Tech World: Planners

Category: Technology/Innovations

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. be around / bi əˈraʊnd / (idiom) – to exist or be present
    Example:

    The community library has been around for 30 years.


  2. grocery / ˈgroʊ sə ri / (n.) – a supermarket or a small store that sells food and supplies
    Example:

    I need to go to the grocery to buy some bread and rice.


  3. cinch / sɪntʃ / (n.) – something that’s considered very easy
    Example:

    The game was a cinch. It took me less than three minutes to win the first round.


  4. color-code / ˈkʌl ər koʊd / (v.) – to organize documents or objects by assigning different colors to easily identify them
    Example:

    Ken color-coded the folders inside the cabinet so we can easily find the files we need.


  5. pull (one’s) weight / pʊl weɪt / (idiom) – to do one’s part or work as hard as everyone else in a shared task or responsibility
    Example:

    The group leader told Tom that he will be removed from the project if he doesn’t pull his weight.


Article

Read the text below.

You’ve got a growing family, and it’s hard to juggle everything. Your kids have after-school activities. You’ve started yoga. And your partner keeps forgetting to do their share of the housework. It’s all a bit much.


Happily, there’s an app for that. A mountain of apps, in fact, everywhere you look. This week we focus on one of the best family organizer apps: Cozi. It’s been around a long time, and combines ease of use with a strong feature set.


Getting started with Cozi is easy: Install it on your device, create an account and enter your family members. Then, start adding chores and events.


Cozi includes a nice grocery list. You can create categories like “fruits and veggies” or “Friday night lasagna” and then add grocery items under each category.


With the paid version, you can use shopping mode to speed up your trips to the supermarket: Take an item off the shelf, check it off in Cozi and it drops to the bottom of the screen and out of the way.


One of Cozi’s greatest strengths is how it handles recipes. Add your own or download one of the many “Cozi picks.” Add ingredients to your grocery list with one tap.


My favorite feature is the shared calendar. Entering events is a cinch because Cozi understands natural language. “Robbie does the laundry on Saturday at 9 a.m.” will schedule an event (“Does the laundry”) at the right time and day, color-coded to Robbie. It’s about time he pulled his weight.


Upgrade to Cozi Gold for $29.99 (¥3,400) per year for shopping mode, to remove ads and to track your family members’ birthdays. Or keep the free version — it’s good enough for most families and might just organize your life. (T)


This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Cozi users can add chores and events for the family and use the shopping mode to make trips to the market more convenient. Would you also like to try this app because of these features? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Cozi Gold costs ¥3,400 per year for shopping mode, removing ads, and tracking family members’ birthdays. Do you think buying the paid version is a good idea? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • According to the article, Cozi is one of the best family organizer apps. Do you think planners for groups/families are effective? Why or why not? For what situations is a group planner useful (ex. planning tasks at work, running a business)? Discuss.
  • Why is it important to keep everyone in the family updated about household chores and events (ex. to divide chores equally, be able to prepare for important events)? Discuss.