There was a programme on TV the other day about lifestyle managers, these not-so personal assistants are provided for a fee by a growing company. Their aim? To make life easier by taking menial tasks away from busy people such as organising meals out, holidays or a plumber to fix your boiler, this gives busy people more time to be... well...busy.
It's a bloody great idea. I always find myself with a list of necessary and boring tasks but I'm too busy (aka - can't be bothered) to sort them all out. Missbliss offered to be my lifestyle manager but she is busy too (busy baking me cakes that is). If I won the lottery, the first thing I'd invest in (after a trip to a Ferrari garage) would be my own personal lifestyle manager. Until those numbers come up I'll have to make do with my PDA.
Yes, maybe it makes me look like a geek, maybe it is a bit lame, maybe I could make do with a normal diary but I don't care. It's a godsend, I've recently been wondering what I did without it. One of the female SHOs summed it up quite well the other day simply by saying "Boys and their toys"
Isn't it just an extravagant diary I hear you ask? Well no, not at all. Although that is probably the most useful feature. As a medical student it can become almost impossible to keep track of where you're supposed to be and when. I don't have that problem anymore, I know exactly where I'm going, when I've got to be there and what I'm going to do when I've got there. No more missed birthdays or anniversaries either which is a bonus and list of tasks makes sure I don't forget those everyday things. On top of keeping me organised, I've sold my ipod on eBay as I can now have all my music and videos on a memory card, I can keep myself amused on the move by playing games on it (that comes in very useful as a medical student because I seem to spend most of my time waiting around for things.) I even have anatomy videos on there, I know that's lame but I've got to do something to teach myself anatomy because the medical school aren't too bothered that I don't know my pisiform from my xiphisternum. I can access the Internet on the go with a built in wifi connection which makes checking my emails and reading blogs easier than ever.
Obviously the most important thing is the poser factor, a sense of organisation and professionalism which even some of the consultants are impressed with. Except when they're having a look at it, only to find my diary has been vandalised by missbliss who scheduled a session of cuddles.
If only it was a phone as well...
Sunday, 1 April 2007
Lifestyle Managers
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6 comments:
I'm looking into getting a treo (phne/palm) or a blackberry for when I start clerkship in January. I'm dragging my heals because, although i like technology, I don't want to be dependent on it and I'd rather learn medicine without. I want to be able to depend on my own brain, not one contained in a machine.
Plus I think you can put the BNF on there as well - saves you from carrying it around the wards. Michelle
It may keep you organised, but can it deal with incompetent bank staff. No
I have tried outsourcing the menial tasks of running the flat (utilities, putting the bins out, dealing with the landlord, etc) to my layabout flatmates, but the fact it's taken the two of them 7 months to contact the gas/electric company to tell them we've moved in suggests that if you want something doing properly you have to do it yourself.
Also it took them a day to get the bathroom toilet drainpipe fixed after the recent gales when it ripped off the all and angled into the neighbour's yard (thus depositing its contents there every time we flushed).
I mean really they have 5hrs of lectures a week, how busy can they be ffs?
Sorry for the rant, but it's been a stressful day, and I don't (yet) have the luxury of my own blog to vent
medstudentitis - Thats a good point, perhaps I will become a bit to dependent on it, but at the moment it fits my needs almost perfectly and I think it will benefit my learning. I quite fancy an Apple iPhone when they finally arrive.
Dr Michelle Tempest - Thats a good point, you can also put textbooks on there too, although i'm not too keen on buying electronic copies of books, I like paper versions.
j00ni - Your day didn't get any better then? Thats wank. You need to get yourself a blog to rant on, you know you want to. Another day in the library today (or more likely, an excessively long lunchtime with internet surfing in between.
Whoa! I think you've struck gold here, Little Medic m'boy.
I've only seen HOs organising their lives with fat notebooks in their pockets. But hey, a PDA sounds like the dream tool for a junior doctor (or a med student)! Genius, man, genius. The anatomy videos and music are bonuses too.
And missbliss actually offered to be your lifestyle manager and do all that? Whoa, you're a really lucky man, you know. Hold on to her as tightly as you can (not like that, you perv).
hey hey hey, don't diss the iPod. I have anatomy podcasts and videopodcasts on mine, and i can play games too, and watch Grey's Anatomy, and it has a diary and phone book. But ok, I concede I can't connect to the internet with it yet.
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