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Use Google to Get Organized
Heather’s Confession time: I am not the most organized person when it comes to my
life. I use sticky-notes on the fridge to track appointments, as I’ve yet to upgrade to the
latest Smartphone (shocking, I know, since I am technically-savvy by nature). I’ve had to
shame-facedly apologize to my chiropractor for missed appointments on more than one
occasion. Add to that mix two kids under two (can you say “mommy brain”?), and it’s a
recipe for disaster. That’s why this year, rather than resolving to lose those pesky “last
5 pounds” (which frankly I am never going to lose), I am resolving to get myself more
organized. But I obviously need big-time help! It turns out there are a bevy of awesome
tools for getting your life running more smoothly, starting with something called “cloud
computing.”
You may have heard the popular tag line, “Get in the Cloud!” It seems cloud computing
is all the rage for the New Year. But what exactly is it? In short, it means storing your
data and programs somewhere other than your computer, and then accessing everything
you need via the internet. This creates many advantages. First, you can get to your data
anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection. This means access to your documents or files at
work, when you’re out of town, or on your Smartphone (darn it, maybe I do need one of
those things!) Second, you don’t have to worry about losing that 50 page thesis, all the
photos from Sally’s 5th birthday, or your contact list if your hard drive fails, because it’s
not saved on your computer.
Since I am already familiar with Google, I decided to start there, and I discovered some
great tools are available to help in my quest to get organized. First, I checked out Google
Calendar and discovered that I might just be able to throw away my sticky-notes for
good. Like almost everything from Google, it’s FREE (http://calendar.google.com), and
now I’ll be able to easily set up appointments & events, create task lists and even get
reminders via email or text messages sent right to my mobile phone. Google Calendar
syncs with Smartphones, too. The best thing about it? I can share my calendar with my
family and friends, even send them reminders to appointments that affect them! Now my
husband will always know when our upcoming appointments are, and so will Grandma,
(who watches the kids!).
Knowing I am going to have to upgrade my phone soon, and dreading moving all my
contacts to a new phone, I was pleased to discover that Google Contacts will save me
the hassle of ever doing that again. Not to worry if you have three phone numbers
for one contact on your list, either. Google Contacts allows you to access your bevy of
names, addresses, etc. anywhere you can access your email. Since it syncs with your
Smartphone or Outlook, you never have to worry about Outlook crashing and losing all
your client or friends contacts because it is stored “in the cloud” with Google. For more
information go to: http://contacts.google.com.
Lastly, I always seem to be working on something on my computer at home, only to run
in to the office and realize I forgot to bring it with me. Argh! I discovered that I can
eliminate this problem with Google Docs, since I can access my document anywhere I
can get online. Also, have you ever tried to have several people work on one document
at a time? You pass it around from person to person and TRY to track changes, but it
can be such a nightmare! With Google Docs, you can avoid this problem too because
you can share, store, and work all in the cloud! For more information go to: http://
docs.google.com.
I hope at least one of these tools helps YOU become more organized this year! If
you have tips or suggestions on how you use technology or the internet to organize
your life, drop us note on Facebook (facebook.com/nerdsoncall) or email us at
nerdchick@callnerds.com.
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