Do you ever stand in front of the fridge and completely forget why you opened it? Now imagine that feeling, but with passwords. You know that moment when you’ve created seventeen different accounts across various websites, each requiring a “strong” password with at least one capital letter, a number, a symbol and possibly a dash of magic. Before I discovered a proper solution, I was that person frantically clicking “forgot password” for the tenth time that week.

If you’re a mum juggling work, family, household admin and a thousand other things competing for your mental energy, you’ve probably experienced similar password chaos. The thing is, managing passwords shouldn’t add another layer of stress to our already maxed-out brains and I’ve recently found a tool that solves this problem.

Why we all need a password manager

It’s genuinely impossible to remember all our passwords anymore. Security experts now recommend using completely unique passwords for every single account, which means your brain literally cannot hold that information. I used to think I was just forgetful, but the reality is that we’ve all been set an impossible task.

The alternative (reusing the same password across multiple sites) is risky. When one website gets hacked, suddenly someone has access to your email, your banking, your social media, potentially everything. It’s not paranoia; it’s just how things work these days.

This is where a password manager comes in. Instead of remembering dozens of different passwords, you only need to remember one strong master password. Everything else gets stored safely and the software autofills your login details when you need them.

Finding something that actually fits a busy life

I’ll be honest: I tried a few password managers before finding one that really clicked with how I work. Some felt overly complicated, with far too many features I’d never use. Others seemed to make simple tasks needlessly complicated, which is the last thing you need when you’re already stretched thin.

What I needed was something straightforward that would actually work reliably without requiring a PhD in technology. Something that would just quietly do its job in the background whilst I got on with everything else.

The best password managers work almost invisibly. When you visit a website, it recognises the page and fills in your details automatically. The whole point is that you shouldn’t have to think about it.

Saving yourself from password chaos

What genuinely made the biggest difference is realising that I don’t have to remember any of this. A decent password manager will generate strong, random passwords for new accounts without you having to think about what makes a password “strong.” It creates them, stores them safely, and remembers them forever.

I’m no longer reusing passwords across different sites, which means my digital life is significantly safer than it was before. I’ve also stopped writing passwords down in a notepad (yes, I really did that, and no, it’s not just a mum-brain thing).

The synchronisation across devices is genuinely useful too. Whether you’re logging into something on your phone, laptop or tablet, your passwords are right there waiting for you. No more trying to remember which device has which password saved.

Just one less thing to worry about

For anyone else juggling the chaos of modern life, getting a password manager set up has been one of those small changes that’s actually made a noticeable difference to daily stress levels. It’s not flashy or exciting, but it works, and that’s all you truly need.