Just in the nick of time. Managing life in this multi-tasking world.





 

 

Anybody who has known me for more than 30 minutes knows that I am “time challenged” and disorganized. I own it, but don’t like it. In fact, if I could conquer these two areas in my life I think I would probably be the happiest person I could possibly be. With the Christmas season and all its inherent deadlines and “to do’s” my urgent, today, tomorrow and the worst past due tasks whoosh and whirl around in my head like a chaotic and crazed cyclone. Panic and dread fill my brain and I find myself simultaneously flooded with “forget me nots”, then frantically finding that when I pick up pen and paper to write down this “to do” or “to die” item I have forgotten what burning task had just lit my flame.  

To say this puts a damper on my Christmas spirit is an understatement. I feel myself rolling up the welcome mat to my very being and things such as carefree phone conversations, visits short or long and engaging with my family in a chilled manner becomes wearing.  

In an attempt to keep up with my mind, I find myself constantly grabbing sticky notes, receipts, envelopes, box tops, my boy’s homework and sometimes my very own hands to document a new “to do” or a forgotten one come to life. These pings of pressing things pop up at the most inconvenient time like demanding 5-year-olds waiting their turn. “Hey, you said I was next” and the other “to do” screams “No, she said I was next on the list” and still another says “Pick me. Pick me. I get to be first.”

My husband for years has urged me to start relying on electronics to keep track of my life. I resisted with every encouragement thinking that to learn how to use these popular “getting things done” apps would be just one more thing to add to my “to do”.  I would reason that pen and paper were the way to go because you could access them anywhere and at anytime. I have even been known to use a lipstick or an eye pencil in a pinch to help jot down my thoughts only to find them later a smear of pink or brown on crinkled paper. I finally gave in to the new after becoming exhausted from digging through trash bins, car seats and coat pockets for my much needed to do lists. I decided that the small amount of time learning a new way to organize my life could possibly save me a life time of lost productivity.

I heard a saying that to get things done you must stop relying on tomorrows because you will never run out of tomorrows, but you will only have this one today. And, really to me there is nothing so gratifying as checking off the “to do’s” when they are done. I feel lighter, more care free and engaged. My self-worth and confidence soar with every check. What a simple investment of time to get so much in return.

To help those of you who struggle to be on time or juggle too much in your life, I have put together what I think are the best free or super cheap and easy to use turn your life around apps. Google the name of the app you want to explore and in minutes or even seconds you are on your way to a becoming aTime Management Ninja.

TA-DA LIST:
Best for: Someone who likes to keep it simple, but also share.

Imagine being able to send your children or spouse a to do list without having to face them!!! Ta-da List is the web’s easiest and simple to-do list tool you can use on your iPhone and computer. Bonus – it is free and hip hip hooray ad free. You can get started in 10-seconds flat. Make lists for yourself. Share your lists with friends, family, spouses, collaborators, co-workers or keep them to yourself.


WUNDERLIST
Best for: users who require multi-platforms other than iPhone such as Android

What separates Wunderlist from the pack is its no bloat, uncomplicated functionality, design, simplicity, and effectiveness. This productivity tool is simple enough that you can use it without trying, yet powerful enough that it always has your back. Free and available across many platforms, the love or dare I say “lust” for Wunderlist helped it cross well over a million downloads. Wunderlist will send you email reminders and you in turn can send tasks from your email box to Wunderlist. So when you are slogging through your dozens of emails and a “to do” pops in your head you can send yourself an email that will go straight to your list on Wunderlist. Wunderlist also has what seems to be magical syncing powers across devices. You don’t have to worry about manually syncing or wifi sync like some products.  Voted "10 Best Productivity Apps of 2010" – The Next Web. Key features:
Cloud sync ☆ Your tasks are synced with your free Wunderlist account. Magical!
● Email reminders sent to you about tasks due
● Send tasks to Wunderlist from your email inbox

LUCID LISTS:
Best for: On-the-move and recurring event time management

This on-the-move time management tool for iPhones offers great functionality and is perfect for anyone who needs reminders for both recurring tasks and for new ones. It tracks the last time you performed a task and knows how often you would like to repeat it. For example, call your mother-in-law once a week, change smoke alarm batteries twice yearly,  annual pet vet visits or yoga three times a week.

You will love the banana color-coding system. “Raw”, “Ripe” and “Rotten” bananas help you to know the status of a task.  “Raw” is for brand new or far-off tasks, “Ripe,” is for Do It Now and “Rotten” is if you’ve missed the due date. Just $1.99 to own. Customer review: The concept of "raw / ripe / rotten" is a stroke of brilliance.

ERRANDS TO DO LIST:
Best for: Anyone who needs reminder alerts

Created for iPhone and iPad, Errands is a free task manager with an attractive design and is easy to learn and use. It has earned an impressive Customer 5 Star rating from 1248 users. Best features include:
A monthly calendar face view for tasks with due dates accessed with one touch of an icon.
Calendar alerts (reminders) for tasks, with choice of sound and several repeat options.
Focus Folder when a task comes due it will be auto-starred. This makes the Focus Folder very useful for quickly glancing at what you need to do NOW.

HOME & WORK LITE
Best for: Control freaks 

Home & Work offers a micro-managed way of keeping on top of all your tasks, as well as personal projects and study directly from your iPhone and iPod Touch. Home & Work is free and supports five independent to-do lists:
– ‘personal‘ for all the personal/private tasks;
– ‘home’ for the home/family-related tasks;
– ‘business’ things to do at work;
– ‘school’ common tasks for school and college students;
– ‘project’ for pet projects/hobbies.

Within these sections, you can add to-do items and other tasks into tons of sub-sections such as appointments, documents, events, school, meal planning, etc. There’s even a “to-think” category, if you are like me and have subjects like “world peace” that you just don’t have the time to do justice at the moment, you can add this to your “to-think” about later list. Home & Work is tightly integrated with your Address Book, Email, Maps, popular search engines, eBay and Amazon shopping sites, Fandango and IMDB tickets and movies, and more. Developer: Manumatix. RATED "BEST" BY APPREVIEW.COM

LIST PRO:
Best for: those looking for the most comprehensive, yet easy ToDo list app

List Pro described by the developer as the “ultimate list making toolkit” is not free but you get a lot for $4.99. This social ToDo list application is available on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Smartphones, PC, Mac and web. Keep track of your hobbies such as gardening and planting schedule, create outlines of presentations for work, track daily expenses, keep records and receive updates on your Ebay auction activities and that is just the short list. You can create lists as simple or as complex as needed leaving no stone unturned. DA Buzz reviews ListPro4.1 as “snappy, easy to use and can be used for just about any purpose you can dream up.”

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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