Author name: Jenny Nicole

A World Where Glass Ceilings Can Be Broken With Code
Business, Parental Monitoring

A World Where Glass Ceilings Can be Broken With Code

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A couple of years ago, Google invested $50 million on Made With Code, an initiative that encourages more women to be part of computer science. This program wants young girls to learn to code so they can build the things they love, be it an app or a video game. The purpose of the project is to integrate more women into the Silicon Valley and close the gender gap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo11JJgj1cU A study suggests that out of the total population of Computer Science degree holders, women make up a mere 17%. And that’s probably why the tech industry is largely being run by men. Made With Code suggests that coding will also bring about entrepreneurial propensities in girls because they’ll be able to bring their ideas to life. It appears that Google has taken notice that men tend to crowd up the tech field and that women are socialized to take on traditionally “feminine” jobs. When they started the imitative, Google hosted the “Made With Code” event in New York City to inspire women of all ages. Google has also recruited mentors to inspire girls with their projects. Megan Smith, the Google X EVP says that coding and tech isn’t presented as an avenue for girls to get on. She criticized television shows and movies where men always get depicted as the computer genius over women. She believes all these factors add up to drive girls away from coding. They do not have role models to look up to. There is no one on the television their young minds can relate to, no one they watch on the screens and aspire to be like, at least in the science scope. Google plans to execute this idea by setting up camps across the country where girls can get together and learn to code. A group learning system means more exposure—and Google has found that social encouragement is one of the biggest factors for women to get into tech, along with successful women to look up to. Others talked of the stigma that comes with women in tech—girls are labeled “nerdy” if they express and interest in science and “bossy” if they show leadership qualities. Google wants this project to reach out to girls, both in their classrooms and at home. They want to achieve this by donating $15 million to computer science projects focused on girls for the next three years. At this point, I really want to bring up what we here at XNSPY want to achieve. We provide a parental control app. One that is meant to monitor, not stop the use of technology. We always encourage parents to view gadgets as tools for growth and development, not devil boxes that are sure to hinder a child’s performance in schools. Heck, even schools are starting to get enlightened in this regard. They realize that technology has to be integrated in education systems rather than reprimanded. That is the only way forward. Glass ceilings have always existed in the Silicon Valley, but it seems like they might finally be broken—with code, no less.

3 Habits Managers Can Adopt XNSPY
Business, Employee Monitoring

3 Habits Managers Can Adopt to Get a Handle on their Turnover—Part 2

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In our previous blog, we tried to identify why 75% Americans are still not happy in their jobs. Is it because they choose jobs for money rather than a personal interest? Is it because they are not given proper recognition? It is because they are unhappy with their bosses? We also explored the first good habit for a manager—giving clarity to expectations. We talked about how it means more than just a job description; an employee must know what is expected of them in relation to others and the changing environment. So now, let’s talk about the remaining 2 habits managers need to adopt to get their employees to stay. 2.     Build Strengths, Not Break Down Weaknesses Another great habit of good managers—they focus on building their employee’s strengths, not breaking down their weaknesses. Before I was here, I used to work for a shabby little publication that shall not be named. When I started as a young and eager graduate, they put me on Business Development (as as the cool kids call it, Biz Dev). Come the end of the first quarter, I had under my belt a total of zero accounts. So my manager came up to me and instead of breaking me down—or firing me—they sat me down and said, “Hey, you know, you’re just not right for this job. Maybe you’re not meant for sales. Do you wanna try your hand at writing for the Marketing team?” And bam. I found my calling because my boss recognized a strength in me and nourished it. The number one thing that employers do wrong is focusing too much on their employee’s weaknesses. They call them out on what they did wrong and expect the person to improve upon it. When this happens, the employee’s strengths are overshadowed. What they did right is never acknowledged—what they did wrong is brought center stage. This is so counterproductive, it blows my mind. Can’t you see? This way, the employee won’t even perform good on their strengths. They’ll just be discouraged and eventually end up leaving for a better opportunity. 3.     Open Door Communications And finally, for Pete’s sake, managers. This is the year 2016. It is a proven fact that flatter organizations outperform those with hierarchal structures. Yeah, you feel like the man when you’ve got your own little cabin and you sit behind a desk and get to order around a few people but is this power trip really worth it if it is effecting the overall performance of your company? Stifle that ego and get in with the times. Encourage open door communication and have frequent talks with ALL your employees. Then step out of the office and sit with the employees for once. Get your hands dirty, and get to experience how your workers actually work. That is the new age style of working. This is where I love the Silicon Valley. Sure they’ve got their own problems, but you cannot deny that they’re innovation hubs. But walk into any one of them and you’ll see long tables without a header or strict divisions. No cabins, no partitions. Just people working together, no matter what their job title. The boss, the intern, the guy from marketing all set camp on bean bags with their laptops and work on a project together. And they are way more productive than are places with strict hierarchies. These are three simple habits, but for your employees, they could mean choosing to stay rather than looking for other opportunities.

Social Media Affecting Young Girls
Employee Monitoring

3 Habits Managers Can Adopt to Get a Handle on their Turnover—Part 1

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As it were, seventy five percent of the US working class is not engaged in their jobs. While this may not come as a surprise, the strange thing with this fact is that this number has not changed in 16 years. So when you’ve got stagnation like that, you start to wonder what the problem is. Is it just a reality plain and simple that people are always going to hate their jobs? Is it that workplaces are always going to treat their workers are emotionless robots? Is it even possible to strike that happy medium where employees love their jobs and contribute to the overall growth, productivity and innovation at their organizations? Let’s scale it down and talk about your workplace. You know by now that when people quit their jobs, they are not really quitting their jobs… they are quitting their bosses. In this situation, maybe you need to take some time and work on your own self-improvement as a manager. Did you know that in the US, over seven thousand adults quit their jobs to distance themselves from their line managers? This is was so they could improve their overall quality of life. The funny thing to me is—you probably don’t even realize you’re being a bad manager. I mean, you don’t shout, or give unrealistic deadlines or even sign a check too late in the month. The problem is that the stuff you’re doing wrong is a work lifestyle thing. You’re making your employees miserable, but you’re doing it slowly. And that’s the worst kind of miserable to be in, one where you can’t pinpoint where the “wrong” is exactly. Recommended For You: Employee Monitoring Software – Spy Employees Remotely Then, what is it that you can do that would make you better with this whole management thing? How can you stop employees running for the door every couple of years? For starters, adopt these 3 habits that are simple, yet commonly forgotten… 1.     Give Clarity to Expectations We once had a programmer join our team. Let’s call him John. Now John had a pretty cool job opportunity with another organization, too. Why did he choose us over them (apart from the fact that we’re clearly awesome-er)? John says that in his interview, when he asked his would-be boss what the expected duties of his position are, he simply said “Oh, so much.” John rephrased his question and asked, “What duties would I be expected to carry out on a day to day basis?” Once more, the would-be boss clicked his tongue and said “Oh, just everything.” John chose to work with us because we gave him clear directives of what his job title entails, right down to the daily basis thing. Now, this is one extreme example of unclear expectations from the boss. Granted, John hadn’t even joined the organization yet, so anything we may have said about clarity would be an assumption. But clarity in expectations is considered the first element of great management. And this is where it goes beyond just the job description that we handed out to John that held all the directives. Clear expectations are that grey area in which an employee finds out what is expected of them in relation to other employees as well as the situation. In our next blog, we’ll delve into the other two habits you can adopt that will stop your employees from running for the door.

How Social Media Is Affecting Young Girls
Child Monitoring, Cyberbullying

How social media is affecting young girls

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It’s not the first time that we would be to talking about internet safety and kids on this platform, but considering how the online world distinctively affects gender is another important issue that needs some consideration. Unfortunately, girls aren’t just prone to the usual online predating and sexual temptation when they go online, they also have to deal with the unrealistic body standards and the inevitable and vicious bullying for those who don’t comply. It’s a sad online world. We have been striving to raise our daughters that would turn out to be intelligent, positive brave and independent, but with social media, everything works in opposition to our aspirations and dreams. As a parent, having a knowledge of all the possible perils could be one way of saving your girl from engaging in risky behaviors. Online Predators and Catfishing The ease with which online sexual abusers are able to get to our daughters is inexplicable. The anonymity of the internet and less stringent policies have made it all too easy for online predators to purport as some teen. These people can easily sign up on social media with fake photos to create a fake online persona which girls easily buy into. In fact, this issue is extremely perverse in nature with one out of every five users (10 to 17 years old) receiving some sort of unwanted sexual advances, already. In the worst case scenario, it could get really tense, leading to kidnapping or rape. (Xanax bars) Sexual predators are able to lure teenagers, especially girls, on social media with their extremely professional catfishing skills, convincing them to arrange a dangerous personal meeting. What’s more appalling is the fact that around 30 percent of teenage girls have already met a stranger in person that they first met online. Catfishing, i.e. faking your identity, is also used for less detrimental reasons like gaining access to private information, making friends, and so on. These kinds of users are usually going to stay off the radar and prefer to stick with the stuff that they receive online—it’s enough for them. Cyberbullying Cyberbullying may not be as bad as rape or kidnapping, but it sure leaves young girls with intense repercussions. Your child’s peers can spew raging and heartbreaking comments at them that could lead to embarrassment, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. Cyberbullying isn’t an issue that needs parents’ attention in school meetings only; it’s a state-level issue and young people aren’t the only victims. Cyberbullying may not leave any physical scarring, but it does create an impact that mentally crushes a child’s personality and puts them to isolation, emotional distress, anxiety, depression and more. In fact, if we look at the figures for suicide rates among girls ages between 10-14, they have actually risen by 200 percent [Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. And if compared with deaths due to diseases, suicides unfortunately outnumber them. Though there haven’t been any evidences that could link cyberbullying with suicides in young girls, but it’s not difficult to built a non-formal, non-scientific relationship. Girls, as compared to boys, are more emotional and are much better at verbal bullying (where boys tend to be more psychical), so it’s understandable why the suicide rates are rising amongst teenage girls. The shame and devastation resulting from a rumor at school could aggrandize quickly due to easy dissemination of information. Though this is not a definite answer, but it’s worthwhile to look at some possible correlation between the two, that are, cyberbullying and teen suicide rates amongst girls. However, there have been studies proving the fact that it’s not just the bullied who is prone to a suicidal behavior, but the bullies themselves too, and that too with equal risk. Self-esteem and Body image Lastly, we would like to about the most important part that largely affects teen girls, i.e. body shaming and failing self-esteem. Girls feel constantly challenged to come up with something that will make them look think, cool and pretty. Social media in this case could lead to a perverse influence on your girl if she would start comparing her body with others, and especially models. Girls can easily fall for a comparative analysis of their body and lifestyle with their peers which is nothing more than a vicious cycle of measuring up each other’s crafted lives. This comparison particularly holds true for the issues of body image. The perfect body image as created by media and marketing organizations is realistically unattainable, and even though we all know that these images are edited before posting, our young daughters still strive to achieve the size zero figures. And while doing so, the distinction between fake and real is lost, and with that, one’s own conscience and self-esteem too. it’s also normal for girls to deprive themselves off food and nutrition to engage in self-destructive behavior. Social media is a valuable tool for every child and deprivation is not a solution. Make sure that you are tracking your daughter’s every move closely. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. are some great socializing tools, but they also pose their own unique threats and extreme consequences.

Nighttime SmartPhone Etiquette Guide for Kids pt2
Child Monitoring

Nighttime smartphone etiquette guide for kids [Part 2]

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When night befalls, it’s time for your kids to be more watchful of their activities. Even if you had been lax with them during the day, you have to roll up your sleeves and be more sturdy during night. Your kids’ sleep matters, and you have to ensure that they are getting enough of it. If you haven’t checked our nighttime smartphone etiquette guide Part 1, make sure you go through it too Here it is, the rest of it. No texting while driving We have been telling you this time and again, but this time, it’s about your kids texting and driving during nighttime. It’s risky to text and drive in the day, and it’s scary when done at night. Any kind of distraction during late night driving is a lot more dangerous. Make sure that your child knows that there will be absolutely no texting allowed while driving. Phones after homework Most of kids sit down to do their homework in the evening; tell your kids that they will only have access to their phones once they have competed their homework and other chores. Once they have done it, let them use their cell phone for an hour or two. This is the maximum time that your kids should be allowed to spend with their gadgets as per American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation. During this time, kids can browser access their social media profiles, chat with their friends or browse the internet, because they have earned it. Make some exceptions Even though AAP has suggested one to two hours of daily cell phone use, have some room to make some exceptions when your child is using their cell phones for educational purposes. However, if your child needs access to internet for studying, let them use a family computer. No Phones in the bedroom This is the most essential part where you would actually be deciding whether your kids are going to sleep peacefully or not. Make no exceptions here. Your kids shouldn’t be allowed to take their phones with them when they go to sleep. It’s the time when they love to tuck in with their phones for late night calls          and texting. There was a time when staying up all night was no less than a trend. If you think alienating your kids from their cell phone is a little difficult, try using XNSPY as it can lock their phones whenever you want to. Follow a contract You can’t expect your children to follow your rules unless you are giving them back what was promised. If it’s promised that they will be having two hours of cell phone use after their homework, stick to your promise then. Setup a smartphone contract with your child as it’s the best way to stay on the deal. Add other clauses into the contract that would prevent them from visiting mature websites or talking to strangers online. There is so much that you can make use of once you have a smartphone contract. We will soon cover how you can make a smartphone contract with your child. After all day at work, the last thing that you need to worry about is your kids misusing their cell phones. Having these etiquette rules will leave you wordless and bonded together as a family. Have something to share with us? Let us know in the comments.

Nighttime Smartphone Etiquette Guide for Kids pt1
Child Monitoring

Night Time Smartphone Etiquette Guide for Kids [Part 1]

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Late night cell phone (ab)use is much worse than your kids’ daytime obsession. For this reason, devising a smart late night guide for your kids would ensure that they sleep tight through the night without glancing at their phones at intervals. There are many reasons why you should come more stringent about your kids’ nighttime screen time. Screen time just before sleep can interfere with the melatonin levels in your child’s body (melatonin induces sleep). More exposure to cell phones, tablets, TVs and computer just before sleep would mean they will have difficulties going to sleep. Your kids’ obsession with social media can encourage them to stay up all night without caring much about their school, grades or health. Parents should focus on improving the quality of sleep of their kids as it’s essential for their mental and physical health. Kids’ performance during the day can sever just because they couldn’t go to bed on time. If you really want your kids to have better grades, participate more in sports, and be more around real people than with their phones, it’s time for you to setup a nighttime smartphone guide. Just yelling at them to go to sleep doesn’t work; it has a lot to do with critically balancing everything in their life. Lights out When it’s nighttime, it’s time to say goodbye to all the lights, including those emanating from the phone screens. To ensure that your kids don’t lose on quality sleep, make sure that their phones aren’t within their reach at night. Kids who sleep with their phones next to them periodically get up at night, disturbing their sleep cycle badly. Remember, the more sleep your child will be losing, the more will be their chances of suffering emotionally and academically. No “no phone zone” outside home While it’s good to have “no phone zones” inside home; your child should never be going out without their phones. If your child is out with their friends late or staying at their place, it’s necessary for you to stay in touch with them. Part of the digital etiquette guide would be telling your kids to carry an extra charger or a battery pack with them. Don’t take “my phone was dead” for an excuse. There is no purpose of your child to carry a phone if they aren’t returning your calls or updating you with their location wherever they go. Tell your kids to leave you with a text about their location when they are moving, or the contrary, you could use a location tracking device that would automatically keep you updated about your child’s location. More family time should be priority Whenever you have planned some evening family activity, be it indoor (like watching a movie) or outdoor (like barbeque), your kids have to be there, unplugged. It’s necessary that your kids spend valuable time with the family, which isn’t a possibility if they would be glued to their phones all the time. These are the situations that really need your attention, because your kids should know too how great it is to converse and share thoughts and insights with other family members. Stay tuned for the Part 2 of the read. More on nighttime etiquette coming up.

XNSPY Security Monitoring
Social Media

Social media anxiety: Creating a balance between FOMO and “Phone free time”

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The effects of social media aren’t just contained to our kids alone. At XNPSY Blog, we have always focus on how we can make our kid’s better digital citizens; this time, we have expanded the horizon of our reach to everyone living in this age of constant connection. According to Australian Psychological Society’s (APS) survey on Fear of Missing Out, adults spend around 2.1 hours per day, and kids spent 2.7 hours per day on their social media accounts. And not just that; 56 percent of teens reported that they are binge social media users, while 23 percent of adults reported that were heavy social media users. It’s true that social media is captivating our kids’ lives more than ours, and that’s why as parents, we need to look into this real issue which is turning into an addiction. Negative feelings and FOMO Feeling like missing out on something couldn’t be positive; in fact, it’s actually brutally devastating for the person who goes through it. You feel alienated, deprived or overwhelmed, not being able to know what’s going around you. This constant urge to know isn’t great for the mental tranquility of your child as they can hardly focus on their present moment when they are always worrying about missing out an event. As a parent, this isn’t amusing to know that your kids have been fearing about something that doesn’t value anything in real. With FOMO, your kids spend more time in front of their gadgets, while staying on their heels all the time, fearing they would miss out something. FOMO can take forms The intensity of FOMO depends largely on the social network that your child is using. For instance, someone who is more active on Facebook would feel anxious about all the comments, posts, videos that others are posting, while for someone who is a Twitter user would only be fearing on missing out tweets. This doesn’t matter much though. What matters is to understand that FOMO is a real issue and you have to deal with it. Parents who dismiss their kids’ social media anxiety as a “silly” issue aren’t doing parenting right. it’s necessary that you spend time to listen to your kids’ insecurities and take measures to deal with it. If you want to tackle this issue, it’s important you understand risks associated and take essentials measures afterward. Strengthen their inner self One of the most common reasons why children or adults are caught in the labyrinth of social FOMO is low self-esteem. Neglect is another reason amongst kids; they obsessively post on social media and then wait for people to “comment” and “like”. With proper support, you can always help hour child regain their lost self-esteem. You have to strengthen your child’s inner self and appreciate what they do. Tell them that they are doing great and their life is not miserable. You also have to tell them it’s not worth waiting for others to judge and comment and that sustaining social standing doesn’t count. Work on building their offline world Another reason why FOMO has turned into an obsessive issue is because our kids don’t have a great social life. Give your child reasons to get out of home in real world with people and friends. Give your child an excuse to put down their smartphones. Don’t just encourage your child to go out and have useless fun; instead, work on getting them valuable internship or any other activity that would improve their socializing in real life. Set limits Even if you have a confident, bright child, social media is a spiral where anyone can get lost. By setting limits on their cell phone usage, you will be doing them a favor. Setting limits on your kids’ screen time should begin even before a child gets their first electronic device. Use a parental control app if you haven’t been able to minimize your child’s screen time.] Create distractions If you aren’t giving your children alternative entertainment plans, you are increasing their chances of resorting to social media. Honestly, it’s not easy to substitute vines, funny videos and photos with some other activity but if you try early, you can build their interest in family activities like gardening, or working on a project together. By taking your child’s interests into consideration, you can better devise a distraction plan. Don’t pose cell phones as something evil Even if you are using parental controls to moderate your kids’ cell phone use, it doesn’t guarantee an absolute damage control; they will still have access to social media somewhere during the day. Restrictions aren’t long terms plans, so you will have to work on something that will turn their phones into a source of creativity. Tell your kids how they can take beautiful pictures of nature and setup an Instagram account to display them. This way, they will be using social media to be creative rather than being judgmental and anxious all the time. Help your child fall in love meditation When a child feels lost, they will do things, unreasonably, without giving them a thought. Lack of concentration and focus is an issue that instigates FOMO in the first place. Meditation can help your kids stay focused and more present-oriented. Inculcate the idea of living a peaceful life in your child where they can focus on one thing at a time. This way, your kids will start having a sense of gratefulness for people and things that they have. It’s never too late to help your child move beyond FOMO. It can take time but it’s not something that your child can never let go. Use right tools and attitude to beat your child’s social media anxiety and bring them back to real world once again. Have something to share with us? Let us know in the comments. See Also: Top Parental Control Apps

Employees Monitoring App
Employee Monitoring

3 Tips for Employee Monitoring First-Timers to Avoid Rookie Mistakes!

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Earlier on our blog, we discussed whether it is better to have ERP systems or other employee monitoring apps that can be found in the consumer market. We concluded that ERP system—although more sophisticated and complex in nature—are not always the right choice. For one, they can cost an arm an a leg, which a new company can simply not afford in its infancy. For another, perhaps you don’t even have a sizeable database that entails an ERP system. In that case, consumer apps will be the better option and can often surprise you. I’m going to give you 3 tips that will help you if you’re choosing employee monitoring for the first time. 1.     Look for Mobile Apps instead of Bespoke Software The first thing you’ve got to do is change your mind set. You need a different purchasing strategy. So far, you’ve been thinking of bespoke software for employee surveillance. You think that you need to go to a tech agency, tell them what you need, and wait for them to give you a build to order software with your company’s stamp on it. That’s all well and good, but what you should know is that it is not the only option. Look instead of mobile apps that offer device monitoring. They are easier to get by and like we mentioned before, less costly for the company. There is also less risk involved—if the method of monitoring does not work for you, the switching cost is way lower than for bespoke software, which will probably cost you thousands of dollars. Recommended for You:  Employee Monitoring Software – Spy Employees Remotely 2.     Find Data Intel Instead of Live Video Options What comes to mind when I say employee surveillance? Probably security cameras placed discreetly within the office and a control room that plays the live recordings of all being captured by those camera. Once more, you need to forgo these traditional images and opt instead for something that provides employee data intel rather than simply moving images. Sure, cameras have their pros but cell phone monitoring will give you a more in depth insight into certain decision making processes and even indiscretions that are detrimental to the company’s performance. 3.     Monitor Communication Instead of the Person Another traditional thought process related to employee monitoring is that it must be used to catch the person “in that act”. That it has to be used because employees are by nature fraudulent and the company must to everything to keep from being exploited. That’s another thing that needs to change. What you need to know as the manager or the business owner is that you monitoring focus should be on communication rather than the person themselves. Track how they are communicating with clients, supervisors and other employees and judge them according to that. In the end, we’ll repeat our original argument—what you need to know when choosing mobile phone surveillance is that you don’t always need made to order enterprise systems. Sometimes, mobile apps like XNSPY work just as well, if not better, than these systems. And you’d be better off with it.    

Great XNSPY Trick
Parental Monitoring

This Mom Has a Great XNSPY Trick for Back to School Season

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This amazing XNSPY mom wrote to us, just in time for Back to School season. She shared the stories of her mischievous son, who began cutting class last year. Since then, she has learned to use XNSPY to keep him in and plans to use it this year as well… Last school year, my son has recently developed a nasty habit of skipping all his classes to go out and do heavens know what. I didn’t know what he was doing until I got a call from his school to say that he hadn’t been in class again. That’s why I went online and bought XNSPY cell phone tracker and installed it on his phone without telling him. And that did the trick. If you’re looking to track your children for safety or discipline reasons, keep on reading to learn how I managed to become a mom always in the dark to a mom always two steps ahead. Why I Use XNSPY I wanted something that would give me real time locations of my son. Other GPS trackers I found had to be attached then detached from the target to see where they had been. This mobile tracker, XNSPY, has been especially designed for parents so that they can keep tabs on their kid’s phones, while giving them on the information on a web portal side by side. This eliminated the need for detaching the tracker and then using it to upload the data. I can just get the information in real time on my computer as it is happening. What the Tracking Features Do Another thing I like about XNSPY is that the mobile tracking features are very versatile. Here’s what you can do: Acquire location history of target. This means that you can basically know all the places that your target user has been. It’s a great feature for working parents who are probably too busy to monitor locations all day long. (fmtest.com) They can just sit at home at the end of the day and check their kid’s location history. Create Watchlist locations. You can basically mark ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ locations on the map. I use this feature very often for my son. I’ve marked the school as the safe area and the rest as unsafe. I get an alert anytime he enters the unsafe area. That’s how I know he’s out of school. Why You Need XNSPY If you are concerned that Your kids are sneaking out of home or school Your kids are visiting dangerous/sketchy places Your child’s general safety is under threat then it would a be a good idea to go ahead and track your children for the new school year. XNSPY has been working without flaw for me, and I’m quite happy with it. Do you have any back to school tips or stories you want to share? Leave a comment below to be featured on this blog!

Digital Parenting
Child Monitoring

How to Execute a Flawless Back to School Plan for 2016

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It is back to school time! It’s the time of the year where kids need to wrap up their summer activities and pull up their socks for a brand new school year. It is a chance for them to start anew. It does not matter what sorts of grades they got earlier, how what their overall performance in other activities was like. A new year is a clean slate, and that’s what you should tell your kids before they head back. You can have a flawless back to school execution if you organize yourself. Here’s how. 1.     Use Your Digital Calendar Develop a habit of using your digital calendar. All smartphones come equipped with one. When your children receive their schedules from school, enter them into the calendar. Similarly, you can set “events” for school start times and end times so you’re given a reminder when it is time to drop them off and then pick them up. When you put in your entire schedule on your smartphone, you will find that you are much more organized. It can get overwhelming thinking about all the things you need to do to get your kids back into the school routine. But with the digital calendar, you’ll be given reminders half an hour before. This way, you’ll be given things for do in the NOW in bite sized tasks. It will organize and simplify your day and you will never forget anything! Moreover, you can set events for your child’s calendars and monitor their events so you can keep track of their day as well as your own. 2.     Make a List of Supplies Use your phone’s To Do list or Notes to make a list of all the things you’re going to need for the new school year. Be it books, pens, notebooks, towels, socks, clip folders or anything at all; jot it down on your smartphone. Sometimes, when you make lists, you tend to forget them at home or lose them when you’re out and shopping. Moreover, you need so many little things that it is easy to miss something out and berate yourself over it. Writing it down on your notes or To Do list will ensure that it is right there with you at all times. 3.     Schedule Meetings with Teachers Keep track of your child’s performance at school by regularly meeting with the teachers to get reports and feedbacks. Do so by scheduling meetings with them beforehand and then once again, entering them into your calendar. This way, you won’t forget to follow up and you’ll have firsthand knowledge of what your child is up to at school. 4.     Revamp Home Workspace A great way to get your kids excited about the new school year is to revamp their workspace. Even if the space is a tiny desk and a chair, make it look brand new. Put up soft boards and let your children decorate it however they like. Put up their homework schedule here. Paint the space and stock it with all their school supplies so that they get excited about working. Use this time before school reopens to preplan your activities and days. Make technology your best friend. Your smartphone does a lot more than take calls and give you the internet. Make use of it to execute a flawless school year!

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