The Five Most Popular Ways Businesses Organize Themselves

How do others organize themselves? Jill Salzman polled over 500 business owners to find out what they use. Whether or not you're a business owner, you might find the following information helpful from her guest blog on NBC Chicago. 

"What tools are you using to organize, share and manage your business?

It's an entrepreneur's constant battle to keep up with the creative flow of ideas, of operations, of schedules and of more ideas. Today's recipe for disaster, the computer plus the Internet, can create serious issues for any entrepreneur. Where do you collect your ideas (and remember to find them)? How should you communicate with employees, partners or interns? And when is that meeting again?

It's no secret that there's no one answer. Everyone has a favorite. But by informally polling 514 business owners, I thought it would be safe to say: what they said.

1. They don't need any more press, but the hands-down favorite of them all was Evernote. Most respondents shared the sentiment of Bum Bul Bee’s Ashbey Riley: 'I have no idea how I managed beforehand. There were little pieces of paper everywhere, lots of yelling when I couldn't find a phone number, [or misplaced] that awesome tip or recipe. It's a lifesaver.' Download it to your phone and desktop and keep all of your notes, photos, transcriptions and audio files in the cloud for instant access anytime, anywhere. Turns out that some entrepreneurs even pay for its premium service, although the majority of what one can do in Evernote is free.

 2. When it comes to scheduling, Google Calendar is king. 'I have my personal appointments, child's activities and work stuff in one place,' says Erin Krex of First Class Care. No one even bothered to mention a competitor who offers an alternative shared calendar in the cloud. SocialKaty.com’s Katy Lynch says 'Google Calendar is my savior! I like having my schedule all in one place, not numerous places. Google Calendar has never failed me.' The interesting part? With all of Google’s apps and docs, not one other Google product was mentioned in my poll. I found it interesting that the only Google product seemed to be worth its salt was what I lovingly refer to as the Goolendar.

3. Dropbox seems to be the fan favorite when it comes to file sharing. 'Dropbox is the best tool I think I'm using right now,' shared graphic designer Jessica Rosengard. 'Not only do I get to sync files between multiple devices, but it allows me to share files easily with clients.' The innovative sharing service seems to keep people coming; each time you share a folder with a non-user and they sign up to receive or open your file, you get more storage space for essentially adding a customer for them. And they make it so easy.

4. For project management tools, Teambox is the favorite newcomer. Many respondents remain loyal to Basecamp, but as far as ease of use and organization, Teambox won out. 'I’m excited to explore the Gmail integration…it seems much more user-friendly than Basecamp,' says Heidi Massey of The Nonprofit Connection.

5. Pen and paper still rules. Many of the heavier hitters (read: famous) entrepreneurs I heard from were quite low-tech in their quest to organize. They dropped iCal, Address Book, Teambox and Evernote and use plain old paper. Perhaps they’re not keen on using the goods we know and love because they have assistants organizing their days for them, but it was refreshing to hear from so many of them that paper calendars and paper notebooks suffice.

Project management runners up were Oprius, WorkETC, and Simpleology."

 More on organizing tools: 

100 Free and Essential Web Tools for the College Bound

Organizing Your To-Do Lists Online - 12 Great Choices

Guest Post - Leveraging Technology to Get Organized: 4 Clever Tips

Looking for the Perfect Paper Planner?

        

Here's an article I found in the January 4 Washington Post by Terri Sapienza about her search for the perfect paper planner. If you're a paper lover, this might help your search:


"For longer than I care to remember, the following items have occupied the top spots on my New Year’s resolutions list: exercise every day, organize the basement and find the perfect daily planner.

While I can almost guarantee the first two items will make a repeat appearance in 2013, I have made it my mission to scratch the last one off my list for good.

But deciding on a personal calendar system is more difficult than it sounds.

I want a month-at-a-glance calendar with boxes big enough to write in; something that can sit open on my desk, can be easily tossed into my bag and is stylish. (No cutesy covers, please.)

Simple, right? Apparently not, because every year I find myself flailing planner-lessly well into March before settling on something out of sheer necessity.

Yes, I know: There’s this thing called technology, and it can make my life easier.

But I’m a paper person. And nothing, not even my arsenal of Apple products, is going to sway me to the other side.

There is something supremely satisfying and reassuring about scheduling an appointment or writing a to-do list by hand. And getting to cross one of those items off when completed? For a task-oriented person, there are few things better.

Another clear advantage of paper? Permanence. Once I write something down, I know it will not suddenly, and without warning, disappear. As paper company Graphic Image says on its Web site, its products are “crash proof.”

Like me, Sarah Pinto searched for years for a paper planner that worked for her. She eventually gave up and decided to create her own. In 2007, the San Francisco resident launched www.sarahpinto.com, an online company that sells planners, notebooks and postcards.

“I’m a visual person,” she says. “Even if I make a grocery list on my iPhone, I write a paper list, too.”

Also like me, she has no plans to become paperless.

“I worry about my phone dying,” she says, “or things being accidentally deleted by my kids.”

Because creating my own planner isn’t going to happen (see: exercise and basement organization, above), I went to some of my go-to sources to find a 2012 calendar.

I browsed the Paper Source, Kate’s Paperie, Graphic Image, Moleskine and See Jane Work and found lovely options, but none that met my exact needs. They were too big, too small, too bulky or too trendy or included too many for pages for extraneous things, such as expenses, anniversaries, addresses and maps. Some appeared perfect until I looked inside and realized the calender format was wrong for me.

Finally, I went to one of my favorite Web sites for office supplies, Russell & Hazel,and found a potential winner. (Caution to discerning paper people: Visiting this site can be hazardous to your bank account. You’ll want one of everything.)

Its 10 3/4-by-12 SmartDate planner is a build-it-yourself system that allows me to choose everything according to my needs and my style. I could opt for daily, weekly or monthly calendar views, or all three, and add things such as ruled sheets, index dividers and address pages. Or not. There is a 7-by-9 mini version, still big enough to easily write in, which would allow me to keep the planner open on my desk or easily toss it into my bag.

And there are accessories such as rubber bands and pretty, pink to-do pads, that I would probably find impossible to pass up on. (Because, really, besides the perfect planner, they are essential to keeping my life running smoothly.)

Customization comes at a cost, however. When I was finished building my system, my shopping cart totaled $73. But, if this system works for me, I should have to shell out only for the calendar ($18) and filler paper refills ($10) in the future.

Overall, it sounded like a great fit, but I wanted to find out more. So I called Chris Plantan, founder and owner of Russell & Hazel, to get her thoughts.

Plantan started her high-end stationery and office supply company as an e-commerce site in 2003. Since then, Russell & Hazel has blossomed into a thriving business that has seen double-digit growth five years in a row, says Plantan.

“While we are all tech dependent . . . there is a big segment that still loves paper,” she says. “We still make lists, we still print out information, and we still file and keep important documents. It is difficult to do everything we need to do in a day on a screen, whether mobile or desktop.”

Plantan says the binder-based system is one of the company’s best-selling items, with sales growing 20 to 30 percent every year.
She uses a mini system herself: a silver binder filled with month tabs, daily sheets and a mini notebook.

“I have things written down, I have things clipped to it. . . . My personal and professional things are all in one place, and I can take it with me,” she says. “It ends up being a journal of sorts, and it’s fun looking back. I keep mine every year.”

Simple, smart and stylish.

Sold."

View all Items in this Story


More on planners:

Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner

Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

Review - AgendaWorks Planner

 

myHomework iPhone App Helps Students Get Organized

          
I found the following description of the myHomework iPhone app on Calling All Geeks, and I thought it might be useful to you and/or your kids. The grammar is a bit lacking, but you get the idea:

"Here is an awesome application for students for iPhone to keep your assignments, class schedules, tests, projects, homework and lot more organized. So now students can keep all their to-do lists handy.

The interface is user-friendly and have nice notebook like design and colorful too which is going to attract students for sure. There are lots of useful feature but the good part is that it is very easy to access these features.

The application launch with very colorful design which includes sticky-notes and colorful tabs for homework in yellow, classes in green and info/preferences in blue. Late assignment will be marked in red, upcoming task in orange and upcoming task in blue which makes you classify your task properly.

You can also prioritize the tasks with different colors. You can also add the details like day, time, class title, teacher, due date, room etc. You can also share your schedules, course with your friends via emails.

 
This tool is for all the students or parents who want to keep track of their kid’s assignments, schedule and classes. The application is free to download and compatible with Mac, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. So no more noting down your plans on paper, get techy with MyHomeWork App."

More on homework:

Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student

Getting Organized for School 2010: Homework

100 Free and Essential Web Tools for the College Bound

Getting Organized for School - Study Shows Flashcards Help Improve Memory

 

Online Printable Planner Pages

        
Looking for a place to print planner or calendar pages? Here are three options. Worldlabel is free. The others charge a fee.

Worldlabel 

Listplanit 

Calendarsthatwork  


More on calendars:
Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub 
Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner  
Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad
Three Steps to Time Management

Organizing an Important Information Notebook

         
Over the summer I have been working on a notebook containing information for each of our foster daughters. I have five pocket dividers in my notebook - one for each girl.

I keep a list of doctors, the pharmacy number, school information, sports information, friends' numbers, and anything else that relates to that child. When I need to make a doctor's appointment, I just flip to that page to find the number.

In the pocket I keep business cards, receipts, prescriptions, schedules, etc., until I have a chance to document or use them. 

I also have some notebook paper in each section to take notes when I go to the doctor, etc. I take the notebook to each doctor appointment so I have everything I need while there - pharmacy phone number, referring doctor, etc. 

More on organizing information:

Getting Organized for School - Charts

Organizing for School 2010 - A Family Calendar

Three Steps to Time Management for the Working Mom 

Organizing for School 2010 - A Family Calendar

    
At the end of summer, I'm usually feeling like life is out of control. It's been nice to have a less restrictive schedule, but I'm ready to have a little more routine. And being an introvert, I'm looking forward to having a little more time to myself and to spend on my business, which I greatly minimize during the summer. So here's a rerun of a post I did last year about getting organized for school:

Getting Organized for School - Family Calendar

I'm taking another look at getting ready for school - if you start now and get yourself organized, life will not be so chaotic when school starts. The following is a revamp from last year's post on the same subject. 

A major aspect of getting ready for school (or life) is having a family calendar in a location where everyone can check in to see what's going on. It's best if it is located at your hub (see my post on this subject, listed below).

Your calendar can be an organizing software program on your computer/laptop or a wall calendar.

There are a number of great software programs that track several family members (some are free!). And there are several personal spiral/notebook type organizers - my favorite being the Planner Pad. I've done reviews of both software programs and notebook type organizers and will link the related posts below.

When my children were home, we used a huge calendar on the side of our refrigerator. My friend Carole, hangs hers inside one of her kitchen cabinets so it's not so unsightly. 

I like the look of Mom's Plan It Calendar. It's a 17-month calendar which can track up to 5 family members, with stickers, and more. 

You can use a different color pen or marker for each person, and a separate color for family activities. Then it's a breeze to decipher your daily activities!

I use my Palm software and post the schedule on the fridge each week, including our dinner menus!


More on Calendars/Organizers:

Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub 
Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner  
Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad
Product Review of Organizers - PDAs 
The Final Review of Organizers 
Cozi 2.0, Oops

Storage Ideas for Crafts and Art Supplies

Terri, one of my blog followers, asked for some help on organizing craft and art supplies. I'll do a couple of blogs on this, and we'll start with storage ideas. The following websites were mentioned on a NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) chat. I've chosen some creative storage products from each one.

Craftmates is one of the best organizational storage solutions for small supplies such as brads and buttons. I use these screw on containers for beads - they're easy to remove and put back, unlike flat divided containers with one lid.

Cropper Hopper, has everything from furniture to embellishments, but specializes in flat and embellishment storage. Left to right, first row: Paint and Dabber Holder, Embellishment Bags, Zip 'n Flip Embellishment Bags. Second row: Ribbon Revealer, Small Sticker Bin, 10-Drawer Rolling Cart.

Creativity, Inc., aka Crop in Style, has been around for the past 10 years and has led the way with wheeled totes and paper storage. Left to right: Cube with four inserts (paper storage), Tote to transport paper and tools, Pen caddy.

Fiskars, is great for cutting systems and tool storage. Left to right: Scissor/tool storage, Embossing Organizer, Hobby Holder.




Archival Methods, has everything archival for photo and memorabilia boxes, in addition to long-term album storage. Left to right: Archival Tissue, Snap-Lock Hanging Files for Photos, Slides, Prints and Documents.

Archival Supplies is similar to Archival Methods, but has a bigger selection of supplies. Left to right: Archival Document Storage Boxes, Vertical Filing System - Wall Rack.




Two Peas in a Bucket Left to right: Wall Clip Hangers for Paper, Embellishment Organizer.


That gets us started on storage ideas. We'll talk some more about storing and organizing crafts in an upcoming blog. In the meantime, what are your clever ideas on the subject? Subscribers, click the title to comment at the end of the original blog.

More on crafts:
Saving Time by Cutting Out Craft Clean Up
Craft Storage
Organizing Your Ribbon

100 Free and Essential Web Tools for the College Bound

Happy Monday! We are down to two girls now from five - it's so quiet! I actually got to go to the gym at my regular time! Now it's time to work. :) But first, an incredible resource for college bound students:


Amber Johnson over at Online College sent me this wonderful article she thought you might find useful if you're a college/high school student or parent of one.

100 Free and Essential Web Tools for the College Bound
By Hannah Watson

"Heading off to college can be one of the most exciting times of a young person’s life, but it can also be one of the most stressful. Fortunately, there are some tools out there on the web that can help students stay organized, keep in touch with their families, and get on the right track for success in all aspects of this new stage in life. Here are a just a few that we think are worth the time to bookmark before heading off to class this year.

Preparing

These tools will help you do everything from learning how to finance your education to getting the best deals on the books for your classes.

1. Book Finder: Use this free tool to search through several online sites to find the best prices on the books you’ll need for classes, saving you money and making sure you’re ready for school when it starts.
2. Bookmooch: If you really want to go cheap, use this online tool to find students to swap textbooks with.
3. RateMyProfessors: Find out what you can expect from the professors you’re signed up with using this tool.
4. AnswerU: Have some questions about your school? Ask them on this site and get answers from students already going there.
5. FinAid.org: Find funding for your education on this site.
6. Chegg: If you don’t want to buy your books you may be able to save money by renting them on this site.
7. BigWords: Use this site to search through the biggest book retailers online for the lowest prices on your texts.
8. BookBurro: This extension for Firefox will let you easily look up the best price of books by right clicking on any book name on a webpage.
9. Bartleby.com: You may not even need to pay for your books if you can find them for free in this public domain collection.
10. TuitionCoach: Get a basic education on how to pay for your college education through this site.

Note Taking

A big part of doing well in your college classes is taking notes. These applications and tools will let you easily take notes and organize, share, and store them.

11. NoteMesh: This site allows students who are in the same classes to share notes and collaborate easily with one another.
12. Notely: Notely can help you get all your school stuff together, with schedules, calendars, note-taking tools and even a homework planner.
13. Notesake: Organize all of your notes with this online application.
14. Evernote: With this app you can take your notes with you anywhere, even sync them up with your cell phone for notes on the go.
15. MyStickies: If you’re browsing the web you can leave little notes for yourself with this helpful sticky app.
16. NoteCentric: This social networking site lets users put up and share their notes from classes at school.
17. University Notes: Check out this social site to share and read notes from courses at your school and those around the nation.
18. UberNote: Not only can you take notes with this tool but add tasks into them as well.
19. Webnote: This online tool is a pretty basic way to take notes online.
20. ShareNotes: Use this site to find notes and share your own for study purposes.

Studying and Homework

These tools can help you study more effectively and get better grades on your homework.

21. Cramster: This site is a great place to seek out answers to homework questions you need help with, find practice exams and a whole lot more.
22. CollegeRuled: Here you can keep up with your courses, create class schedules and maintain to-do lists so you can remember your important assignments.
23. Quizlet: Use this tool to make your own quizzes to study or find those that others have made.
24. Mathway: Want to check your math skills to make sure you’re on the right track? This tool can help.
25. CollegeCram: This site is all about social learning and is a great place to find other students to study with.
26. Graphing Calculator: You don’t need to invest in an expensive graphing calculator– just use this free online version instead.

Writing and Research

If you want to make writing papers easier and get a leg up on researching, try out these tools.

27. EasyBib: Make creating a bibliography much easier with this free online tool.
28. Ottobib: Ensure that your bibliography or works cited pages are done correctly with this tool. Enter in the information about the text and the type of format you want it in and the program does the rest.
29. GoogleDocs: Want to be able to work on your paper or project no matter where you are? Even if you don’t have a laptop, GoogleDocs gives you access to all your files right from a Gmail account, making it easy to keep homework mobile.
30. Wikipedia: While you should never use Wikipedia as a source on your paper, it can often be a great starting point for research on a project and can point you in the direction of the books and resources you should be looking for.
31. Google Scholar: Ensure that the sources you’re searching for on the web are reliable by using this helpful academic-only search engine from Google.
32. BibMe: Whether you need ALA, MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style, this free bibliography tool can help you out.
33. SparkNotes: If you’re having a tough time understanding the classic lit you’re reading, give these free study questions and notes.
34. CiteULike: Use this tool to search for, sort and cite scholarly research sources.
35. Footnote: Go to the source and get access to original historical documents on this site that you can use in your research.
36. Dictionary.com: Chances are pretty good that when you’re doing your reading you’ll come across words you don’t know. Look them up on this site, find synonyms, get translations and play educational games as well.
37. YourDraft: Here you can type and store your paper so that you can access it from anywhere with an internet connection.

Presentations and Collaboration

Inevitably, you’ll have to give a presentation and work with others on a project. These tools will make it a little easier and help you get the grade you want.

38. Zoho Show: If you need to give a presentation and don’t have Microsoft PowerPoint you can easily create one using this fully-featured and free alternative.
39. bubbl.us: Check out this tool to make working in groups a little easier. You can map out your ideas and thoughts for the project and easily email it to anyone you choose.
40. Thinkature: Here you’ll be able to engage in real-time collaboration, with voice, text and visual elements.
41. MeetWithApproval: This site can help you arrange a meeting or event at a time that works for everyone in your group.
42. ProBoards: Create a board through this site so all members of your group can post and work together easily online.
43. TimetoMeet: Set up an account with this site to make it a little easier to meet up with those you’re working with, especially if there are several people in your group.
44. Goplan: This app isn’t totally free, but you can use if for 30 days for free which is more than likely more than enough time for you to work with others collaboratively on a project using it.
45. Clipmarks: This application will let you store, share and comment on the information you find on the web, making collaborative research easier.
46. Lazybase: Check out this site to make a database where you and others you’re working with can edit and add-to information.

Organization

These helpful online tools can make sure you keep track of your assignments, fun activities, and just about everything else.

47. MyNoteIT: This application comes with just about everything you’ll need to stay organized at school, from a calendar to a simply way to store and share notes for all your courses.
48. Delicious: While you can bookmark just about anything you like with this tool, it can be incredibly useful for keeping track of the websites for your courses, syllabi and other important school information. Better yet, you can access it no matter where you are or what computer you’re on.
49. Zotero: This Firefox tool makes it easy to organize, store, cite and use your research sources right from your browser.
50. Mindomo: Help yourself get your thoughts in order with this free mind mapping tool.
51. Diigo: Use this tool to organize your web world, with functions that let you highlight, create sticky notes and email information.
52. MySchoolog: Get everything in your school life organized through this online tool.
53. TracksLife: Whether you want to track what you eat, your progress in a project or your budget you can do it with this tool.
54. Backpack: While designed for business, this tool can help you organize all of your big, semester-long projects.
55. Presdo: If you have a busy social schedule, this application can help you track all of your outings in one place.
56. NetVibes: Check out this site to keep all your social networking, chat and frequently visited sites in one place so you won’t have to run all over the place to use them.
57. Shoshiku: This online tool makes it simple to keep track of all your assignments and projects so you’ll never forget something important.

Scheduling

Whether you need a great calendar or an easy way to keep track of what you need to get done, these tools will help you stay on top of everything when you’re at school.

58. TaDa List: If you’re the sort of person who can memorize all the capitals of Africa but who can’t remember all the errands you’re supposed to run, this application may come in handy. You’ll be able to keep track of homework, work, projects and more from one easy list.
59. Remember the Milk: Help yourself remember the milk or just about anything else with this to-do app.
60. Google Calendar: One of the best free calendars out there, Google Calendar can keep you on track with all your tasks and even makes it simple to send out invites to fun events as well.
61. 30 Boxes: This simply designed calendar will help you keep all your important events organized.
62. Jotlet: If you want to be able to share your schedule with family and friends, sign up for this free calendar service.
63. WhichTime: With loads of widgets available to customize it, this calendar is a totally personal way to keep track of tasks.
64. My 50: Keep track of the big picture with this tool that lets you track and organize your life goals.
65. Toodledo: Check out this tool to keep a to-do list that does it all, including analyzing your dates, priorities, and time estimates to create a customized schedule for your needs.
66. bitBomb: If you want to take your to-dos on the go, try out this application. You’ll get reminders to your cell phone of what you need to get done.
67. Nozbe: With functions that help you keep to-do lists, manage projects and tasks, get reminders, share with others, and even access from your mobile phone, this app does it all.
68. HipCal: Created by college students, this application will let you create your own calendar or one that can be shared by a group and create to-do lists as well.
69. LifeTango: Keep track of all your personal goals whether for the short or long term on this site, a great way to track your progress throughout the year.

Communication

Whether you’re homesick or just want to make sure you stay in touch, these tools offer you a lot of options for communicating with everyone important to you.

70. Meebo: No matter what IM service your friends and family use you can chat with them using Meebo. With a Meebo account you’ll be able to access your accounts on everything from Gtalk to AOL at once.
71. Gmail: This free webmail application is generally considered among the best, partly because of what a great job it does of filtering out junk mail. It is full of other features as well, and can make it easy to keep in touch with friends and relatives.
72. Facebook: There aren’t too many college students out there today without a Facebook account, so sign up to keep in touch and share what you’re doing.
73. Skype: While not all services from Skype are free, calls from computer to computer generally are, letting you talk with those you love without breaking your budget.
74. Twitter: Let your friends and family read short messages about what you’re up to on this site you can update from anywhere– even your phone.
75. ooVoo: Similar to Skype, this site offers free video conferencing and chat.
76. WordPress: What better way to let others know what you’re up to than with a blog? With WordPress you can set up a free site and post updates and pictures to your account.
77. CampusBug: Meet other students going to your school and find out about groups you might be interested in with this social networking site.
78. Campfire: This site may have been created for business use, but it can also be a great way to work with others can keep in touch and share files with family members.
79. GroupLoop: If you’re heading up a group you can keep all members in the group on the same page with this free, web-based software.

Finance

For many students, college will be the first time to manage a large part of their own finances. Since most students are on a tight budget, these tools can help make it a little easier to have fun, but live within their means.

80. Wesabe: This tool provides a great way to track your finances and get support and help from an online community as well.
81. Mint: Link up your accounts with this site and you’ll get weekly reports about your standings and a whole lot more.
82. Buxfer: Get a better picture of your financial standings by using this free tool.
83. MoneyTrackin’: Make sure you’re staying within your budget with this helpful financial site.
84. Geezeo: You can track all of your accounts on this site and tag spending with categories so you can see where your money is going.
85. Student Advantage: Through this site, you can find out what kind of discounts you qualify for as a student at your university.
86. Coupons.com: Help yourself get discounts on just about everything with the coupons found on this site.
87. iOWEYOU: Keep track of debts with friends and roommates with this helpful online tool.

Fun Stuff

Don’t be all work and no fun– these sites allow you to listen to music, read blogs, share photos and more.

88. Google Reader: Whether you read the latest news or keep up with celebrity gossip, this tool will let you do so quickly and efficiently.
89. FoxyTunes: If you like to listen to music while browsing or studying, this Firefox tool lets you control just about any media player right from your browser.
90. last.fm: Find new music and share the music you love with this site, popular with college students and adults alike.
91. College Mailer: This site can help make it easy to send out mail and memos to all the people in your clubs and organizations.
92. Flickr: Store and share your photos with both family and friends using this site.
93. MeetUp: If you’re trying to make friends in a new place, this site can help you find organizations, clubs and fun things to do no matter your interests.

Miscellaneous Tools

This assortment of tools offer students a variety of options from free courses to supplement your learning to the ability to store and access files online.

94. Schoolr: This search engine combines several of the most useful searches, Wikipedia, Google, Dictionary.com, and more, into one page.
95. Craigslist: Whether you want to sell your books or find cheap furniture for your dorm room, you can find deals on this classifieds site.
96. DivShare: Through this site you can share your videos, photos and more– up to 5 GB for free.
97. GPA Calculator: Curious about what your GPA is going to be this semester? This tool can help.
98. Adrive: This site will let you store up to 50GB of information online for a 14 day free period.
99. Box: Use Box’s online storage to back up your files or provide access to important information from anywhere.
100. MIT Open Courseware: You don’t have to be enrolled at MIT to take courses from there. Here you can find information and videos about hundreds of MIT courses, a great way to learn even more about subjects you’re interested in."

Isn't this a fabulous list? I applaud all the work Hannah did to pull this together!

Have you or your children found other helpful sites? Comment on the original blog by clicking here if you're a subscriber.

More help for the college student:

Getting Organized for School/College - Software Tools

More Resources for Present and Future College Students

Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student

Organizing Your To-Do List

Overwhelmed by all you need to do? Write it down! Make a list of everything you need to do.

Next, assign a day to each task. Those things that are most important and urgent should be assigned to an earlier day. Beside those items you will do on Monday, write an M. Put a T beside the things you will do on Tuesday, and so on.

Then, look at the items you have on your list for today. Prioritize them by putting a 1 beside the most important and urgent item on the list, 2 on the next, etc.

By tackling #1 on your list, you know you are doing the most critical task on your list. Even if that’s the only thing you accomplish today, you know you have spent your time on the highest priority item on your list.

Transfer today's prioritized list to today's page on your calendar. Transfer your lists for each day to the corresponding day on your calendar

At the end of today, compare undone tasks on today’s list with those items on tomorrow’s list. If necessary, reprioritize your list for tomorrow. By doing this tonight, this allows you to get started quickly on your day tomorrow with your most critical task.

As a result of creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you may realize that it is humanly impossible to do all the tasks on your to-do list. You will need to delegate, ask for help, or lower your expectations.

As things came to mind, add them to your list so everything is in one place. If you write things down, you won’t have them rambling around in your mind, and you won’t forget them!

By creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you stay focused on what you need to do, you're motivated to use your time well, and you are forced to live in reality as far as what you are humanly able to accomplish.

More on priorities:
Your Priorities, Passions, and Gifts Create Context for Your Clutter
Announcing My New Coaching Package - Rethinking Life
The Effects of Disorganization at the Office
Get Organized Month - Declutter Your Schedule - Take Some Time Off!

Comments? Subscribers, click here to comment at the end of the original blog.

Getting Organized for School - Family Calendar

It's nice to be home after taking a couple of days to visit my husband's parents. Even a two-day trip is disrupting to routine, I find. We listened to books on tape which made the five-hours-each-way fly by, even during the pouring rain. And we learned a lot!

Here's another episode of getting organized for school to give you a head start. :)

Getting Organized for School - Family Calendar

I'm taking another look at getting ready for school - if you start now and get yourself organized, life will not be so chaotic when school starts. The following is a revamp from last year's post on the same subject.

A major aspect of getting ready for school (or life) is having a family calendar in a location where everyone can check in to see what's going on. It's best if it is located at your hub (see my post on this subject, listed below).

Your calendar can be an organizing software program on your computer/laptop or a wall calendar.

There are a number of great software programs that track several family members (some are free!). And there are several personal spiral/notebook type organizers - my favorite being the Planner Pad. I've done reviews of both software programs and notebook type organizers and will link the related posts below.

When my children were home, we used a huge calendar on the side of our refrigerator. My friend Carole, hangs hers inside one of her kitchen cabinets so it's not so unsightly.

Now, with different foster children coming each week, it makes more sense for me to just post a weekly calendar from my Palm Centro (Palm's version of the Blackberry) software.

But if I still had kids at home, I would use something like Mom's Plan It Calendar. It's a 17-month calendar which can track up to 5 family members, with stickers, and more.


You can use a different color pen or marker for each person, and a separate color for family activities. Then it's a breeze to decipher your daily activities!

Do you have a favorite family calendar or software program you use to organize your family? Subscribers click here to comment on the original blog.

More on Calendars/Organizers:

Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub

Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner

Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

Product Review of Organizers - PDAs

The Final Review of Organizers

Cozi 2.0, Oops

Springpads

Came across another online organizing system called Springpad, "free online notebooks that help you manage your life. Use your springpad to keep track of notes, photos, maps, to-do’s, contacts, appointments & more."


Have any of you used this? Check it out and let us know what you think!

Related posts: Another Organizing Site, More Family Organizing Sites, Cozi 2.0, Product Review of Organizers - PDAs, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner, Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

Another Organizing Site

Andrew Yang asked me to pass on info about qlubb.com. It's a secure site with a public website, a group event calendar with reminders, a shared to-do list with reminders, group invites/RSVPs, and more! It sounds perfect for families as well as sports teams, church groups, parent groups, etc.

Let me know what you think!


Related Posts: More Family Organizing Sites, Cozi 2.0, Product Review of Organizers - PDAs, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner, Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

More Family Organizing Sites

Remember my reviews of time management planners? Here are a few more sites that allow you to organize family activities and information online:

Famundo.com allows you to upload an online library so everyone can have access to critical family information.

Viewmylife.com allows you to send customized invitations to others complete with videos and pictures.

Schoolpulse.com enables parents to discuss school events, sports and PTA meetings.

Google.com/calendar allows you to view your calendar alongside that of your family members and friends either on your computer or on your phone.

Have you found another site you love?


Related posts: Cozi 2.0, Product Review of Organizers - PDAs, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner, Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar

A major aspect of getting ready for school (or life) is having a family calendar in a location where everyone can check in and see what's going on. This can be an organizing software program on your computer/laptop or a wall calendar. You'll want to have a personal calendar or organizer, but you'll also need a family calendar.



There are a number of great software programs that track several family members (some are free!). And there are several personal spiral/notebook type organizers - my favorite being the Planner Pad. I've done reviews of both software programs and notebook type organizers and will link the related posts below.



When my children were home, we used a huge calendar on the side of our refrigerator. My friend Carole, hangs hers inside one of her kitchen cabinets so it's not so unsightly. Now, with different foster children coming each week, it makes more sense for me to just post a weekly calendar from my Palm software. But if I still had kids at home, I would use something like Mom's Plan It Calendar. It's a 17-month calendar which can track up to 5 family members, with stickers, and more. Click the link on my sidebar to get a more detailed description.

Use a different color pen or marker for each person, and a separate color for family activities, and it's a breeze to decipher your daily activities!

Do you have a favorite family calendar or software program you use to organize your family?

Related posts: Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner, Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad, Product Review of Organizers - PDAs, The Final Review of Organizers, Cozi 2.0, Oops

Oops

Somehow I messed up the link to the Cozi site. It's www.cozi.com. Sorry!

Cozi 2.0

Remember my reviews of time management organizing systems? One of those was Cozi, a free online program. Cozi has just rolled out its 2.0 version. Here is what they say are the upgrades:

- "Quicker and easier than ever to use. Sign in from any computer with Internet access. No downloads required. (To see all the new features and for the best experience, we recommend the following web browsers: Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox.)

- Full of features you've been asking for.

Try the new month calendar view and month printing.

We think you'll also enjoy the new family journal which is designed for busy families to jot down moments and memories they don't want to forget.

Plus, there's a recipe search in Cozi lists that helps make your grocery trips more efficient.

- Getting better, faster than ever. Enjoy immediate access to new features without having to download new software."

If you're looking for a new way to manage your time, I recommend Cozi as a great option! Click on the title above to be taken to their site.


What time management system do you and why?

The Final Review of Organizers

My final review of organizers is about Cozi, a computer-based program that is available as a software download or on the web. Cozi coordinates family and work schedules, with a different color for each family member or other important persons or groups.

It syncs with Outlook, and is accessible from any computer with internet access or any mobile phone. You can even call an 800 number and have something on your calendar or lists texted to your phone or read to you over the phone – recipes, directions, whatever!

You can send messages and reminders to family members, work associates, or the carpool from Cozi Messages – to individuals or a group.

Cozi Lists allows you to make to-do lists, grocery lists, birthday lists, and anything else you need to remember. You can transfer ingredients from a recipe to your grocery list, too.

Document special moments with pictures and short descriptions in your Cozi Family Journal. No scissors or glue needed! And Cozi automatically generates a screen-saver collage from your pictures. When you find a combination you like, you can send the collage to family or friends with just a click!

On Cozi’s home page a video walks you through the features of this unique organizing program. There’s a blog to give you additional ideas and suggestions. And Cozi is free!! Check it out at www.Cozi.com.

Do you have an organizing system you love? Please share it!

Product Review of Organizers - PDAs

Today I’ll review PDAs (personal digital assistants) – generically. It would be too complicated to review them all and there are plenty of websites that will do that for you.

The pros:
- PDAs are small, compact and convenient.
- You can store an enormous amount of information in a small space – addresses, phone numbers, calendar, files, and to-do lists.
- Some PDAs have the capacity to be used as a phone and can connect to the internet.
- A calculator is part of the menu.
- An alarm reminds you of important events or appointments, if you choose to use it.
- It interfaces with your computer and allows you to keep your information in both places.
- Information can be imported and exported to and from other PDAs.
- You can play games on it.

The cons:
- The calendar screen is small, making it hard to view the details of more than a couple of days.
- You must remember to charge it. If you don’t and your power dies, you must reprogram your settings – just happened to me today!! You can sync back all the information from your computer, but if you have entered anything onto your handheld and haven’t synced it to your computer, it is lost.
- They are more expensive than most paper or computer organizers.
- You must enter information using a stylus, which can be slower than writing. You can also write on the screen, but you must learn “graffiti” which is the handwriting the PDA can scan.

I especially love the fact that all my important information is with me at all times in a small place. The only major inconvenience I experience is not being able to see a week or month at a glance on my handheld. But whenever I’m working at my home office, I can see these on my computer.

Product Review of Organizers - The Planner Pad

The Planner Pad is not your average schedule book. Instead of the usual two pages for a week’s schedule, there is so much more on those two pages!

The top third of the page is dedicated to “Weekly Lists of Activities by Categories”. This becomes your master to-do list. Instead of a long grocery list of to-dos, there are seven separate lists spread out horizontally. It is conducive to grouping like activities together under a single category.

The next third is for your daily to-do list. As you prioritize your master list according to importance and urgency, you determine which day that activity will be done and enter it on the corresponding daily to-do list.

The bottom third is for appointments and designated times you want to accomplish your daily to-dos. The three categories act as a funnel, helping you list everything that is on your mind, pick out the priority items, and schedule them. So by the time you have put them on your schedule, you have sifted through your list for the highest priority activities for that week.

Each week also includes a list for notes and calls and a list for expenses. A small monthly calendar for that month, the previous one, and the next month are shown for easy reference.

The Planner Pad has a section for important phone numbers, a one page three-year calendar, an expanded three-year calendar with room to jot down plans and events, a three-year list of holidays, a time zone map, pages for notes, and pages for goals and projects. The scheduling pages for each month are preceded by a month-at-a-glance calendar for that month.

The Planner Pad comes with a 20-30 minute audio CD which introduces the Planner Pad and its funnel system, presented by Gary Parker, the owner of Planner Pads. Not only does he walk you through the use of the Planner Pad, but he gives you time management tips and other planning pointers. Written instructions are also included to help you get started.

The Planner Pad includes 53 weeks of schedules, which can start in January, April, June, or October. The two sizes are executive and personal and cost $25.95 and $24.95 respectively. To purchase the Planner Pad go to www.PlannerPad.com.

Product Review of Organizers - Daily Home Planner

As promised, I will review several organizing tools as a follow up to our survey in March asking which tool do you use most often to organize your time. The survey results were: wall calendar 17%, PDA 14%, cell phone 7%, pocket calendar 14%, notebook/spiral 42%, and other 10%.

I'll be looking at several different styles to give you a variety of options to explore. Today I'll be looking at the Daily Home Planner by Sarah Kimmel.

Sarah Kimmel has an amazing product – her Daily Home Planner! The Daily Home Planner is a computer-based system that helps you organize your time, finances, menus, goals, contacts, journaling, and lists. It’s a one-stop organizing system for all areas of your life.

You can document a daily routine for yourself and for other family members. So when you look at your day, you see the routines and appointments for the whole family. Sarah especially recommends this system for home-schoolers, where each child’s daily school routine is readily seen. When you switch to a monthly view, just your appointments show up, without all the daily routines.

The Daily Home Planner helps you set up a budget and allocate income to the categories you have chosen in your budget. As you spend and record, each category shows the current total.

Planning menus is a snap, too. You enter recipes onto your program, and you can click and drag them to the day you want to serve them. The ingredients are then transferred to your shopping list!

There’s a section for journaling, including things you’ve learned that day and a place for pictures. And for list lovers – you can create to do lists, grocery lists, and any other list you can imagine!

Create a contact list for the whole family using the reference section. There’s lots of room for information for each contact. And there’s a box you can check if the contact is one to be called in an emergency.

There’s even a babysitter’s list! Print out the routines for each child during the period of time covered, as well as your own specific instructions and the emergency numbers you designated.

Sarah provides a demo on her site for each section of her planner. She also includes a detailed printed list of instructions in her help section on the program, to get you started. And all for only $34.95 at www.dailyhomeplanner.com.