Thing 16: Getting Organized

Everyone needs to be organized, but this is something that I tend to have a lot of trouble with.  While exploring Thing 16, I was looking for something that would be practical for me to use in everyday life.

The first things I looked at were the customized start page.  I already have a Google start page, so I was really just looking to see if either of the other start pages were any better.  I really like Google, and I spend so much time using Google, so having a Google start page is just practical.  I did not see a significant difference between iGoogle, PageFlakes, or Netvibes.  They all do basically the same thing, allow you to add widgets or gadgets to a start page, and many of the gadgets are the same on all three websites.

I also tried Remember the Milk.  Several people have told me how useful it is, so I figured it would be something that I could use pretty easily.  I decided to try and write a To-do list of what I needed to get done over Spring Break.  I ended up getting really frustrated with the whole thing because I could not get it to do what I wanted (I think a little more exploring could help me figure it out, but right now I just want to get it done).  I decided to switch to Ta da List, which took me a total of ten seconds to do.  It was a lot easier, but it also doesn't have as many features as Remember the Milk.

I also looked at the PDF Converter.  I figured it might be an interesting tool to look at, although I am not exactly sure what I would use it for.  I converted my gradebook to PDF, and it looked nice.  If I were ending an Excel file to someone, and they did not need to edit it, I could convert it to PDF for aesthetic reasons.

Of all the tools for getting organized that we have looked at in this class, my favorite is definitely Google Calendars.  It is one of the only tools that I can see myself using in my personal life.  it is a really easy way to share your schedule with people, especially my family in Memphis.

All the other tools that we have looked at are nice, but most of them I have either used before or don't have a use for.  I make to-do lists all the time, and have never used a computer to do them.  It is easier for me to just pick up a piece of paper and a pencil than to log on to a website.  We organization is great, but I might stick to doing some things the "old-fashioned way".