With summer break coming to a close and the world seeming to re-open, getting organized for back-to-school season can be stressful. Luckily I’ve found several apps that have really helped me and my family with remote learning, project management, and staying focused and positive.
Check out these five apps for making this school year a little easier, and feel free to share your own favorites in the comments.
I discovered this app during the pandemic while my family was adjusting to remote learning. I was struggling with helping my son with his virtual school work and it was really taking a toll on our relationship, so I searched for help and found GoPeer.
This app connects you with college-student tutors in a variety of fields for personalized learning — and the process was very simple to set up. The tutor I ended up picking was amazing. Her and my son instantly connected virtually over video and I got to see him fully engaged and learning more effectively than ever before with this one-on-one remote option.
Our family will definitely continue to use GoPeer once he is back in school this fall.
GreenLight Family Money App
We’ve been using this family-friendly money app and debit card program for a few years now. My kids have their own debit card that I can manage easily from the app. Their allowance gets deposited automatically each week, and they can even request reimbursement for some purchases (as long as they provide an accurate description in the “notes” field!).
They have the independence of how their money is spent or saved — but I am kept in the loop via notifications that tell me where they’re spending it, and how much.
GreenLight has really opened up some great conversations on money management, which I think will be very beneficial as they grow up and begin handling more adult finances.
Parenting can be overwhelming and stressful, especially during the unprecedented events of the last year or so. We have to remember we are the only ones in control of our emotions and how we handle them. The Calm app not only helps me by providing daily meditation prompts, but it also helps me get to sleep quickly. Let’s face it — quality sleep is a top priority for a happy and functioning parent — and we rarely get enough of it.
Calm also offers soothing stories that can lull you to sleep quickly, allowing your mind to slow down and set aside worries and anxieties. My favorite bedtime story is “The Grand Plan to Rise and Shine,” a simple and relaxing tale of a woman and her evening routine that helps her get ready for the next day.
Here at Pepper’s Personal Assistants we use Trello to stay on top of project management and the day-to-day tasks of running a small business. Trello is a collaborative task management app that streamlines the seemingly endless online tools, software, and programs we’ve had to use while remote learning and working during the pandemic.
While dealing with remote schooling with my kids, it was impossible to stay on top of 12 classes, due dates and deadlines, use Google Classroom and Canvas, and keep track of schedules and asynchronous days (a term I had never heard of pre-2020). Trello has helped me stay on top of everything and teach my boys important lessons on accountability and project management.
We plan on continuing to use Trello even when we are back to school in-person, and currently are using it over the summer for chores and trip-packing lists as well. During the start of the pandemic, I shared the Trello board that I created, and recorded a tutorial video. Check it out if you think it may help your family,
Google Calendar
Being a busy small business-owner and mom with two households, I’ve come to realize Google Calendar is the glue that holds everything together. I have six separate calendars for business, personal life, employees, and shared calendars with my boys, my sister, and my partner.
My assistant is able to make sure I’m not double-booked; my newly-employed son has just learned how to add his work schedule; I can see when my sister isn’t working so I can go spend precious time with her and my nieces; I can add all my youngest son’s sports practices and games each season; and for trips I can input all of our travel information so that I can easily pull up that Airbnb door code when needed.
I love that with Google Calendar, everyone in my life can connect to it using their laptop or phone — it is definitely one of my favorite organizational apps.
While apps are extremely helpful for staying organized, sometimes we can all use a little in-person help when it comes to staying on top of household tasks and errands. That’s where Pepper’s Personal Assistants can step in. Learn more about our services on our website or contact us today to set up a consultation!
The last year or so has been one filled with obstacles, adjustment periods, worries, and even loss. Thankfully the vaccine is helping people move forward with their lives, and the world is starting to go “back to normal.”
Shopping centers and recreational facilities are opening their doors, travel is becoming an option again, kids are going back to in-person school, and people are returning to their office (and that dreaded commute).
This new period of transition can feel like a lot to handle, so we’ve prepared a guide that can help you get back on top of your routine and enjoy your summer.
Get Organized Digitally
Gone are the days when you needed a pen and paper to write yourself reminders and grocery lists, schedule meetings on your calendar, or give detailed care instructions to a sitter or co-parent. Luckily we live in an age where this help can come virtually, and many of these digital tools already exist in the palm of your hand via phone apps.
From assigning daily chores to your kids to scheduling daily reminders for yourself, our blog post on virtual tools can be one of the first stepping stones to getting you and your family organized.
With the world “opening back up” you might feel pressured to jump right back in where you left off. You may even be tempted to schedule more social events and visits with family and friends than ever before, but be careful. Overexerting yourself socially, and not allowing for any open time on your calendar can result in burn out.
Be intentional with your calendar and block off chunks of time two weeks out so you can control the busyness. Take time to breathe between events, and do your best to balance out your work life, social outings, and some essential “me time,” as you ease back into normal life.
Continue to Keep Clean
When it comes to cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting, don’t throw your new habits out the window just because life is starting to go back to normal. Continue to pay more care and attention to keeping your home—especially germ-heavy areas like the kitchen, pet areas, and the bathroom—in good, clean condition. And remember: wash your hands, and stay home when you’re feeling sick!
Be gentle with yourself and others during this time of recovery. Check in with your friends and family, especially your children to see how they are feeling. Consider talking to a therapist if you’re having difficulty expressing yourself or dealing with your stress in a healthy way. You’ll bounce back—but give yourself grace.
Ask For Help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, now more than ever. It might take you a while longer to get back in the groove of things, such as in-person meetings and returning to the office, and you’re going to be out of the house more than you have been in the last year.
A personal assistant can help cross some tasks off of your to-do list, take care of tedious errands, grocery shop and meal prep, and help you make the transition easier overall.
Schedule a Consultation With Pepper’s Personal Assistants
If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to handle the adjustment of taking your kids to their extracurriculars, going back to the office, and everything else that comes with the world reopening, we understand and are here for you. A dedicated personal assistant can help you get back on top of your routine and have things running smoothly in no time.
After a long day there’s nothing quite like relaxing on the couch with a great, feel-good movie. But with so many options at the tips of our fingers, you may find yourself endlessly scrolling and wasting what little “you” time you have.
We encourage you this Pride month to explore the diverse world of love and acceptance. No worries—we’ve got some great recommendations for love movies for a wide variety of identities and orientations. Grab that popcorn!
Gina Rodriguez stars as Jenny, a music journalist getting through a bad break-up while juggling self-care, her social life, and her burgeoning career. With the help of her two best friends and one crazy night on the town, she realizes what matters most is staying true to herself. Someone Great is currently streaming on Netflix.
Love, Simon (2018, dir. Greg Berlanti)
Image via 20th Century Fox
A modern coming-of-age story, Love, Simon follows gay teen Simon as he struggles with the decision to come out to his family and friends while dealing with the comic trials and tribulations of high school. What makes matters worse is the anonymous online love affair he may have stumbled into. You can watch this sweet, refreshing flick on Hulu.
Princess Cyd (2017, dir. Stephan Cone)
Image via Hulu
Princess Cyd is a dreamy indie slice-of-life film that takes place over the span of a summer. High-schooler Cyd leaves her small-town life in South Carolina to stay with her eccentric author aunt until the fall. This movie not only illustrates Cyd’s queer sexual awakening with another young woman in the city, but examines questions surrounding desire and fulfilment in older women as seen through her aunt’s eyes. Find Princess Cyd on both Amazon Prime and Hulu.
The third installment in Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, which follows the love story of American Jesse and French student Celine, Before Midnight meets up with them 9 years after they first met. Jesse and Celine are married with children, and although it’s easy to see the chemistry that drew them together from the start, their conversations and issues have evolved as they’ve aged into adulthood and “the real world.” Stream Before Midnight (and the first two films) for $2.99 each on Amazon Prime.
Margarita, With a Straw (2014, dir. Shonali Bose)
Image via Netflix
Margarita, With a Straw is a touching and realistic drama that tells the story of Laila, a young Indian woman with cerebral palsy studying at Delhi University. While writing music for a local indie band she falls in love with the singer, and is harshly rejected. Her complicated feelings for her creative writing mentor as well as a young female activist further her exploration into her sexual identity and what that means for her as a differently-abled person. Watch Margarita, With a Straw on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Kanopy.
Enjoy stepping into another world with these characters, and forget about the stress of the day for a couple of hours with one of these great movies about love and friendship.
Need more time for yourself? Maybe you wish the day had just a couple more hours so that you could do self-care activities, or sit down and watch a movie. Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help. Check out our different service packages or contact us today to get started.
Now that summer is right around the corner, you may feel the urge to open the windows, tackle some organization projects that may have fallen by the wayside, and refresh your everyday environment. One way to liven up your surroundings and give your home an easy makeover is to choose a new color scheme for your home.
Whether you go all in and paint your rooms some new shades, or if you’re thinking of simply switching up the tones of your curtains, furniture, or art, the colors you choose are important. Not only do certain colors represent our identities, but the colors we surround ourselves with can also affect our moods and feelings.
June is also Pride month, so celebrating LGBTQIA+ individuals by decorating your home with Pride flags and other colors that represent your identity or allyship is a great way to show your support.
So what is color psychology anyway? Color psychology is the belief that certain colors can influence human feelings and emotions. This way of thinking is one reason we associate the color blue with sadness, or red with love, and is a helpful tool for marketing design professionals.
When refreshing your colors around your home, consider how each type of color can elicit certain moods.
Red
Red is a bold color that represents strong emotions. This warm hue is associated with love, passion, and power, and can raise the energy levels in your room. A red room can also create a very cozy environment.
Orange
Adding orange curtains or painting a room in your home this citrus shade can instantly brighten your mood. Bursting with vitality and encouraging activity, orange is a great color to paint and office or home gym.
Yellow
Yellow is considered the color of happiness, most likely because we associate it with bright, sunny days. Yellow is a perfect color for a child’s playroom or a dining room to encourage many playful, joyous moments of togetherness.
Green
If you’re looking for a calm, soothing paint color, green should be your go-to. Green inspires a cool, zen-like environment, and can alleviate stress, so it is a perfect shade for bedrooms.
Blue
Blue is also a very calm and relaxed shade to incorporate in your environment. This color can decrease anxiety, and this cool shade even has the ability to lower heart rate and blood pressure.
Purple
Purple is a sophisticated color, often associated with royalty and class. Color your bedroom or living area a purple shade to encourage relaxation and contentment.
In addition to influencing our emotions, the colors we choose to decorate our home with can also represent our beliefs, values, and identities. For example, the numerous pride flags that exist create their own rainbow of colors—each standing for one element of orientation. Using these colors or even decorating with these flags can show your connection with or support for a wide range of identities. Here are just a few:
Traditional Pride Flag
The most familiar flag is the traditional gay pride flag popularized in 1979 in San Francisco.
The colors of the traditional pride flag and what they are known to stand for are as follows:
Red stands for life
Orange stands for healing
Yellow stands for sunlight
Green stands for nature
Indigo stands for serenity
Violet stands for spirit
Transgender Pride Flag
Monica Helms designed the transgender pride flag in 1999, and it was first flown publicly at a Phoenix, Arizona pride parade the following year. The top and bottom of the flag is light blue, the next stripes inward are pink, and the middle stripe is white. This represents the social norm of light blue for boys, pink for girls, and the white represents those transitioning either way, or who are nonbinary.
However you decide to refresh your colors in your home this summer, remember that colors hold significance. Choose the hues that will make you feel the best, and support the causes and the people you care about. Need help giving your home the make-over it needs? Are you behind on spring cleaning? Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help.
Contact us today to find out how our personal assistants can help you transform your space into an organized, healing, and refreshed environment.
This last year has been rough. The unexpected and widespread introduction of the coronavirus and COVID-19 in March of 2020 kicked off a difficult year of uncertainty, loss, and isolation. With stay-at-home orders, working and attending school from home, families everywhere have struggled to deal with a “new normal.” Now, as vaccines are being distributed and we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s important to understand how hard some people have had it.
Mother’s Day is coming up, and we can all agree that moms have gone through a very stressful pandemic. Balancing keeping a clean and organized home and working remotely with helping their children through new routines and virtual learning is not easy in the least bit. Not to mention the mental load and depression that has the opportunity to really sink in during the last year—Motherly reports that 74% of mothers say they feel mentally worse since the pandemic began.
Whether you are a mom or are looking to help a mom you know, hiring a personal assistant from Pepper’s is a great solution. Our personal assistants can help with common household tasks and tackle to-do lists, allowing moms to feel a bit of well-deserved reprieve.
Here are just a few of the many things we can take care of:
Organize Your Schedule
Doctors appointments, new back-to-school schedules, work meetings, grocery pick-up, and even distanced coffee dates with friends can clutter up Mom’s calendar and cause undue stress. Our personal assistants can organize calendars, scheduling important meetings and social dates ahead of time to make sure nothing’s double-booked.
With everyone in the house constantly, making meals at home night after night can be exhausting. Pepper’s can relieve some of that meal time stress by grocery shopping or online ordering, as well as meal prepping and planning for the future.
Clean and Tidy the House
Studies show that a clean and organized environment can improve your mental health and help you feel happier. Give Mom a break from the constant tidying and eliminate the dreaded occasional deep clean by hiring a personal assistant to regularly clean the home—keeping everyone happy!
Plan a Family Vacation
Now that people are getting vaccinated and we can see somewhat of an end to quarantine, it may be time to plan a much-needed family vacation for the future. Instead of allowing the brunt of the research, cost-comparisons, and booking to fall on moms, Pepper’s Personal Assistants can assist in planning the perfect future getaway for the whole family.
Our different service packages allow moms to have more time to themselves. Whether they use that to practice self care, spend quality time with their partners, participate in activities with their family, or simply catch up on sleep—moms deserve it.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants Today!
This Mother’s day, give the mom in your life (or treat yourself to) the gift of time. Our team of experienced, talented, and friendly personal assistants are ready to relieve the stress of the last year by offering their helping hands. Read more about our service packages or contact us today to get started.
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