Is it just me or is life becoming an ever-faster whirlwind that I cannot keep up with, as much as I try? A constant flood of information is ever-available, which can easily lead to information overload. Here are a couple of excellent tools I use that have made my life a bit easier to manage.
My sweetheart and I sync our personal calendars into Google calendars so that we can be sure that we are not double-booking or over-scheduling our lives. We still have occasional calendar nights to confirm future plans, but having an online calendar that we can review from anywhere has been a true lifesaver.
What a goofy name, but a great concept. This free mini-application allows you to set up personal — or shared — to-do lists that can remind you in a number of ways (email, phone, instant messenger, you name it). It has a map function, which I suppose might be useful in planning the best route (groceries –> hardware store –> library –> etc). You can create as many lists as you want, tag them, append notes — whatever you want ! You can even send an email to add a task to your list.
Here’s a cool apps that was recommended but I haven’t fooled around with yet:
Jott is a free application that will transcribe your voice message and then send it to your email account. And for a few dollars more a month, it will convert your spoken words into Google Calendar appointments, to-dos for Remember the Milk, or a myriad of other actions.
There are a LOT more — people always hope that reading the latest organizational book or buying the latest software is going to make a difference — but I think staying simple and just using a few tools is the easiest way to stay on track.