Electronic gadgets to organise your life

I got a Palm TX from work about three years ago. I used it a lot for the first year, then a lot of the software trials started expiring, and I wasn't about to spend $60 to read a power point on a palm. So it sat in the desk drawer, pulled out occasionally for my contact list.

Last week I decided to give it another shot. I found out I could sync it with outlook instead of the proprietary palm software on my laptop, so now I could transfer a single calendar, task list, and contact list straight from outlook. Also, using a google sync program, I was able to sync my outlook and google calendars together. Now my palm has a lot more functionality to me, but I still leave it here.

I've been using a Moleskine notebook since about April to keep all sorts of notes. I'm not about to give that up for the palm because it doesn't run on batteries, and writing a note to yourself is a hell of a lot faster with pen and paper. If I start carrying a bag again I might just end up taking both the palm and the notebook around with me so I can have my full calendar and contact list as well as the speed and ease of use of the notebook.

I tend to lose paper (notebooks included) and spend my working day in front of the PC, so digital works well for me. My system (for what it's worth) is as follows:
-GTD like set of list notebooks in Google notebook forms the core.
-At the PC, keep my GNotebooks open in a Prism window, capture as necessary from email client, IM, etc by copy-paste.
-On the move, have a shortcut to the mobile version of GNotebook and capture as necessary, can refer to lists here as well.
-For anything schedule related, a set of Google calendars which sync with Thunderbird on the PC and my mobile via GooSync. I can add appointments to Thunderbird or to my mobile and they will filter through gcal.

Harry:

I don't need so much organization now, so I just make lists on note paper, but when I did, this is what worked well for me:

Large notebook size calendars for each year that opened up to provide two standard size sheets of paper per month with each day having a block about the size of a sticky note. I was able to write in all sorts of top level notes for the dates that they applied. I found that it worked very well for me as my only need for an organizer, outside of a phone directory (which is in the back of the calendar). The calendars are called At a Glance, Administrator, by MeadWestvaco Their website is www.at-a-glance.com Each year I would transcribe only the phone numbers that I used regularly, or thought I would use, to the following year's calendar. If I needed an old phone number, I could always go back to the archived calendars from previous years.

For phone conversations, meetings and large projects, I would keep separate spiral bound notebooks. These kept my notes in one place and in order, kind of like a checkbook register.

Both the calendars and spiral bound notebooks are cheap, easy to carry around, require no batteries or recharging, aren't attractive to thieves, and don't get broken if you drop them. They also don't require software.

I hope this helps,

Clair

Funny story, I worked for MeadWestvaco while in College. That's all.

I've been using a Palm Pilot for a couple of years now. I swear by it, and have tons of useful stuff on it. Even a game of scrabble or mahjong if you get caught waiting somewhere. I love that I can do anything in MS including spread sheets, and transfer to computer, etc. Uses are endless, and I bought mine, my husband's and my son's all on ebay, average price $110 each for Tungsten E2. We've also got software to convert to GPS.

That said, I like to have a "journal" with me at all times. I used to use many journals for many uses. Ie, bible journalling, poetry, sketches, books recommended etc. The thing I have found works best for me, is to have one small journal I carry around (as well as my palm) in which I can write ANYTHING down. I've written early morning speeches, documented dreams, analyzed friend's and family names numerologically, phone numbers and app'ts if I don't have time to fiddle around with the keypad on my palm, etc. But the one journal is for everything. If I need the information for an article, I will always find it.

That all said, I'm not very organized really. I lose my pens and stylus all the time. That's why I love this website!

Though I don't need one now, during the school year I have a weekly paper planner that I use. Anything else and I forget to check it or use it. Sometimes though I'll post a note to myself in my livejournal or put a notepad onto my desktop. Thats rather rare though.

But I use my planner a lot because I get a lot of stuff from people. Post-its, note cards, business cards, letters, random sheets of paper. So I just have a little clip at the top where I clip stuff in. Never lost anything. It took a lot of practice to get in touch with using a planner though, as I was forced to use one during high school.

I'm just getting started with all this, but so far what seems to work for me is carrying a simple notebook on me to jot down any and all ideas that pop into my head, for later sifting when I have time to sit down at my computer. Computers work much better for me when it comes to organizing information when I have the time to do so, since it's much easier to move things around and edit them in electronic form. I want to integrate a Palm device into this later, and maybe get my phone set up to use as a reference for tasks that I might need to do outside of my office, but these would be intermediate steps: the best thing about the notebook is that jotting down a note on paper is nearly instantaneous, whereas it's harder to take notes in an electronic medium when ideas bubble up in your brain while you're doing other things. Also, I'm planning to work out a better system of organizing my notebook, with tabs for different sorts of thoughts and projects. Still thinking about how best to do that; my problem tends to be that I spend way too much time trying to grok the most efficient way to do something when I'd save a lot of time and energy just doing it. I think there's a lesson in that: maybe I should go out and buy some tabs tomorrow, and just throw something that works pretty well together, revising and streamlining the system as I use it. But I digress.

And adam: your comment about carrying a bag reminds me that I really should get a briefcase. In the summer, I'm usually wearing cargo shorts when I go out, which makes carrying my tools less of a hassle; but for cases when I need to wear trousers (including all of winter) it would definitely be helpful to always have something on me to hold things that are too big for my pockets.

"the best thing about the notebook is that jotting down a note on paper is nearly instantaneous, whereas it's harder to take notes in an electronic medium when ideas bubble up in your brain while you're doing other things."

Ozymandias, you made me think of something related, and someone else mentioned this earlier in reference to this same topic. I'm a designer, and work mostly in CADD programs now, but when I need to process an idea, or work out a 3-dimensional concept, or play with a plan, I'm most comfortable doing that with pencil and paper. I think the tactile aspect of holding a pen/pencil, and directly transferring our thoughts/ideas onto paper is closer to our left brain processing. A computer places a fairly "logical" (typing) tool between the brain and process. I'm sure this can be overcome, but when I need to "think" artistically, or even recall images, I always draw.

Hope I didn't mix the 2 sides up (left/right). I'm sure someone will correct me if I did!

And adam: your comment about carrying a bag reminds me that I really should get a briefcase. In the summer, I'm usually wearing cargo shorts when I go out, which makes carrying my tools less of a hassle; but for cases when I need to wear trousers (including all of winter) it would definitely be helpful to always have something on me to hold things that are too big for my pockets.

-"Ozymandias"

Yeah, days when I can wear cargo pants or shorts I don't usually have to worry about it, but that's rare with work and all. I have a sweet leather messenger type bag that'll hold a laptop and a few other things. I wasn't always bringing my laptop home from work though so it went to holding my Palm pilot, my mp3 player, a small notebook, pens and pencils, lunch/snacks, various medicines, and my glucose meter. I realized I didn't really need to carry all these things all the time.

I just hand carry my lunch and snacks now, the palm pilot generally stays at work, the notebook in my pocket, the mp3 player is at home, I can afford to leave my glucose meter at home now too, and I just keep a separate stash of medicines here at work in case I need something.

Good thoughts on the difference between typing in something and drawing it. How do you sketch with a keyboard anyway? Like they say, a picture is worth lots and lots and lots of typing (or 1,000 words). Most of my thinking lately has been about building my last greenhouse so it is strong enough to withstand our high winds. Scrap paper and a pencil work very well for this.

Anyway, the other important point I wanted to make is that the medium isn't really important as long as you know how to make the most out of the medium. (It's kind of like: when do you dictate and let someone else type, when do you write a note by hand, when do you use a computer and printer, when do you pick up the phone and talk, when do you send an e-mail, and when do you walk down the hall to talk to someone?) You need to know the best use of each medium, whether it is communication or organization.

The key is if you are going to get organized, then get with it, do it, and make a habit of whatever you use as your way of organizing things. More gadgets aren't useful unless they afford you more power and value to meet your objectives, and you know how to use that added value, and you do indeed use it. Having a special tool doesn't get things done for you, you get things done.

Good fortune to all, and get organized!!!!!

Clair

jocelain: I'm studying to be an interior designer myself, although I'm not yet at the point where I'm working on major projects in CAD or anything. I definitely agree that it's easier to conceptualize designs on paper then put them into a computer later, though. I'm currently saving to buy a Modbook to replace my (terribly outdated) laptop, which I'm hoping will be a useful tool for making concept drawings as well as finalizing them; of course, Modbooks are pretty expensive, so I'm going to want to try one out before blowing that much money on something that might be a useful tool. They're still really cool, of course, but if I don't find that I can comfortably draw with one I'll just go with a regular Macbook. An external Wacom tablet is another option I've considered, but it feels weird to me to draw on one surface and have the output appear on another one. For those who aren't familiar with them, a Modbook is a Macbook modified into tablet form, with a screen designed to draw on; they look like they'd be really useful for design work.

adam: I think I need to get something like that. When I'm wearing long pants, they're usually not cargo pants anyway, and I like to have my laptop with me whenever I can, which is something that obviously doesn't fit in my pants. I have a bag for my laptop, but I'm looking for a better one, and I feel like I should work out a portable organization system that always stays in the bag/briefcase, because otherwise I generally forget to put things in the bag when I'm going out. It wouldn't have to be a copy of the system in my office; just something to keep track of things I need to take care of on the road, and to take down notes and reminders for processing when I'm back at home base.

Many thanks to all who have shared your views and real life experiences.

As I had mentioned during the start of this thread, after trying various gadgets (I must admit am easily "sold" by all the marketing ploys crafted out by these companies), I now use a small cellphone (Nokia 6120 Classic - a Symbian S60 OS smartphone) to make/receive calls and sync my Microsoft Outlook Contacts and Calendars. Beside this nothing beats pen and paper, I have a small Moleskin for my daily to do-lists. Been using this combination for several months now, not to mention checking out Zen Habits portal for my daily doze of inspirational articles...so far so good.

I do agree one point made by others...there is no universal system which is acceptable to all, its up to the individual to adopt a method which suits him or her and not the system taking over one's life....

Cheers.

When I'm on the computer I use this program called Flashnote to jot down quick ideas that come to my mind in text format. It works pretty well and all I do is set up a hotkey to bring up the low resource text editor while I'm busy doing other things on the computer. I've got a monthly budgeting spreadsheet right on GoogleDocs that automatically adjusts my actual/projected expenses to my monthly income. It really is helpful as I usually have my laptop with me and can budget on the go.