Think about the average person’s network in day-to-day life: doctor, dentist, pharmacist, mechanic, plumber, spouse, kids; kids’ doctor, dentist, soccer coach; boss at work, clients, vendors, subordinates — the list could go on.
Many people form the support system in a person’s life; and not keeping that system straight can lead to stress, confusion, anxiety. However, the reverse is also true: Bringing order to the chaos in one’s life can lead to balance and peace.
Enter Sage My Life.
At first glance, Sage My Life looks like simple mind-mapping software, but it’s more than that.
Glenna Crooks. (photo: glennacrooks.com)
To truly understand Sage My Life one has to understand its founder, Glenna M. Crooks, Ph.D. In an interview, Crooks, who is based in Philadelphia, explained her background and how she started the company to develop the software application in Central New York.
Crooks came from an education background as a school psychologist with a multidisciplinary doctorate and a unique ability to “bring order to chaos.” She was a Reagan administration appointee and later moved to the private sector, working for Merck & Co. until she formed her own strategy firm, Strategic Health Policy International.
“The idea of Sage My Life really was catalyzed by Robert Downey Jr.,” said Crooks. Downey Jr. had commented in W, the fashion magazine, that he had a sensei, a yoga teacher, and a psychiatrist.
“I’m not a Model T,” he told W, “I’m a Ferrari.”
“I’m a Maserati,” said Crooks, borrowing the metaphor, “And I take more than a pit crew.” The idea is that life “takes a village.” Crooks took at look at her own life via “the first generation of tech” — “a pencil and paper,” she said, listing the people it took to manage her and her household. Even without a spouse or children, she was surprised to find out the list included over 50 people.
“Using a blank sheet of paper or ‘unaided recall,’” she said, “It takes about eight hours to put together that list — and even then you are missing 20 percent of them.”
The second generation of Sage uses prompts to jog people’s memories. One user filling out the chart realized she managed 47 people for just one of her children, who has Asperger syndrome and a host of special assistants and therapists. The third generation takes the chart to a web-style mindmap platform, so the user can view everyone in her life on both a personal and professional level.
The app includes pre-programmed scenarios that help users make smart decisions: for instance, landscaping the yard, remodeling the kitchen, or planning a wedding for one’s child. The prompts list every type of person who needs to be contacted and managed in each cases. This enables the user to make smarter decisions, such as concluding it’s a good time to remodel the kitchen but not start grad school.
“Eventually, without order, you’ll get the life sucked out of you,” said Crooks.
Sage My Life currently has extensive mind maps to help parents manage their children’s lives and relationships. The goal is to create a mind map in just five minutes or less, using the prompts.
To truly understand Sage My Life one has to understand its founder, Glenna M. Crooks, Ph.D. In an interview, Crooks, who is based in Philadelphia, explained her background and how she started the company to develop the software application in Central New York.
Crooks came from an education background as a school psychologist with a multidisciplinary doctorate and a unique ability to “bring order to chaos.” She was a Reagan administration appointee and later moved to the private sector, working for Merck & Co. until she formed her own strategy firm, Strategic Health Policy International.
“The idea of Sage My Life really was catalyzed by Robert Downey Jr.,” said Crooks. Downey Jr. had commented in W, the fashion magazine, that he had a sensei, a yoga teacher, and a psychiatrist.
“I’m not a Model T,” he told W, “I’m a Ferrari.”
“I’m a Maserati,” said Crooks, borrowing the metaphor, “And I take more than a pit crew.” The idea is that life “takes a village.” Crooks took at look at her own life via “the first generation of tech” — “a pencil and paper,” she said, listing the people it took to manage her and her household. Even without a spouse or children, she was surprised to find out the list included over 50 people.
“Using a blank sheet of paper or ‘unaided recall,’” she said, “It takes about eight hours to put together that list — and even then you are missing 20 percent of them.”
The second generation of Sage uses prompts to jog people’s memories. One user filling out the chart realized she managed 47 people for just one of her children, who has Asperger syndrome and a host of special assistants and therapists. The third generation takes the chart to a web-style mindmap platform, so the user can view everyone in her life on both a personal and professional level.
The app includes pre-programmed scenarios that help users make smart decisions: for instance, landscaping the yard, remodeling the kitchen, or planning a wedding for one’s child. The prompts list every type of person who needs to be contacted and managed in each cases. This enables the user to make smarter decisions, such as concluding it’s a good time to remodel the kitchen but not start grad school.
“Eventually, without order, you’ll get the life sucked out of you,” said Crooks.
Sage My Life currently has extensive mind maps to help parents manage their children’s lives and relationships. The goal is to create a mind map in just five minutes or less, using the prompts.
