Smart Tweaks for That Handy Evernote and Medication Tip for the Sandwich Generation

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Have you ever gotten excited about a great idea, implemented it, and then discovered that it didn't work. Or that, at the very least, it needed some major tweaking? Me too! In fact that exact thing happened to me this weekend! Remember the grand idea about photographing the medication bottles of your Sandwich Generation family with your iPhone to be prepared for doctor, urgent care, or hospital visits? 

The good news is, it can work. The bad news is, it needs a bit of tweaking. And I'm here to tell you just what to do, since my senior mom and I got to test drive it this weekend. She wasn't feeling well, and our doctor's office was closed, so off to urgent care we went. They asked about her medications, I whipped out my handy dandy iPhone, and they had NO wifi. My photos were locked away "in the cloud" and I couldn't get them. I finally realized they really DID have wifi, I just hadn't "accepted" it via my iPhone, so that's the first thing you always need to check on.                

The second thing to do, before you ever need it, is go into any files in your Evernote app that you might ever need with no wifi – whether medication bottles, a document you want to read, or even your To Do List. In your iPhone app for Evernote, you should see a little grey circle in the top left corner. Open the file, click on that circle, and then it will save that page directly onto your cell phone. THAT WAY, when you are sitting in the urgent care office late at night, a bit bleary eyed because of too little sleep the night before due to storms, you will be able to easily access your photos or other important information.

And another thing I would suggest. In addition to the cool photos, I WOULD type up the list of medications and add them to your contact file for each person. Because your contacts are always easily available, with or without wifi. And for that matter, I would also suggest you print out that list (and/or print out the photos of the medications) and keep them with all your hard copy paperwork like power of attorney, living will, etc. that we in the Sandwich Generation always travel with. Then, if you find that you have wifi at the doctor's office but your battery has died, you will still be OK. Oyyyy, the joys of hi-tech tools for caregivers. When they work, they are GREAT. And I still highly recommend them. But when they don't work, you do feel a bit glum, to say the least. But now, all the glumness is on me (and only for a minute), and YOU will be well prepared! 🙂