Getting Things Organized

[Christi U.]

There is a whole subculture of organizational gurus who make their living giving their followers tips and advice on how to Get Things Done . But how can an ordinary information professional find the right tools for one’s patrons or one’s own use?

Join Christi Underdown and Specialist Jodie Gambill in exploring your options. Then report back below.

[Livy S]

Check out Lifehacker. From how to keep apples from turning brown too quickly to hiding your computer cables, Lifehacker offers solutions.

[Christi U.]

Oh, Livy. You are jumping ahead. I <3 Lifehacker and I'll have all sorts of other goodies up as soon as I finish coding the lesson. Give me another 15 minutes. :)

[Michelle Nielsen Ott]

I consider myself pretty organized, but sometimes that takes a lot of paper. I am a fan of reducing paper usage so I was happy to see this desktop post it (c) like system, Sticker Lite. It s a but clunky but good for free price tag. I like that I can make notes and not use paper.

I like my iGoogle page because I an keep track of fun things with the widgets. During hockey season I watch the scores. I also have a to-do list, quote of the day, be twittered, the weather and lots of other fun applications.

I like to keep lists on my iPod touch to save on paper.

Has anyone with an iPod touch or IPhone figured out how to get several calendars to be available? I would like to add my google calendar.

[Jodie]

Yes, I keep my shopping lists on my iPod now to save paper! Love it!

I sync 6 calendars to my iPod - 1 Exchange and 5 Google Calendars. After experimenting with several free avenues for this and being totally unsatisfied, I sprung for the $15 gSyncIt (the price just went up apparently, it was only $10 when I bought it a few months ago). It's wonderful! You can choose what direction to sync (GCal to Outlook, Outlook to GCal, or both ways). It needs to run on a computer where you have Outlook open all the time (it's an Outlook add-in), so I have to use it at work since I don't use Outlook at home. You can try it for free before you buy.

[Robbi De Peri]

Any good suggestions for syncing a Palm (not Pre phone) to the iTouch calendar & contacts?

[Jodie]

No experience with Palms. Can you go Palm -> Outlook -> iPod?

[Jodie]

Oh, and you can always add your Google Calendars the 'official' way, outlined here. However, you can only have one Exchange account on your iPod, so you'd have to remove your work email.

[Michelle Nielsen Ott]

thanks jodie. i knew you were working on this a while ago. i will not be removing my work email.

[Christi U.]

I use Netvibes religiously now. It is SO convenient.

And am a huge fan of the tips LifeHacker and David Allen provide daily via RSS feeds.

As for my To Do lists, I honestly use Google Docs to keep with it. That way I can access it with any Internet connection, as well as edit it easily.

I will probably sync up my phone to a Google calendar, whenever I finally make the leap into a Data plan. The steep price of $30/month added to my phone bill is the thing that stops me from signing up yet.

[Robbi De Peri]

Not on this list, and in a somewhat different vein, but Flylady helps people get their lives organized via the web. She's a "personal online coach"

[Christi U.]

I think all of us could use a coach or cheerleader every once in a while.

[Jim Havron]

I use my wife for both roles. She sure isn't digital. I'm teaching her more about how to use e-mail. At the same time, she is curious about SL. Extremes. I hope she doesn't find any of this organization stuff. I'll find post its all over my desktop every morning.