I have been struggling recently with making my diary work. I use a paper diary for ease of carrying around and being able to quickly scribble additional notes or contacts in it but I have been finding since this academic year restarted that I need more space than I have done previously, and that with the increase in activity that it is getting more of a hassle to manually sync it in with my laptop. I use the laptop because it is easier to store more detail, to link it to email, and for my diary to be seen by others such as the lady who comes in and organises me and does some of my admin.
I have managed to borrow an old pda and a filofax off some friends and am now charging the pda up in the hope that I can test them out for a couple of weeks and see if I can find a system that works better for me. How does anyone else run their diary?
I used to run a filofax system (I could never get ordinary diaries far enough ahead) but realised that if I lost my filofax I was in BIG trouble. Thats when I switched to a PDA so there was always a back up on the computer. Having switched though I realised HOW MUCH functionality was within Outlook and how much more efficient it is. I also love being able to just cut and paste travel directions, agendas etc into the ‘diary’ entry. My PDA also acts as my Mp3 player, Bible, Scrabble challenger and calculator AS WELL as meaning I alays have my database of contacts, tasks and e-mails with me. I also carry useful ploicy documents, outlines and the like on it.
I’m not a fan of gadgets for gadgets sake BUT the pda has really proved a useful tool.
Thanks Ian.
Those are some helpful comments. I have always in the past worried about the restrictiveness of a PDA in comparison with a paper based diary but the opportunities do seem to be outweighing the negatives at the moment.
That’s said I haven’t been able to do much with it yet as my friend forgot to give me the CD with the active sync software on it! Hopefully he will find it soon.
Chris,
If you already have MS Office on the computer then as long as the PDA is running MS then you can download Activesync
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/activesync/default.mspx
Welcome to planet PDA and remember there are only 10 types of people in the world! (Those that understand binary and those that don’t)
Thanks. Downloaded it last night and it is now working like a dream. It is certainly beginning to be quite tempting now!