Assistive Technology and Getting Organized

No, I don’t mean robots, although yes, I want a Rosie – and my gratitude for Matt Novak’s delightful November 13, 2012 article Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 08 – Rosey’s Boyfriend for Smithsonian magazine, do follow the link. “Assistive technology” is anything which, while it hasn’t been explicitly designed to help a differently-abled person, might nonetheless help a differently-abled person be more functional: great examples, according to the Adaptive Computing Technology Center of the University of Missouri, are computer joysticks and mouse trackballs.

And here’s where I come in, to let you in on a little secret: we all need assistive technology, whether we are explicitly differently-abled or not. I can’t reach most of the cabinets in my kitchen without a step stool, or my several-inches-taller-than-me son. I’ve had glasses since I was four. Personal shopping carts, anyone? Shopping bags?

What do you need to get yourself more organized? A grabber to reach behind the bookcase? A step stool to get up to the shelves? An alarm clock to wake up? A white board for the family calendar? Computer technology which lets you think out loud  and capture the thoughts so you don’t lose them – TAPE RECORDER!!!??? A client of mine has a very low floor mat just in front of her laundry machine – no more lying on the darn thing while she’s trying to reach in.

Tools aren’t cheating. Promise. And they can be as low-tech as 12 Things You Never Thought to Do With Binder Clips, Good Housekeeping Magazine, Lauren Piro, June 2, 2014. Thanks, Mom, for always having the golden oldies on hand. And, by the way, Lauren Piro is great, start following her  – I contributed to her article 11 Smart Things Pro Organizers Do Every Morning waaay back on December 1, 2015.