Get Organized Now! Weblog

My Favorite Phone Apps

Today, a friend asked me what apps I have on my iPhone. She has over 200--many of which she never uses, and she says they're cluttering up her phone screen. Plus, it's difficult for her to find those apps that she uses often, without scrolling back and forth constantly.

Just as physical clutter and paper clutter can build, so can 'virtual' clutter, like clutter found in your email inbox, on your computer, and YES, on your smart phone.

If you get an app, and you never use it, it's clutter and it should be deleted from your smartphone.

Here are my current favorite Phone Apps. This is not to say they will be tomorrow's favorites, but at this moment in time, this is what I have:

Apps that came with my iPhone that I don't have the option of deleting (they're all on the first 'page' of my iPhone screen:

Calendar
Weather
Maps
Notes
Utilities
App Store
Game Center
Settings
Stocks
Photos
Camera
Messages
Contacts
Phone
Mail
Safari
iPod

Apps that I have on my iPhone in addition to those that came with the phone (all of these are on 'pages 2 and 3' of my iPhone screen and I use them regularly--some daily:

iTunes
YouTube
Netflix
Shazam
Phanfare
The Weather Channel
Facebook
Twitter
Virtuoso
Amazon.com
Evernote
All Recipes
Fox News
Check Please
AroundMe
Pandora
Seize The Day
Dragon Dictation
Fandango
Google
Angry Birds
Groupon
Living Social
Cool Facts
Birthdays

Remember, clutter can take many forms. Don't allow your smart phone to become a clutter trouble spot. Keep your apps under control and your phone will not only be organized, but will also help you stay productive and stress-free each day.

ICE Could Save a Life

Most everyone carries a cell phone these days. It's a good thing, especially when it comes to emergencies.

Stranded on the road? You can now get emergency services to help you out. Get in a fender-bender? Police can be called immediately.

But what happens when there is a more serious emergency and you are unable to dial your cell phone? In this case, it's very important that emergency contact information be stored in your cell phone address book. The first listing emergency personnel will look for is ICE.

ICE, in the medical field, stands for 'In Case of Emergency.' In the event of an emergency, an EMS (Emergency Medical Service) person can skim through your cell phone's address book and locate an emergency contact quickly. This way, one of your loved ones, or someone who can help, can be contacted.

ICE is programmed into both Joe's (my husband) cell phone and my cell phone, and I also have it in our paper address book at home. In Joe's cell phone, I programmed our home number, my cell number and a neighbor's number. In my cell phone, I programmed our home number, Joe's cell number and a neighbor's number.

All of these are listed under the ICE heading. If you can't program several numbers under one heading, you can always title your two or three emergency contact numbers, ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3.

These emergency numbers are also indicated on a paper attached to my fridge, along with our family medications (which are also stored in our wallets).

Nobody ever wants anything bad to happen, and hopefully it never does. But in the case of an emergency, it's always best to be both organized and prepared.

Clean Your Computer in 5 Minutes Flat

When was the last time you cleaned your computer? If it's been awhile, it's probably due for a quick sprucing up.

First, turn off your computer. Unplug any power cords. (If it's a laptop, remove the battery.) Pour a tiny bit of alchohol in a small cup. Dip a Q-Tip into the alcohol and carefully swab it over any openings on the tower or the monitor to remove dust and grime. If your computer is really dirty, you may have to use several Q-Tips to get the job done right. (Note: If you have foam swabs, they would work even better as they won't leave any cotton behind. But, most people have Q-Tips readily available.)

The screen and mouse can be wiped with a damp, lint-free cloth.

Then, it's time to tackle the keyboard. Turn the keyboard upside down to extract any crumbs and particles. Turn it right-side-up again and trace the outside of each key with a Q-Tip that has been dipped in alcohol. Finally, wipe the tops of the keys with a damp cloth.

Your computer should be clean as a whistle in less than 5 minutes.

Weeding Out My Computer

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be giving my computer a good weeding out. Just like physical clutter can wreak havoc on a home, virtual clutter can clog up your computer and make searching for files a bit chaotic.

I'll start with files on my hard drive, getting rid of old reports, documents, spreadsheets and databases I no longer need. Once the unnecessary files are gone, I'll be uninstalling programs I will never use again.

When this is done, I plan to tackle my email contacts, and virtual email folders.

Finally, I will browse through my Internet 'favorites' and delete any sites I don't plan to visit in the future.

I've scheduled 10 minutes per day for this task, and will do so every day until the job is complete. Keeping the time to a minimum will ensure the job doesn't get overwhelming, and it also won't take up hours in any one given day.

Have You Backed Up Your Computer Lately?

Even when you take precautions, sometimes negative things still happen. To help prevent problems on my computer, I back up regularly, keep my files up to date, upgrade my software as needed, have a good firewall and virus protection software installed.

Still, with all this, I lost use of my computer last week.

While responding to a new global threat to Windows PCs that attacks critical operating system components, McAfee (my virus protection program) send their users a faulty file, which in turn caused my computer (and thousands of other people's computers who use McAfee) to shut down and block performance of vital functions.

Since what I do for a living is mainly dependent on having my computer up and running, most things business-related came to a standstill. We could not fix the error using the 'file fix' that McAfee sent out. We actually had to call a technician to repair the computer--and it wasn't a 5-minute fix by any means.

Chris, the computer guy, was a lifesaver. He managed to get my computer up and running within a little over a day. He had to perform a number of fixes, including formatting my hard drive.

I then spent the next day and a half re-installing programs and adjusting program commands for ease of use.

Frustrating as this was, preventative measures taken prior to this situation helped me get back up and running sooner, rather than later.

1) I back up daily. Chris was able to recover my files, but if he hadn't, it would have been OK. I back up my files on an external hard drive daily.

2) All my computer programs were easy to find. Any software I had to re-install was in a handy-dandy CD holder, along with product registration numbers. Information relating to my downloaded computer programs were saved in a virtual folder on my external hard drive.

3) We had easy access to alternate computers. We have two older computers in our basement, plus a fairly new laptop. Even though I couldn't access my important files while my main computer was under repair, I was able to check email and some web sites I access regularly from the alternate computers. If this happens to you, and you need to check email or visit certain sites, you may be able to do so at your local library or a friend's computer. This helped ensure my work didn't get too back-logged.

4) I have a printed, hard-copy list of all folders (computer directories) that were imperative to keep, in the event the computer needs to be reformatted. I was able to give this list to the computer tech without any effort, and all my files were restored.

5) I have a printed, hard-copy list of all important web sites that includes user names and passwords, and important email addresses. This is under lock and key, but was very easy to access during this computer crisis.

Don't ever be under the impression that your computer will never crash or be compromised. It often happens without warning and sometimes the results can be detrimental.

I know you hear it every day. Take preventative measures. Back up. Keep accurate notes. Store important information in an organized manner.

It's so easy to dismiss or put off.

Very often, the only way these things become important to many people is for them to experience the situation themselves.

But for you--a person obviously interested in being organized or becoming more organized--let this note be a gentle reminder to heed the computer-related preventative advice you receive.

It's meant to save you time, money and stress.

Your Concentration Will Improve if You Surf the Web at Work

Yesterday, I was enjoying my most recent issue of Woman's Day Magazine, when I came across a statistic I'm sure many of you will like. I liked it, so much so that I did a bit more research on the subject.

According to a University of Melbourne study, people who surf the Web at work have better concentration and are 9% more productive than those who don't.

Dr Brent Coker, from the Department of Management and Marketing. says, 'People who do surf the Internet for fun at work--within a reasonable limit of less than 20% of their total time in the office--are more productive by about 9% than those who don't. Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos on YouTube, using social networking sites like Facebook or shopping online under the pretense that it costs millions in lost productivity, however that's not always the case.'

Apparantly, the increased productivity has to do with one's need to occasionally 'zone out' enabeling one's mind to take a rest.

But beware, you're advised to surf the Internet at work in moderation. Too much surfing can actually have the opposite effect. And, be sure it's OK with your boss. If it's not, you're next surf session may be for another job.

A Cleaning Poem

I saw this post on a message board, and couldn't wait to share it. Hope it brightens your day and you get a chuckle out of it.

I asked the Lord to tell me
why my house is such a mess.
He asked if I'd been 'putering',
and I had to answer YES.

He told me to get off my fanny
and tidy up the house.
And so I started cleaning up
the smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.
That really did the trick.
I was just admiring my work.
I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops I found
a real absorbing site
that I got SO way into,
I was into it all night. (Sigh)

Nothing's changed except my mouse.
It's very, very shiny.
I guess my house will stay a mess
while I sit here on my hiney.

Transfering and Storing Files--in a Flash!

Joe and I went to Best Buy the other day and picked up a 512Meg flash drive, for $39--with the $10 rebate, it came to only $29--and two 100GB external hard drives for $69 each. That's a lot of storage for a little bit of money.

I don't know if you've ever seen a flash drive, but they are the size of a key chain. Ours has 512Meg capacity, although there are some that store 2GB. You basically plug this tiny piece of equipment into your computer's USB port and you're ready to store tons of information.

Joe and I didn't want everything transferred from our old computers to our new computers. Our flash drive has been helping us easily transfer the data that we do want.

If you have two computers, such as one at home and one at work, with a flash drive you can easily store files and work on them at either location.

You can even store files permanently on flash drives, although at the cost, there are definitely less expensive ways to do this.

For instance, you can store files on CDs or even an external hard drive. Joe and I are going to use our extra hard drives for easily backing up our important files. We can back up our entire C Drive with one click of the mouse.

Just like the flash drives, they just need to be plugged into your computer's USB port.

With flash drives and external hard drives, it has never been easier or less expensive to transfer and/or store enormous amounts of data!

Our New Computers

Joe and I bought each other new computers this past Christmas. We plan to get them out of the boxes and set up this weekend. Boy, we can't wait!

One of the reasons we decided it was time for new equipment, besides the fact that both of our computers are over 5 years old, was because of all the different software versions Joe and I each have between each computer.

Just one example is that Joe has an older version of Publisher than I have. I can open Publisher files he sends to me, but he can't open newer version Publisher files I send to him. Due to space issues, he can't upgrade his version. Even if I attempt to save my files in a lower version, they always seem to get corrupted when saving them back and forth.

As you can imagine, computer problems like these (when you're not a techie) are frustrating to say the least.

Anyway, these new machines are powerful--they have bigger hard drives, more memory, better graphic capabilities, etc.

Part of being organized is knowing when something you're currently using just isn't working any longer.

No, new computers aren't cheap. But, I feel that anything that helps save time and energy, and increases productivity, is an excellent investment and almost always worth every penny in the long run.

We bought the same exact computers, so our programs will be exactly the same.

We're putting our old computers in the basement, and they will exclusively be used for non-business related software, such as games or music programs.