My digital toolbox (Summer 2009 edition)
One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “Shawn, what tools do you use to do what you do on a computer?” So, here it is. The definitive list of the digital tools I use to Get Things Done.
Google Suite – That’s my name for Gmail, Gmail Tasks, Google Calendar and Google Docs. Gmail Tasks and Google Calendar integrate so when you give a Gmail Task a due date it appears on your Google Calendar. You can also tick a Gmail Task as done from Google Calendar, too. I use Google Docs for 100% of my document writing and spreadsheets and don’t have Microsoft Office installed on my machine at all (I do on my work laptop but only because my office uses Microsoft Exchange calendars to schedule field techs). I also use Google Reader to keep up with my RSS feeds.
Evernote – I’ve been using this for years and consider it vital to my being productive. If you didn’t check out my personal productivity system article I suggest you do so. It gives a clearer picture on how I use Evernote as part of all my day to day activities. Evernote is available for BlackBerry, iPhone and lots of other devices.
Firefox – the web browser of web browsers. Not only is it standards compliant but it’s safer, faster and can be customized in just about any way imaginable. I use the Xmarks add-on to sync my bookmarks between desktop and laptop PC’s plus many other add-ons to shape Firefox into a powerful productivity tool.
Task.fm – this is a newcomer to my digital toolbox. I use Task.fm to send me email and text reminders (when making a Google Calendar event is too weighty). You can add Task.fm reminders via email, their website or Twitter and you can also set recurring reminders.
Syncplicity – This is also another newcomer to my digital toolbox. Syncplicity allows me to sync files automatically between my desktop and laptop PC’s. I simply tell Syncplicity to “watch” a folder and whenever I add, remove or change a file in that folder, the changes sync to the Internet automatically. These changes then sync to my other PC automatically. It’s also a fantastic backup tool.
I hope this article helps you become more productive.
Windows 7: an experiment
This is a full-on techie/nerd blog post so if you’re neither a techie or nerd, please watch the funny video below. Techie/nerd readers, watch the funny video then read on.
I was chatting with my friend Matt the other day about backup services like Mozy versus file sync services like Syncplicity, Sugarsync and Zumodrive.
We were also talking about Windows 7 and I mentioned I’d use the beta as my full time OS but I knew it expired in August. He flippantly said, “keep all your stuff in the cloud via sync.”
I nodded and we moved on with our conversation.
Then, last night, I logged into Windows 7 (I’m currently dual booting Vista and Win7) and was again amazed at just how awesome Win7 is.
So I’m going to do what Matt suggested. Consider it an experiment.