Apps that make life easier with PD and Memory
Many of us with Parkinson’s, the executive functions of our brain do not work very well. The ability to remember things or plan are greatly reduced. Simple things such as remembering to take medications or appointments can be a challenge. Birthdays anniversaries can no longer be left to our memories. What we need is an aid which can do all this work for us. There are several things we can do:-
Traditional methods, Paper Calendar, Paper notices, shopping list, to do lists, etc
Other memory aides are, Sticky notes, Fixed notes for regular reminders, Medication boxes, Colour coding such as keys draws etc.
Electronic aides such as, Mobile phones, tablets, computers. To these can be added apps such as, To do apps, Calendars, Timers, Medication managers, Birthday reminders, Car finders, Contacts list.
It is individual which method suites each individual. I prefer the electronic methods as everything can be on my phone and with me all the time.
I have spent many an hour testing out several apps for their suitability for me. I think now I have settled on what I consider the best for anyone with PD that needs a little assistance with memory and information handling. I thought I would share these with you and leave you to try these apps for yourselves.
The following are the apps I have adopted after trying many alternatives
At number one is Wunderlist This is a versatile organiser app that can be used to organise or store information in any way you choose to configure it. Lists tasks can be shared with others and a reminder can be made to appear in your calendar.
This is one of the only free organiser that comes with sub tasks and notes to each task. It is easy to use and can be installed on all your devices with versions for iOS, Android, Windows. Wunderlist was acquired by Microsoft and they have now released an organiser app called Microsoft To-Do This is almost identical to Wunderlist but has a fresher style.
Number two is Meditisafe This is a medical app that stores all your medications and quantities, it reminds you to take your medication as well as when you need to put in a prescription. It has a diary for doctors hospital appointments. A measurements section for blood pressure, weight, etc. once setup this app is really useful and the best in class. It is also cross platform.
At number three is B’day This is a stand alone birthdays app that will remind you of those birthdays you need to remember. Its drawback is that it is only available on iOS Apple. For Android I would recommend aCalendar This is a calendar with birthday reminder built in.
At number 4 is Asana This is a project/task management system that can track actions, give reminders and generally track a project from start to finish. The good thing is the basic version is free. At number 5 is Mindly This is great! If you are full of ideas or planning an event or just wont order in your life Mindly will do it. It is very different to all other organisers but once you get into it you will wonder how you managed without it.
John Scotter Blog 