Playful Organizing/Integrating Technology

A Personal Example

Problem: I could not come up with one satisfactory way to store my personal email addresses and phone numbers. I kept changing systems using scraps of paper, etc. This has been going on for years and was very frustrating for me. Finally my professional organizer and I designed a system that I am using and am very happy with.

The requirements were: That the system had to be accessible electronically from both work and home and that each place also had to have back up hard copies. The system had to be periodically updated by the reminder system and collection storage folders until updated.

We decided to use Yahoo! address book, note book, calendaring and email system. I store my pieces of paper with addresses, etc., in a file folder which we use to update the address book once every three weeks at a minimum and print out hard copies that I store in my work notebook and my home collection folder. That was the clincher which sold me on the approach, when my professional organizer agreed to help me update the file. That was the part I was dreading. (Note: look for those personal barriers that are lurking in the shadows!).

What I love about it is that I can access my personal system on-line from both work and home and any place that I can be on-line.

I also consolidated all my bookmarks from outlook onto Yahoo! and use that one system to store my common bookmarks.

My thought keeps going to the hand-held phone/PC that can access on-line pretty much anywhere. But I am happy with my system for now as is.

Another example of the use of technology is our use of Amazon.com to locate books. Some of us are especially fond of using the book reviews and "Lists" feature to locate interesting books. People who like books I like tend to recommend other books that I like.

We can <control>C to copy the title then switch to our local library home page and search. If the book is found, I can request that the book be sent to my local branch. They email me when it has arrived. If my local library system does not have the book I can request it through the library via interlibrary loan. Then, if I must own my very own copy, I can purchase it via Amazon.

Amazon also can be used to inventory your books, by creating lists of 25 books each.