Staying Organized Part II

June 5, 2009 by theo.johnson
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Family, General, Life, Relationships, Society & Culture, Technology

In part one of my Staying Organized series, I mentioned some of the ways I planned on going e-organized for the new year. It’s been fun and I’ve actually learned a lot about what it’ll take for me to better manage my time. Since the first post some things have changed, so I thought I’d update you on how it’s going.

To get a better plan with Sprint, I ended up renewing my contract and got the Blackberry (BB) Curve 8330. I was reluctant because I was so used to my Windows Mobile phone, but I quickly learned what the BB could do. Under my Google account created a calendar for myself, my wife, the kids, and church. Each have their own assigned colors and I can show/hide which I want to see at any given time. I also created a Google account for my wife, so she would have access to my calendars and the events I entered. I set up the browser on her phone to pull up the mobile Google calendar site when she opened it. That way she’d know what I had planned for the day (I always forget to tell her about stuff I need to do). I still use Google Sync to sync the Google Calendar with the BB calendar on my phone. Trust me, it works great.

I just recently listened to the audio book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. With the tips in this book, I was able to find a way to fine tune my e-organization plan and add some efficiency to what I was doing. I changed how I used the The Remember the Milk (RTM) app I mentioned in the first post. I used the BB application they created to sync all of my tasks every hour from the website to the phone. Any task, big or small, goes in RTM and I assign date if it’s something that needs to be done soon. This works nice because it allows me to clear my head of all the “stuff” I need to do. It also gives me an organized repository where I can visually see the tasks that need to be done for the day. To make sure the list stayed current, I had to set a goal that all tasks for the day must be completed or rescheduled before I go to bed.

I’ve also started using an application called Evernote that allows me to access/capture ideas, notes and information from my PC or phone. But I’m going to save how I use this for another day because I’m trying to decide whether I’ll post it here or at Liberate Magazine.

Well, that’s all I have for now. I’d be interested in hearing your comments or questions. This may sound like a lot to keep up with, but for me it’s been working. My planner was never with me when I needed it, but I always have my phone. There is a slight learning curve in getting the system together, but the geek in me loves it.

I do have plans on going into each online app I use in more detail, but why do that now when I can have you come back for part 3?