If you’re working from home, family-focused tech consultant Sarah Kimmel has advice for you

When consultant Sarah Kimmel sees families struggling to organize busy schedules – especially now, when across the world people are juggling work and school while at home – she can tell them to relax; it’s one of many problems she’s particularly well-qualified to solve.

Her solution for this common scenario: digitizing appointments, setting up different calendars for each child and color coding them. Then everyone can pull up those calendars on their phones and other devices, so they always know exactly what’s going on with each family member.

In these uncommon times, she also recommends parents create additional calendars for children’s new “routines” so they can see when they’re supposed to be doing school work, and what time parents should get their kids outdoors for “recess.”

“I try and help parents understand technology better by introducing them to things that they didn’t really even know existed,” Kimmel says. “They don’t really know how good it can be.”

When she talks to families about technology, such as work from home set-ups, she does so as a mom of two kids who use a lot of devices in their home and as someone who has 16 years of IT experience. She also runs a blog focused on families and tech (Family Tech Zone).

“The role I enjoy the most is public speaking about technology,” says Kimmel, who’s based in Utah. “I love trying to get my message to as many people as possible that technology doesn’t have to be scary, and it can actually help you accomplish your goals.”

Find out more about her at Microsoft Stories.