7 Apps to Help Organize Your Life
You have finally upgraded to an iPhone or one of those cool new Android phones but you miss your old PDA; you know, the device you turned to for all your appointments, urgent tasks, shopping lists, and anything else that needed to get done.
Well, no need to worry. There are some terrific apps for both the iOS and Android platforms that will get you up and running in no time at all. And they won’t just organize your life; with these apps you can keep track of the whole family’s schedules and to-do lists, whether they want you to or not!
Here are 7 of the best:
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EverNote
With the tag line “Remember Everything”, EverNote turns your phone into the ultimate digital archive by collecting written notes, photos, web pages, and even voice commands, and then making them all available through a simple search. Everything you capture is automatically processed and indexed. You can even add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.
You can search for notes by keywords, titles and tags. You can even search for text inside images. Want to capture contact information from a web site? Just clip the page from your browser and it will store the details. Don’t want to take notes at a meeting? Just take a picture of the whiteboard and it will file all the information.
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Cozi Family Organizer
A true family organizer with the emphasis on sharing. Cozi keeps track of all your family appointments, activities, and events, organizing them into four distinct categories: calendar, to-do list, shopping, and family journal.
You can get everyone on the same page by setting up a shared online calendar. Calendar appointments in your phone are then synced automatically. Family members are color-coded and each member can be sent e-mail notifications showing all their activities for the day or week ahead. To-do lists can also be shared – very helpful when assigning the weekly chores!
The Family Journal can be used to make notes and capture memories. You can add photos and even turn it into a family blog that can be shared with relatives and friends.
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Mint
This app is essentially a mobile version of the online financial planning website Mint, which can keep track of multiple bank accounts or credit cards to help you stay on budget. The app automatically updates information from your accounts and has budgeting tolls and alerts that will tell you when you’ve gone over a specified spending limit for the month. The helpful visual interface that makes dealing with your finances as simple as possible.
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Out of Milk
If you have a habit of forgetting things or your are a compulsive list-maker, then Out of Milk is the perfect app for you. It lets you store your lists and to-dos so you can access them anytime from your mobile device or from the Web, and it’s especially good for organizing household items – both what you already have and what you need to buy.
The free version of the app has most features you will need, but if you’re willing to pay an extra $1.99, the premium Pro version lets you customize the experience, and includes widgets, coupon management, and other features to help you stay on track.
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2Do: Tasks Done In Style
Described as a beautifully crafted task manager, 2Do has an endless supply of options for organizing tasks. But the good news about 2Do is that it adapts to both serious and casual users. You don’t have to use some of the more complex scheduling and organizing functions; you can keep it simple and still get so much out of it.
Features include iCal-compatible (Mac) calendar-based organization, user-created tags, super-flexible options for repeating tasks, a focus-filter, and an alert function, which includes an option to receive e-mail notices. There is even a location-aware feature, so the app can remind you to fix that creaky door the next time you visit grandma.
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TripIt
Travel can be complicated. Between flight confirmation numbers, hotel addresses and phone numbers for all of the above, staying organized can entail a lot of notes and even more worry. TripIt stores all the pertinent trip information for you and your family in one neatly organized place. It can even generate itineraries automatically from the e-mails confirmations received from different travel organizations.
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
Cost: Free; Ad-free version: $3.99
Web site: https://m.tripit.com/uhp/mobile -
Pocket Informant
If you are looking for something a little more robust, then Pocket Informant is one of the most powerful scheduling and task management apps on the market. It’s very task-oriented, with a focus on what needs to be done today.
Syncs effortlessly over the air with Google Calendar, so you never have to worry about updating multiple platforms.You can view by day, week, month or by agenda task, and everything can be swiped or tapped for easy access. You can even send meeting requests or e-mail events to others right from the app.
Platform: iPhone, iPod touch, Android, BlackBerry
Cost: $9.99; Pro version: $14.99
Web site: www.pocketinformant.com
