What do you use to stay organized?
 

Being self-employed, I need to be better organized. Sometimes i miss phonecalls,reminders, and must-dos all because I dont have a planner (or I simply forget)... I went to walgreens and staples today and the only thing they had for me was the leather oversized wallet of... Well... A daily planner...
Is that what most business ppl use to stay organized? Iphones/Blackberries?

Please advise!

BBerry :thumbsup

I don't think that anybody can really answer this for you. You need to find what works for you.

So ask yourself what would help you stay on track. Wall calendar? White board? Computer calendar? Spreadsheet? Reminder program? Start one and see if it works. If it doesn't, try another.

Lately it has been my G1, google documents, and google voice used together. Well toss in a couple free apps for good measure.
I am now organized as long as I have my phone with me which is now always thanks to google voice (the toggles are great, so I do not get calls when I do not want them - unless an emergency).

I use a Windows Mobile phone with an Exchange Server.

Starting using this method in Undergrad, Has worked perfectly for me ever since. :2 cents:

Just get into a routine and you will never forget or miss things that works for me i dont really need a reminder but some days could get so crazy that nothing in the world will help.

so, ah, do you work for Playboy ?

You didn't really specify what type of organization you're trying to get a handle on. Organizing projects, organizing a schedule, organizing ideas, organizing to do lists, organizing contact info, etc etc....unfortunately, there isn't a one size fits all.

Only thing that's ever come 99% close (for my use) is a microsoft program called onenote.
I live in this thing.
onenote video demo

The full advantage of onenote is when you use it on a tabletpc (ie: pen computing)...which i do about 70% my work on..

Just depends what your organizing goals are.

I seem to recall not long ago he had a blue nickname. He is in Chicago, but alas they did fire a lot of people.

Well it should be obvious that you chart out what are the priorities in your life/work - then map them out. If anything new comes up, do not accept unless either you change one of your priorities or realize that you simply can't take on anything new for a period of time until you remove and finish whatever is on your list.

If someone comes up to me demanding something needs to get done, I merely look at them relaxed and show them my list and ask, "if this is a priority of yours, then tell me exactly which other task I have should be sacrificed to accomplish it?".. Generally once they realize what is at stake, they then see that what is being demanded usually isn't as much of a priority as they thought it is when compared to the others.

I just use the calander program that comes with Windows Vista. It works really well for me to schedule daily stuff. I also have some spread sheets for keeping track of my projects.

I have a small handy notepad where I write the stuff with pencil, and beside of this a few .txt files on my desktop to remind me about important things.

No, just a nickname...

Thnx all for their replies...

guess i was wrong, oh well. There were a few blue names though that are no longer here.

Well, u may hav been tru... Does "blue name" ppl means "sofucking banned?", if so, that was ME! I jus came back!

Its pretty simple really.
1. LEARN how to properly use outlook, calender features, address books, planners
2. Get a GOOD project management system, there are even free ones out there, one would be http://www.opengoo.org/
3. USE YOUR TOOLS

Staying organized is easy, that is IF you take the time to stay organized.....99.999% of people get the right tools and then NEVER use them.

Especially in our business this is our biggest problem!

EDIT: Plan out your day every day....dont just sit donw and go nuts, its not productive and will lead to chaos.