Technology

3 Reasons Why You Need A Calendar

Technology / /

Improve Time Management Skills By Mastering The Use of A Calendar A sure sign of adulthood is having more things to keep track of, which can include doctor’s appointments, haircuts, school assignments, bills, time with friends, and so much more! One key tool to assist in managing all of these important events is a calendar. Whether you keep it on your phone or written down, finding the right calendar system for you can make a huge difference when managing your life. Need a bit more convincing? Let’s review 3 important reasons why you’ll want to keep a calendar: 1. Track Important Due Dates Due dates aren’t just for school. (Although you’ll definitely want to keep track of assignments and test dates if you are a student!) As an adult you’ll also need to track when payment for bills are due, because forgetting a payment may lead to additional fees or even losing access to something important (such as internet or electricity). Don’t forget about appointments either – you’ll want to make sure you know when your next visit to the doctor, dentist, or hair stylist may be. By keeping all of these due dates in one place, you’ll be sure not to miss an important event and save money by avoiding late fees. Tip: Color code items on your calendar (for example, bills always in green, appointments in blue) – this will help you keep track of your day with a quick glance. 2. Make Plans Easily People often say, “Let’s get together soon!” but never actually make a plan. When you have a well maintained calendar, you’ll know exactly when you are free to hang out with friends. You can quickly respond to a friend’s invitation to get lunch or write yourself a reminder to ask someone to a movie. This makes making plans with others much easier. Also, friends appreciate when you follow through with your plans! By putting time with others on your calendar, you show that you are being responsible and respect their time. Tip: Not sure what to ask a friend to do? Check out our blog post – 56 Activity Ideas To Do With Friends for ideas! 3. Have Less Stress It can be challenging to keep track of your to-do list, and we are all bound to forget things from time to time, but by maintaining a calendar, you are able to create routines and not have to worry about forgetting something important. For example: This system allows you to create a to-do list within your daily routine. When you are better prepared for upcoming events, you’re likely to feel less stressed! Tip: Keep it visible! If you are taking the time to create and manage a calendar, keep it in a place you see and check often. Looking to learn or teach the ins and outs of using a calendar and reading dates? Check out Accessible Adulthood’s Resource – Calendar Dates and Appointments Quick Reference

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How to teach strong password habits

The Do’s and Don’ts of a Strong Password

Parent Education, Technology / /

Important facts to teach young adults with IDD about managing cyber security and keeping their password information safe.   A password is like a key – it allows only one specific person to access personal information. Most of us have many different passwords to remember. We have to log into our email, online shopping websites, streaming services, and even our bank accounts! Since passwords are an important part of our daily lives, in this post we’ll review some important facts to keep your information safe. What can go wrong if someone guesses your password? First, let’s review the term “strong password.” If a password is strong, it means that other people will have a harder time guessing your password and so your information will be much safer. If someone does guess your password, (commonly called “hacking”) they will have access to a your personal information. This means they could spend all of your money, log into your email and social media accounts, and pretend to be you in order to do bad things. In order to avoid getting your information hacked, review the following Do’s and Don’ts for password management: Don’t have one password for everything. Sure, it would be easy to only remember one password, but if an online thief guesses that one password, they will then have access to every single thing! Having different passwords for every website is a much safer way to protect your information. Do make your password hard to guess Can you believe one of the most common passwords is actually the word “Password?” Using simple, common phrases such as “1234”, “Password”, or even your name and date of birth are really easy for people to guess! Most websites will have passwords requirements, meaning that your password will need certain details such as: Uppercase letters ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Lowercase letters abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Special Symbols (!@#$%^&*) Numbers 1234567890 Make sure to pay attention to the password requirements for each different website. Most won’t let you continue until you have all of the required parts. Don’t make your password too short In addition to having certain password parts, a website might also have a “character requirement” – this means a password must be a certain length. For example:dog2 =  4 characters longCollege25! = 10 characters long The second example password is much stronger than the first, because it has more characters, an upper case letter, more numbers, and a special symbol. It is a harder password for other people to guess. Do change your password often The longer you keep a certain password, the more chances it gives someone else to guess it! Some websites will force you to change your password every few months, and they might not allow you to reuse a previous password either. While this may seem frustrating sometimes to come up with another new password all the time, it really is a good habit to keep your information safe. Don’t share your password with others Your password should belong to you, and only you. A general rule is not to share your password with anyone. Even if a trusted adult asks for your password, make sure you understand what they will have access to if they use it and make sure you are comfortable sharing that information. It is not appropriate to have someone send emails pretending to be you, or completing school assignments that are meant for you. It is an important responsibility to manage your online accounts. Do keep your information in a safe place. Most of us have trouble remembering every single password we make, especially if we make them strong passwords that have a lot of parts to remember. Some people like to keep their passwords all together on their phone, such as a locked note or a specific password tracking app. Here at Accessible Adulthood, we also created a Password Tracking Packet to assist in keeping this information in one place. If you decide to write down your password information, be sure keep this document in a safe place as well. Need a place to keep track of passwords for WiFi, Email, Websites, Streaming Services, and more? Check out our Password Tracker Packet to keep important information in one place. Having strong passwords and keeping track of them is an important responsibility. Find an organization system that works well for you so you always feel confident in logging into websites independently while keeping your information safe. Looking for more resources to teach skills realted to technology?Check out Accessible Adulthood’s resources in theTechnology target skill area.

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