Praise for the iPad

I already mentioned that Matt and Dylan got me an iPad for my birthday this year. I was really surprised by this, since I had been telling Matt that i didn't think I wanted one. And I even thought about returning it for a split second, but considering how crappy my little net book was, I decided to keep the iPad in hopes that it would at least be better than that (we have since sold the net book). I knew that it was a cute little gadget, but I never really expected it to be as amazing as it is. In fact I feel like it was the catalyst to some major changes I've been making lately.

First of all, i have completely organized my life on my iPad. I got this AMAZING app called Things that is basically a sophisticated version of my old notebook To-Do list. I can schedule things for certain days and they will appear when they are due (or a few days before if I need a reminder ahead of time). I can organize my lists into projects, keep track of a variety of areas that need work, keep track of what i have done, search tasks by special tags (I've chosen to use location based tags like "desktop" "phone" "errands" so that i can see all my computer tasks when I'm sitting at my desk), etc. It's so much better than my notebook because I can change and rearrange things without have to scratch out/rip out/rewrite the entire list. And since my iPad is so portable, I always have my to-do list at my fingertips. It's so satisfying to just check things off as i go. I completed a lot of lingering tasks last month... I couldn't believe how productive I was. I use this app many, many times a day, and at this point I have so much information on it, I'd be kind of lost if something happened to it.

My next favorite app is iNotes. It's basically a notebook app. But I can group pages into files, which I like. I've kind of used this app as a catch-all for my thoughts and anything I want to remember later. Plus, I tend to remember things better if I've written them down (even if I don't refer to them again later). It's another daily app for me.

And now that I finally have a computer device I enjoy using, I've started using it quite a bit. Since getting the iPad I have come across some interesting blogs that I check on a regular basis. I'm not really sure how I got started into them, but a lot of them seem to deal with minimalist lifestyles, simplifying, and cleaning. And let me tell you, that has had some big implications around here (see my previous post). I have been purging like a maniac lately. My goal is to go through every square inch of our home and get rid of all unused, unloved, unnecessary items. And I've made tremendous progress so far. In fact, just yesterday I achieved something I never thought possible... I cleared all the stuff off the top of the fridge. There's nothing up there anymore, and that's how it's going to stay! I've also put myself on a cleaning schedule. There are things I do every day (shine my sink! It makes such a difference), pick up everything as we go through the day (my new mantra is "don't put it down, put it away"). And then there are weekly tasks. For example, today is Office Day, so I'll tackle any office related projects, take care of computer tasks, and try to organize some in that room. Tomorrow is Floor Day, probably my least favorite day, but definitely a necessity with all the shedding going on right now as Eve's winter coat grows in. And of course I keep track of all of these tasks with my various Apps just to make sure it all gets done. But the house over all has been SO much cleaner, things are getting done, and best of all... I feel much more relaxed!

A side benefit of all of this, and the reason I've managed to stick with my new routines, is that I've been amazed by how much it has reduced my stress. I don't have to worry about laundry piling up all the time because I know that on Monday it will all get washed... instead I can just focus on whatever task is at hand. And the cleaning part of the day doesn't take that much time, so when I'm not in the middle of that, I can really focus on just having fun with Dylan, instead of constantly thinking about all the things I need to be doing instead of building the 100th block tower of the day. This lack of stress has greatly impacted my mood, my energy levels, and my outlook on the day. I feel tons better all around.

And all because of the iPad ;)