With stressful jobs, long hours and family commitments to juggle, our lives feel more complicated and demanding than ever. Just when you feel as though you're on top of everything you realise that you have nothing for dinner and your favourite niece is coming for tea. Thankfully technology can help. Here are six examples of technology can lighten the load:
1) Portable mobile phone charger
If you have ever gone to call your boss or your toddler's nursery to tell them you'll be late, only to find your phone has run out of charge, then this is for you. This portable battery enables you to charge up your smartphone when you don't have access to your car or a mains socket. Roughly the size of the mobile phone, it comes complete with a variety of connectors for various sockets. Simply charge up the battery at home, then keep in your bag or briefcase for when your phone unexpectedly runs out of juice.
2) Electronic Lockers
Online shopping is great when you can't get to the shops because you are working. Unfortunately, though, the items still need to be delivered to your house, and invariably the deliveries are scheduled during office hours. Many places of work don't like personal deliveries for employees, and allowing the courier to leave your package unattended on your doorstep all day is risky. A great way round this is to have a secure place for your delivery to be left. An electronic locker is ideal. You tell the courier to leave your item in the locker, and as the locker self-locks when the door is closed, there's no key needed by the driver. No follow-up calls or trips to the courier warehouse, and your items are safe until you get home.
3) eReaders
The trouble with being busy is that even when you have some relaxation time scheduled, like a holiday, you don't have time to get everything you need. You might have remembered your sun cream and passport, but you may not have had time to buy your books. This is where an eReader, such as the Kindle, can really help. You can download your holiday reads straight to your device. This also saves you money, as eBooks are often cheaper than the paper versions.
4) Electric Steamer
Often, when you get home late after a busy day at work, the last thing you want to do is cook. Have your dinner waiting for you by using an electric steamer. A fully programmable steamer with five compartments for food allows you to cook different foods in each compartment. The timer function allows you to prepare your food in the morning and set it to cook while you are out. An added bonus is that it saves on electricity, as all food is cooked from the same heat source.
5) Satellite Navigation
Whether you are driving to a client's premises for a meeting or to the beach on your holiday, a reliable SatNav system will make your life easier. Not only will you save time before you get in the car, but if you have to make a detour, your system will recalculate your route; no more poring over maps or getting lost. With some systems these days even obtaining traffic reports in real time, you can also avoid road congestion or accidents before you find yourself in the queue.
6) Wireless Storage Device
Have you ever downloaded a movie onto your computer, but wanted to watch it on your iPad? Or maybe you want to show a client some great photos of your idea on your smartphone but you've left your computer in the office. With this compact, portable wireless storage device you can keep all your documents, photos and movies in one place and watch them on any device you like. It will connect wirelessly with your gadgets, or through a USB port.
Life today seems complicated. But, with a little forward planning and using today's technology to your advantage, you can eat well, buy safely online and never get lost. Even better, not only will these devices simplify your life, but many of them will save you money as well.
Published on behalf of Matt Higgins, a technology blogger who loves to try every new gadget he finds.
