the kitchen countertop (after reading a recipe)
When in doubt, there are always two more places to search
- Look down! Are they hooked to the neckline of your shirt?
- Look up! Are they on top of your head?
IN SUMMARY
Investing in multiple pairs of glasses to keep all around home ensures you can see what you’re doing, but at a cost. Wearing your glasses on lanyards will keep them close but may have a deleterious impact on how fashionable you seem (and will make hugging inconvenient). Using Bluetooth trackers invokes an additional cost but gives you peace of mind. Being more mindful is free, but requires some time and effort.
Cost, style, convenience – consider what you’re willing to sacrifice to stay organized and see clearly.
*Photo of doggie wearing glasses by Jamie Street on Unsplash
Follow Me