Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Essential Tools for Moms with Brain Fog

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If you have a chronic illness, you probably experience brain fog at least some of the time. 

Confession: I wrote that first sentence and then stared at it blankly for 20 minutes. Brain fog, anyone?

Anyway...like I was saying, brain fog is real and it can make life pretty difficult sometimes. Add in a few kids (hello mom brain!) and it gets really interesting. The struggle is real.

Essential Tools for Moms with Brain Fog

I use a lot of tools to help me manage my brain fog. My smartphone is the biggest one and what I refer to as my "external brain." I also work hard to stay organized with my home and schedule, stick to routines so I don't miss anything, and break down big tasks into smaller, more manageable ones.  

I'm going to share some tips, tricks, and tools for brain fog with you in the hopes that they'll help you as well. 


I used to carry a paper planner with me at all times to keep track of my calendar, but I needed to lighten up my purse to cut down on shoulder strain so I reluctantly made the switch to using a Google calendar. It turns out that I love it! I especially love that I can sync it with my husband and share it with my sister.
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This one's a little less high-tech, but still very useful. I use them to leave reminders for myself around the house, notes for my kids, and I even write Bible verses on them so I can see them throughout my day. You can even get sticky notes pre-printed with Bible verses here
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Phone alarm clock
Thanks to distance learning with four kids who all have virtual classes, I currently have 17 alarms set to go off of my phone throughout the school day. Thankfully, that's not the norm for me, but I do use my phone alarm on a regular basis to help me remember things such as appointments, picking kids up from activities, and just about anything else.
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If you're like me, you're constantly looking for your phone, your keys, your purse, your mind, etc. Tile can't help you when you're losing your mind, but it's great for the other stuff! 
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I don't write by hand as much anymore because it hurts my fingers and hands, but I'm still pretty obsessed with notebooks and always have at least one going at all times. I use it for my devotions, to write lists and reminders down, to plan things, etc. When I discovered smart notebooks, it blew my mind! Write in the notebook with a Pilot FriXion erasable pen, scan it and upload to your favorite cloud service, erase, and start again. I love that what I write can become digital so I can save and easily find it again. Plus, it's endlessly reusable!
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Flaredown App
This app helps you track your symptoms and is available for Androids and iPhones. This can make a huge difference in managing your health and being able to show your doctors exactly what's going on with you. 
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Medisafe App
Do you ever forget to take your medicine or is that just me? If that's something you struggle with too, this app can help remind you to take your medication and can even be synced with others so someone else can check in on you or so you can make sure your child or other loved one is taking their medicine. Oh, and did I mention that it's free??
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I've used this app for about 10 years now and LOVE it. It helps me keep my house from reaching disaster levels by giving me a list of simple chores to do each day. They can be customized and even assigned to others in your house. 
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I haven't personally used this app, but I've heard rave reviews about it from lots of other moms so I thought I better include it in the list. Cozi is a family organizer that keeps your whole family on track and in communication with each other. 
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If you prefer to go old school, this book covers a lot of ground and can make tracking your symptoms and other aspects of your care easy to do and share.
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Need some tips for how to clean your house while minimizing your pain and fatigue? This book covers it all and is a must-read.
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This last one isn't really a tool, but it's a blog post about getting organized from Chronic Illness Warrior Life that I found to be very helpful. Check it out! 

What tools do you use to cope with brain fog?







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