Ways that Tech can be your Best Friend

Photo by George Milton from Pexels

Photo Description: Close-up side view of a person wearing a white shirt working at a wooden desk with a laptop open to image editing software. The person’s hands are on the keyboard and trackpad, holding a stylus, with a black drawing tablet visible below the laptop. Several potted green plants and stacks of books decorate the bright, indoor workspace.

The available audio has been created using OpenAI’s text-to-speech function

Self-accommodation is a really beneficial tool to improving your quality of life, especially as a neurodivergent person. While there are many different ways to support yourself and your needs, this week I want to focus on different technologies and how they can take your day-to-day living to the next level. Today’s technology is so advanced that you could use it to become like your own personal assistant. So, let’s jump right into it! Here are some of my favourite tech tools and how I use them.

1. Offload Your Mind to the Max with Digital Planners

I always found planners to be helpful in my childhood years (does anyone remember those plastic agenda covers that made funny sounds when you scratched them?) but a necessity once I finally started living alone. When managing a home by yourself, there is so much you must remember to do, which can become very overwhelming very quickly.

I like online planners because they are always accessible through multiple devices and provide additional features physical planners cannot provide. My favourite digital planner is Todoist. I can organize my tasks in a visual manner that works for me. I can set tasks to be repeated every certain date or, most importantly, repeated at a certain time once the task is completed. For example, instead of reminding me to change my pillowcase every other Friday, it will remind me to change my pillowcase two weeks after I’ve completed the task, whatever day it be. This was super important to me because I always have a habit of doing some chores a day or two late, which fudges up the repeated reminders on other digital planners like Apple Reminders. Todoist is also super cool because it has access to several integrations, like connecting to your Google Calendar, AI assistants, and popular time-tracking platforms. In summary, Todoist has allowed me to offload my mind by exploiting its user-friendly planning tools. And did I forget to mention that it’s free? Very cool.

2. Reduce Grocery Stress with Grocery Delivery/Pickup

When I started living alone, I had to begin grocery shopping more often, which I despised. Grocery stores are always busy and so so stimulating. That’s where grocery delivery and pickup became my best friend.

They take time to learn to use, but grocery delivery and pickup services are nice because they allow me to calmly identify what I need to purchase in the comfort of a safe space and avoid overstimulating grocery stores. I used to get grocery pickup from Walmart; I’d walk my dog at the nearby park and stop by to grab the groceries in under five minutes. Since moving to a neighbourhood without a Walmart nearby and tougher accessibility to grocery stores in general, I’ve relied on Walmart’s delivery service. From my experience, grocery pickup often comes with little errors and is easy to implement. For grocery delivery, you may want to take the time to review your available options, as some delivery services are not that great (and more stressful, which defeats the entire purpose!!!). Overall, I have been much happier since using delivery and pickup to buy my groceries and other necessities.

I shared a photo of Toto and I grocery shopping in the article “How to Find Routine in Routineless Weekends,” so I figured I would show a photo of Toto and I running errands after grocery shopping!

Photo Description: A small, long-haired, light-colored dog peeks its head over the edge of a red collapsible wagon. The dog is sitting inside the wagon next to a large pink and green bag of Miracle-Gro Orchid Potting Mix and a blue plastic leash. The wagon is resting on grey concrete pavement, with stacks of blue pallets visible on the left.

3. Using Artificial Intelligence as an Accommodation Tool

I could probably write an entire blog post just about this (maybe one day…). With the increased implementation of AI, using it as a tool has never been easier and continues to become user friendly every day.

A simple way to use AI is through goblin.tools, a very user-friendly website that was made to support neurodivergent folks. It has many neat tools, such as the Magic ToDo, which takes large tasks and breaks it down into smaller tasks—as small as you’d like! There are also other tools like the Chef (creates recipes based on ingredients you provide), Formalizer (makes text more professional-sounding), Compiler (turns your brain dump into actionable tasks), and much more. 

If some AI tools don’t seem to provide what you’re looking for, consider relying on more basic AI models such as ChatGPT. As I always like to warn people: Use AI models as tools, not sources of information. In other words, use ChatGPT for things you cannot search on Google.

Here are some ways I’ve used ChatGPT or other AI models to accommodate myself:

• Asked it to break down niche tasks related to my profession that Goblin.Tools couldn’t accommodate
• Explained what I was trying to look for on Google, and asked it to provide me the search terms I need to best find it
• Review emails/anything I’ve written as a sanity check
• Provide a list of the supplements I take and request an optimal schedule for what to eat and when
• Create meal plans, fitness routines, and exercise schedules

The options really are endless with AI models, so play around with them and see what they can do for you.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about some of my favourite tech tools for levelling-up in life. Of course, there are so many other tools out there. Share some of your favourites in the comments below, or let me know which of my tools you plan to try out. I always enjoy learning from other people. 🙂

Next time, I will be talking about one of my special interests: sustainable physical activity!

Photo Description: Infographic titled “Ways that Tech can be Your Best Friend,” shown on a stylized smartphone screen. The infographic features three colored blocks, each illustrating a tool and its benefit: 1) Digital Planners (blue, with checkmarks): “Offload mental load and manage tasks efficiently with customizable features.” 2) Grocery Delivery/Pickup (magenta, with a shopping cart icon): “Reduce stress and save time by avoiding busy stores.” 3) AI Tools (light green, with crossed wrenches): “Enhance productivity and creativity with AI-powered assistance.”