Evernote and GTD

I am trying to get into a pattern for my schedule and To Do lists. Currently I have them all over (Google Calendar and Tasks, Gtasks, iOs tasks and just notes in Evernote). I did a lot of research on Google and found lots of ways that different people have incorporated their lives into Evernote. I am a premium user and have used it for about 4 years now for reference material for my computer support business. With their addition of reminders I am going to try to use it for all my lists, tasks and how to's. I think I will leave my calendar in Google as it does a pretty good job of syncing to all my devices (iPhone 4S, iPad 2, laptop, netbook, etc).

During my searching on Google, I did find a few templates that others have made up and graciously shared (thanks Chris Mayo ) that I am trying out. One Daily Checklist gave me the idea to create my own as there are websites I do like to visit but forget about in the daily whirlwind which is life! Will also make up one for my part time gig as a customer support lead at Flip-Pal the mobile scanner which has been a great help in going paperless.

I have been getting into Genealogy and have found Evernote to be a great help there, still working on a workflow so that what is there also gets added to my Famiy Tree files. The clipper helps greatly there.

I have found Evernote to be great for storing my client notes but seem to like actually taking them in just the apple Notes app on my iPad, I just send them to Evernote (still having trouble remembering to put in the notebook name but that will come) and then append them to the original, delete the new and all is done. I will try setting a reminder for those clients on a cleanup schedule but will probably continue to use Google Calendar for that as well. Duplication in that instance is good!

I have pulled out my GTD workflow and posted in the wall to help me setup a habit of following it. I seem to do better, feel better about what I have accomplished in a day it I can check it off on a list! From reading other bloggers that seems to be a pretty common trait!

Reading Articles on the web

I am in computer support so I spend a lot of time on the web. either looking up removal techniques or just reading about new programs, hardware or just general tech news.I get mighty tired of having to flip through 4 or 5 pages of an article that could have been one but for the advertising. Now, I understand that for the website to stay up they need advertisers but I NEVER click through from an advertisement so they are wasted on me. I want to read the article and maybe save it. The best way I have found is to look for a link that says printer friendly. This usually shows you the article in a new window with no ad's and all in one page. Sometimes it does open up the printer dialog but I just read it in there and then print to a pdf if I want to save it. There you have it a quick way to read an online article with no muss no fuss!

Backups - for Google accounts

This is the time of the year I start going through my processes to see what I need to be doing or maybe can improve on. I noticed that while I am moving more and more into the Google Universe I was relying solely on Google to backup my information, not a good idea.

I sat down and did some research and came up with the following tools that backup my data to my computer where I can incorporate then into my weekly and monthly backups.

Google Calendar Backup - http://www.computergeek.co.nz/googlecalendar.asp
I have been using it for a few weeks and it is small, quiet and does what it says it will do. Backup your Google calendar in a format that is easily read by multiple other programs or ready to import back into your Google calendar if needed.

Google e-mail -
I found another free (for home) program that will backup 3 email accounts for you. Again, easy to setup, exports them into a file that is readily accessible.

MailStore Home - http://www.mailstore.com/en/mailstore-home.aspx

For my  hard drives I have recently moved to Acronis True Image. They just came out with a new version that will do a sync between two computers, I just took advantage of their special to see how this works out.

Customer Documentation

Flip-Pal

I have a new piece of equipment to add to my tool box when I go onsite to a customer's to fix their computer. My new Flip-Pal scanner. I had decided that I need to document my customers computers much more thoroughly than I had been as I was in some cases trying to remember do they have a desktop or laptop!  I was setting up a new laptop and starting to write down the OS serial number when it hit me, why not use the scanner to make an image of the Product Key and validation sticker. I already have a separate directory on my computer for each customer where my onsite notes go so I can just add the scans to the information already there! What a time saver and I can pull it up anywhere as the customer folder is synced to my Dropbox subscription. I now have the complete specs of the laptop, the OS, and when the warrenty information was registered all in about 3 minutes!

You can find out more about the Flip-Pal  on their website at http://www.flip-pal.com.

Disclaimer - I do customer service for Flip-Pal part time

WiFi around town

As I said in my last blog post, I would love an IPad 2, but am having a hard time with the cost. I could cut the cost down a bit by selling my IPod Touch and transferring my 3G data plan from my netbook to the IPad. I am watching my data usage on the Netbook and finding more and more that I can either find a free connect point or just wait till I get somewhere to connect. I have access through the IPod touch and will be moving that data to an Iphone next month. As you can see I am doing a really good justification of the IPad moving into my domain in the next couple of months.

I am finding more places offering WiFi where ever I go. I am posting this from the hospital room where my father currently is. The hospital offers a free public WiFi plus computers in the family rooms on each floor. Way to go Longmont United Hospital! My friends are helping me scope out the WiFi signs all over town. We are finding in restaurants all over town, places that we would never have thought would join the WiFi revolution, example Perkins. You have to ask for the password but the managers are happy to supply it. My parents are not really happy as I can pull out my Touch and check my e-mail most any place we go these days!

Apples IPad

I am in the throes of tech envy! Some of my friends have bought the Apple Ipad 2. I have played with them a bit but they seem just like my IPod Touch only bigger. I cannot seem to justify the cost just to have a bigger screen for what I can do on my Ipod. I have decided that I will wait till the Ipad comes out with a USB port or a slot for a SC card. I need someway to access data and transfer data and documents without having to connect to a computer. Especially since Apple only wants you to sync with 1 machine only! I mean really, I have several computers that I use for different tasks and the ability to connect an Ipad to each machine without having to load ITunes and then wipe the Ipad just to put a file on it would be key for me.

Marketing

How do you go about marketing a small business? This is going to be my task this week. I know about the Small Business Bureau, and several different websites built for small business. But I need more practical help. I am a computer technician and not a designer. I think that I will use a MS template to whip up a small brochure to put around town, but there has to be more!