to assist individuals with planning, tasks, and organization.
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, so we would like to highlight tools to assist individuals with planning on their agriculture operations and in daily life.
Planning can be difficult for everyone, but there are added obstacles for individuals that face challenges with short- term memory, organization, and sequencing.
Also, farmers and ranchers must plan and organize their tasks on a daily basis. Whether plants or animals, living things are dependent on a farmer/rancher to live. There are also different seasons for different tasks and events, such as working livestock, planting, harvesting, etc. that must be planned for in advance. Planning tools can make this task much more efficient and easy.
Here are a few apps to help with planning and tasks:
Productive – Habit Tracker (iOS)
Productive is a free app that helps you build in your daily tasks and routines. You can set goals and track your progress to help you stay motivated. It also features a scheduler and reminders to alert users when tasks or routines should be completed.
One way farmers and ranchers can utilize this tool is scheduling out their daily routines and tasks. Feeding, watering, checking livestock, harvesting, etc. are all tasks that are recurring. Scheduling them with reminders will alleviate stress associated with remembering when to do those tasks, which tasks have been done already, and what is coming up next.
Check out Productive – Habit Tracker here.
Dragon Anywhere (iOS, Android)
Dragon Anywhere is a dictation (speech to text) app that offers immediate dictation on documents of any length. You can fill out forms, dictate word documents, and even format and edit the documents from the app.
Business planning and record keeping is a major tasks for farmers and ranchers. With added challenges in getting thoughts on paper, this can be nearly impossible. Dictation apps like Dragon Anywhere allow individuals the opportunity to speak instead of write. This alleviates that barrier and makes planning and record keeping much easier.
Check out Dragon Anywhere here.
CanPlan (iOS)
CanPlan promotes independence and builds confidence by helping people with cognitive challenges complete tasks successfully. Virtually any activity can be broken down into a sequence of easy-to-follow steps, illustrated by photos and reinforced with optional text and audio. Scheduling and reminder features ensure that each task gets done on time.
Many farm and ranch tasks have several steps. CanPlan allows tasks to be broken down into steps with photos and optional text. For example, feeding livestock may require individuals to get feed, open the bag, put a certain amount in a bucket, and take it to the correct pen. This app will allow you to categorize each task into steps with photos and text and set a reminder.
There are many more apps and tools that can assist with planning and tasks. Check out the links below for a more comprehensive list of apps available.
Drew Bufalini – Top 18 Apps for People with Traumatic Brain Injuries
Brainline – Life-Changing Apps for People with Brain Injury
Brain Injury Hub – 18 of the best apps for simplifying everyday life for people with brain injury