Some people keep lists obsessively, but whether or not you’re a serious list-maker, productivity weblog Lifehack.org suggests nine lists that are a must to keep updated and handy—no matter who you are.
Always have the sneaking suspicion you’ve forgotten something when you’re ready to head out the door on a trip? Web-based packing list generator Packwhiz aims to ensure that never happens again.
Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush makes the packing list you scribbled on the back of an envelope look down right anemic. Take advantage of the useful features and arrive without anything, including toothbrushes, left behind. Tell Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush where you are going and when, and it will generate a list of potential things you need to do based on your travel type. The to-do list is divided into advanced planning, two weeks before, one week before, the day before, the night before, and as you are leaving for the trip. Because not all suggestions may fit you, you check only those that apply to your situation and trip. Once you’ve created your custom list the site will give you a list of items that aren’t actionable but that you may need for the trip such as tickets, directions, additional memory cards for your camera, and so on. Again, customise the list by checking only the things you’ll need for your trip. Finally you are given an option to add extra items that may not be on their—rather extensive— packing list. After you create the list you have the option to print it as well as have reminders sent to you based on the time frames in the list. Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush [via DumbLittelMan]
Feel like your Getting-Things-Done-style next-action list is slipping away from you? Having a hard time getting through the list because it’s feeling overwhelming? The Tools for Thought blog suggests taking a hard-eyed look at what tasks or projects might be irrelevant without your noticing the change: Maybe an increase in petrol prices has made that road trip less appealing than it seemed a month ago. Maybe it’s becoming clearer that upgrading a piece of software that works perfectly fine is just creating activity for its own sake.
Writing things down, on paper or on-screen, is the best way to make sure you remember important info and tasks, but sometimes you’ve got to rely on your plain old brain to keep essential data sorted and handy. Whether it’s a client’s name, a password or combination you want stored only in your head, or answers for an upcoming test, there are plenty of techniques and tools to help you lock in important stuff and pull it out when needed. After the jump, we round up some memorable memory-boosting hacks. Photo by furryscaly.
Google already let you share your favourite gadgets through iGoogle, but now you can share and edit data within your gadgets -which means you can do things like share shopping lists created in Sticky Note.It’s easy too – just click on the drop down triangle, and you’ll see the option to ‘share this gadget’. If you use Gmail, now you just need to pick the friends you want to share with via the contact list that will pop up, or type in their email address.You get to decide if you’ll just share the data, or let them edit it also. Click send and it will go out as an email which gives the recipient a preview of the gadget and invites them to add it to their iGoogle page.Sharing gadgets just got better [Official Google blog]
If you find that New Year’s Resolutions aren’t working for you, Day Zero is a website where you can undertake a more structured to-do list challenge, over a much longer time frame.Describing itself as an internet meme, the 101 Things to do in 1,001 days project gets you to create a list of 101 things you want to achieve, with the criteria that: “Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).”
There’s a degree of public accountability too – to sign up you’ll need a website or blog, and your registration at Day Zero won’t be accepted until your list appears on your website. Once it’s up, you’ll be able to add your list to the master list on Day Zero. It’s a nice idea to share everyone’s lists publicly, particularly if you’re searching for more interesting goals to add to your list than “clean out the garage”. Of course, if you don’t really want to trumpet your goals to the world (“stop eating twinkies”, “finally toilet train the cat” not really the image you want to project?) then this won’t be the GTD project for you.You can get some ideas and suggestions on how to get started here. And if you’d like to see how other people are travelling on their 1,001 day journey, you can check out the group blog here.
Day Zero – The Home of the 101 Things to do in 1,001 Days Project
Store notes about anything with productivity webapp UberNote. Keep a journal, manage to-do lists, store recipes, or sort your contacts within a handy rich-text editor that can be accessed from within any web browser. Easily add tags to your notes to easily find an item when you need it, and the search feature also works quite well. Notes are private, though the service aims to offer collaboration tools in the future. UberNote is free to use, requires an email address to set up an account. Ubernote
Blogger Scott Young suggests getting your personal education organised with a to-learn list. Young differentiates his to-learn list from a to-do list, claiming that to-learn lists can help you better organise your personal development by, for example, splitting up your interests. If your self-education isn’t organised, it is easy to pick your favourite subjects even if 90% of the book’s material is old. Keeping a to-learn list allows you to explore subjects that are on the fringe of your current understanding.
Do you keep a to-learn list separate from your general to-dos? Let’s hear how you keep track of and organize your personal education (and what’s on your to-learn list) in the comments.
Keeping To-Learn Lists [Scott H Young]We’ve previously linked to lists of open source alternatives to commercial software and Linux equivalents, but Linux fans can never have too many places to find free software. The Linux App Finder is an organised, extensive list of programs that includes screenshots, desktop environment information, and links to source and download sites. Even more handy is the searchable list of Windows and OS X “equivalents,” organised by the names of proprietary software. If you’re new to Linux or have given up trying to find a certain kind of application, Linux App Finder is worth a look.
Linux App Finder [via Download Squad]
