As with any new year, 2013 is just starting and is full of promise. I have plans and goals this year (not new year resolutions because they always work out to be a list of things I know from day two I’m not going to achieve) and in order to help me achieve these goals I have tools to help me.
I’m not anti-tech by any means however haven’t got an iPhone, or iPad and have never touched a Mac (shocking I know). What I do have is a group of tools that work for me and hopefully will continue to do so in 2013.
Google +
Like many when G+ started accepting users I was there in a shot, profile set up and…… stalled. I couldn’t fathom what G+ was going to do for me and couldn’t see what I would gain in addition to using Facebook or Twitter. My G+ account was sadly neglected until only a few months ago when it became obvious from the buzz online that G+ had picked up speed. Much has changed since the first roll-out and the introduction of Communities amongst other new features is making this platform much more attractive to me.
This is a tool yet to be fully explored however I can already see that from a professional point of view and as a networking tool that GooglePlus will feature heavily in my 2013 future plans.
Those already on Google Plus can find me here.
Google Old-Fashioned Organisation
As something of a stationery tart little excites me more than a new diary or organiser at the beginning of the year. I am a huge Dodo Pad fan and already my 2013 Dodo Pad is hard at work. Anyone who hasn’t really heard of Dodo Pad before needs to check out the website for more information on the range of goodies housed there. I used my Dodo Pad as my work organiser. I scribble, cross out, doodle, make notes, to do lists and more and it keeps me right. While I love my online tools there is nothing quite like a paper diary and this one ticks all of the boxes.
Dodo Pad for many is their main diary however the flexibility of it works better for me in the office. For every day appointments and what not I use my trusty Filofax and wouldn’t be without it’s leathery loveliness. These two combined are the perfect every day organisation tools for me.
Evernote
This is another newbie for me yet already is proving invaluable. Those who know nothing about Evernote need to look it up! This is an online tool that is again so flexible that it may be used for any function and for me it is perfect for organising work emails (you can forward emails to it and file them in specific notebooks and under any tags you like with ease). I also use Evernote to easily keep copies of online content that is published, mainly guest articles, webpages or commissions so that I have these to hand when needed. I have invoice information, reminders, urls and client information all there to hand and although I am a new Evernote user I am finding new features every day.
Evernote works so well for me because it streamlines a vast bulk of information that I otherwise would have to spend time jumping between files looking for. It also enables me to save work information away from Outlook so that I may close the emails down for a while and work uninterrupted.
These tools kept me straight in 2012 whilst I worked away like a mad thing at my little corner desk (a fabulous space-saving piece from John Lewis) and I look forward to making them work harder for me in 2013. What tools do you use to keep your work and home straight?