It\u2019s occurred to me that I don\u2019t have enough hours in the day for what I must do, would like to do, and want to do. I figure I am not alone in this, and that the New Year is when a lot of people review and work on what they want to enact in the next year.<\/p>\n
\u00a0As I twirl around trying to multitask and get ready for being away, I\u2019ve been working on organization and workflow. Both could be much improved in my life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0E-mail: I have changed my old POP3 e-mail that downloaded to my home computer to IMAP, so it\u2019s available all over, all the time. This means I CAN\u2019T let my INBOX have 2500 messages, or the my e-mail server will archive them. So, it\u2019s a nudge to do better about deleting or sorting e-mail.<\/p>\n
\u00a0On the notes and files front, there are several cloud services that are free and helpful. Most have a more expensive paid component that offers more features, but the free versions are very useful.<\/p>\n
\u00a0To Do list:<\/strong> My favorite is ToodleDo.<\/a>\u00a0Offers the ability to make categories, set priorities, and will e-mail you reminders. The TOOLS tab has some great features \u2013 I can make a one-page foldy booklet when I need to take my shopping list with me in hard copy. I also have all my show and workshop dates here, so I have ONE master place to look when I try to plan something new. Being a mildly paranoid belt-and-suspenders planners, I also put the dates with reminders into my Outlook calendar. My browser (IE) is set\u00a0to open both ToodleDo\u00a0and my Google home page when I open it, so I am reminded daily to LOOK at the list. Experience has shown me that the To Do list is only good if you train yourself to look at it regularly.<\/p>\n \u00a0Cloud file storage:<\/strong> I have a home computer, a work computer, and a laptop for mobile things. There are files that live in one place, but I need in others. I\u2019ve come to love DropBox<\/a> and Skydrive<\/a>. Both have a free service. Search for reviews on them if you want to compare. You can park data in the cloud, and reach it anywhere. I\u2019ve used Dropbox a lot, and anything you put in your local computer folder is synched\u00a0to the cloud and available anyplace, as well as offline. I\u2019m just starting to use SkyDrive, but it\u2019s got a nice, clean interface and drag-and-drop file upload. Both offer the ability to make a folder private or shared, and Dropbox will let you send someone a link to a folder (SkyDrive may do this \u2013 I just haven\u2019t gotten that far.)<\/p>\n \u00a0If you want to save things from the web \u2013 articles, images, etc. \u2013 as well as park files and make folders with info and notes by task, check out Evernote<\/a> and Sprinpad.<\/a>\u00a0It\u2019s like having a cloud file cabinet and a clipping service. Ahhhh. I saw a short article in PC World about business use of Evernote, and that nudged me to investigate. Springpad\u00a0is connected\u00a0to social media, and you can use it like Pinterest\u00a0and have people follow specific folders. It’s not as flexible as Evernote\u00a0in the brief investigations I’ve done. People have complained online about Evernote\u2019s privacy polices, and that you grant them access to your data by accepting. Worth checking into. Still, it’s a service that will go everywhere with you, and will clip from e-mails in Outlook, etc.. You can put a link in your browser toolbar, highlight some text, and click to send it to the program, as well as using\u00a0it for files, and it\u00a0can be\u00a0installed on your smartphone\u00a0for pictures and info from there. Pinterest\u00a0has a similar feature for pictures. Article on the use of Springpad for organizing projects (like blog post topics… ): http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/springpad\/<\/a><\/p>\n Articles online:<\/strong> New Springpad\u00a0vs. Evernote: http:\/\/blogs.computerworld.com\/20055\/springpad_review_a_new_more_sharing_data_collector<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSpringpad as content curator: http:\/\/www.business2community.com\/social-media\/springpad-the-most-powerful-content-curation-tool-youre-not-using-0321129<\/a><\/p>\n