Productivity

  • December 8, 2006

    Using GMail for files

    GMail

    As a college student I am often bouncing around from PC to PC as I go through my day on campus. This often means when I want to work on a project in between classes, I end up emailing it to myself and keeping it in my inbox. GMail, of-course, lends itself to this quite nicely. With it’s search, star, and label features, as well as close to 3GB of storage, you can make a nice file server out of GMail.

    Up until just recently, I have been emailing myself these documents with some fake subject and body text just to make the process faster. However, since you can easily search your mail, there is a better way. What I have been doing recently, and plan to do with past assignments, is in the subject put the name of the project, attach the project and in the body of the email use comma separated key words. For example, if I wrote a PHP program for my Web Dev class that uploaded images and emailed myself the PHP file. The subject would be “Image Uploader” and in the body of the email would be “PHP, Web Dev class, school, project” etc. This makes it infinitely easier to go back later and search for something you may have lost. Later!

  • November 16, 2006

    Using GMail as a ToDo list

    GMail

    At the beginning of the semester I wrote a post about staying organized with tasks lists, etc. One method I did not mention, but might be most prevalent, is GMail. GMail is one of about 4 websites I check constantly, making it a great way to check my to do list.

    Usually when someone asks me to do something, I have them email me or email myself a reminder. That will stay in my inbox until it gets done. And I hate having a lot of stuff in my inbox. This coupled with email reminders from Remember the Milk, I usually know all of the stuff I need to do at any given time, and when my inbox starts to fill I know it’s to to crack down.

    What do you think? Gmail a good tasks list- what’s your method? Later!

  • November 5, 2006

    GooSync

    GooSync

    GooSync is the 3rd party software I have been waiting for. Ever since I got my Treo and started using Google Calendar, I longed for something that could sync both of them. GooSync provides me with just that. Supporting a multitude of devices, GooSync seamlessly syncs Google Calendar over the air with your phone.

    With the Treo (or any Palm/Windows Mobile device), I needed an app to do it, which I am OK with. Once I put my log in info in the app, it quickly synced everything. And just what I hoped for too- Device to GCal, but not GCal to device. I have my class schedule on GCal, but not my Treo to avoid clutter. Now, all of my appointments are on GCal with the push of a button- I couldn’t be happier! Later.

  • October 18, 2006

    Google Notebook

    Google Notebook

    For a long time now I have carried an “Ideas” Notebook around with me to jot down ideas and plans for websites, logos, clients, and anything that popped in my head really. Recently (maybe due to my Treo?), I have been carrying an Ideas Notebook around less and less. However, this leads to writing out ideas on scrap paper, in the back of class notebooks, napkins, etc. This also means that there is not one solitary place I can go to view all of my ideas. This is where Google Notebook comes in.

    As usual, Google has made an awesome application, accessible anywhere, and easy to use with great power. While still in the “Labs” part of Google, Notebook has some great features that instantly made it a keeper for me. You don’t just create notes- you create notebooks. And within those notebooks, you can set up as many headings as you want, with as many notes as you want under them. That means I can contain all of my ideas to an ideas notebook, and all my current site to do lists to an entirely different notebook. You can also share your notebooks with other Google Users. This is great for collaboration. And of course, you can do what Google does best- search. But not just through your notebooks. Through all public notebooks. There is also a really neat drag and drop feature to easily move notes and sections to other notebooks.

    Along with Google Notebook is the Notebook Firefox Extension. This allows your to add notes right from Firefox, with the ability to add a link to the current page you are on, or even content from that page.

    One thing I would like to see before Notebook leaves the labs is the ability to email yourself notes, much like you can with Google Docs. Still, this is a great and easy to use app that I highly recommend. Later!

  • October 15, 2006

    Time Management

    Since school has started I have had less time for well, a lot of things. Most things, as it turns out. However, the thing about being a small business owner who is still in school is that you still have a client base you need to keep- no matter what obligations you have. To keep it professional, you must still meet deadlines, keep in contact and NOT use school as an excuse. This semester most of all, I have had to learn how to balance school (and along with school, extracurriculars, etc.) and business (and along with business, side projects, etc.).

    The first thing you have to do is be straight with your client. Tell them that you are in school and let them know when you are available. Most will be understanding of that. If they aren’t, they probably aren’t the greatest to work with anyway. Once you have done that, see what services you want and give yourself plenty of time to complete them. Over at AlexKing.Org Alex writes about The Engineering Estimate, which explains that engineers (programmers, etc.) usually grossly underestimate the time they need for a project. Alex says that you should take the estimate and: Multiple the integer value by two, Increment the type of time used in the estimate (IE 2 hours = 4 days). If you are doing this type of work in school, you should take that estimate and at least multiply the integer value by 4, along with increment the type of time. This allots you not only enough time for the project, but also unforeseen school work, study time, etc.

    I know the money will seem tempting, but don’t take up too many clients at the same time- especially while school is in session. You will find that you will get very overwhelmed very fast, and you will cut corners on all of your projects to find more time. Then your grades and your work will suffer. I find that with my level of involvement (17 credits, Student Government, 2 positions on USPB, a number of other clubs) I should max out at 2 clients a month. Anything else will be too stressful, and bad for business. On that same note, don’t get caught up in too many side projects. I have a hundred ideas bouncing around, but until I have sufficient time for them, I am not going to start any. If I cannot finish them it will have cost me money, and it won’t look so good on my end. Finally, if you know someone else in your field- who can do the same quality of work as you- see if they would be interested in teaming up. Having a helping hand doesn’t hurt as long as they know what they are doing.

    If you can find a good balance between work and school enough to start and keep up with your own business, I say great- go for it. Hopefully these tips will help. However, keep in mind that while this is more than an extracurricular, your should always focus on your school work first. Failing at a side business while you are still in school is something you can bounce back from- it’s a little harder to bounce back from failing at a higher education. Later!

  • October 3, 2006

    Using Remember the Milk for Assignments

    Remember the Milk

    After reading about Gradefix over at College V2, I started thinking about the best way for me to keep track of my assignments. I know a month into the semester, I probably should have thought about it already, but the app I was using for my Treo wasn’t working out. I figure that the best way to keep track of my assignments is to keep them with my tasks at Remember the Milk.

    I found out about Remember the Milk via this post on LifeHacker, and have been using it ever since. The application itself is great, having a number of features that I wanted to incorporate into a Tasks App I was developing. There is TXT MSG reminders, the ability to email yourself tasks, notes, tags and even a mobile site, which is great because I can access it with ease on my Treo.

    One featured I haven’t really utilized until now is the ability to add lists. So to keep track of my assignments, I added a list for each class, as well as a general school list (which was actually already there). I also tag each assignment with school, and whatever type of assignment it is (IE- test, report, etc.). What I am left with is this:

    Screen

    I have also set up Remember the Milk to email and IM me reminders 1 day before the tasks is due, and you can easily make it Nag You. One feature I would like to see added is a calendar view of your tasks/assignments. I would also like to have a comprehensive review of Remember the Milk, which I will probably make into a mini series. Later!

    PS- Since I haven’t found a way to view all of your tasks at once, I came up with a nice ‘hack’ to do so- I simply add the tag ‘all’ to all of my tasks.

  • September 14, 2006

    My ‘System’

    Treo

    Over at College V2, Sean has an ongoing series called What’s Your System, where various people talk about how they stay organized. I have already posted some things on Productivity, but I figure I can talk about what I do.

    I rely heavily on my Treo 650 Smartphone. It is a Palm based phone that comes with all the standard Palm software: Calendar, Tasks, Memo Pad and Contacts. The calendar is the most important of the 4. All of my appointments and major assignments are in it. Everything is color coordinated and has a reminder for it. I can’t say how many times the alarm on my Treo has saved me. The tasks are also a nice feature for really important stuff because on their due date they show up on my calendar page. The memos and contacts are kind of self explanatory. Everything also syncs with Outlook, which I use when I am on my computer. The Treo also interfaces with a web-calendar made by Verizon that I can use if I need to. I have also downloaded a nice, free application for my Treo (or any palm based device) called School Work. It’s a cool assignment pad that you can take down your assignments with- it organizes them by day, week and month.

    Remember the Milk

    Though I did mention Tasks for Palm above, what I rely on for all my tasks (not just the real important ones), is Remember the Milk. It is a free web based tasks application that allows you to post tasks with notes, due dates, websites, time allocation, etc., as well as the ability to E-Mail yourself tasks. There is also a mobile version of the site that I access via my Treo. It really is a great site that I highly recommend. (hmmm maybe a full write up soon?)

    Finally, I always carry a small legal pad with me incase I have to jot a lot of things down. I usually end up transferring those things to my Treo, but the legal pad is good for meeting notes, etc. O yeah- GMail is piviotal in my life as well. I use it for email reminders, as a file server, and a conduit for all of my other email (school, business, personal, professional).

    Leave some tips or tricks in the comments if you’d like. Later!

    Update: This post is featured on College V2! Thanks Sean!

  • August 31, 2006

    Use your browser when ports are blocked.

    Since being back on campus, I have been doing a lot of my work on the school’s LAN and WiFi networks, as well as their computers. While usually I can get my work done without problems, sometimes I run into blocked ports or computers I cannot download. To fix the problem, I have been doing things like FTPing and IMing via the broswer, on some very powerful web apps. Here are a couple of resources I have been using.

    Meebo

    Meebo is a great web app that allows for IMing on a number of different clients including AIM, Yahoo, Jabber and MSN. Once logged in you have your buddy list and moveable IM windows, as if you were working on the desktop within your browser. You can view profiles, set away messages, etc. MUCH better than AIM express.

    The second website I have been using while on campus is an FTP Client called FTP Live. It’s a little slow and as far as I know you can’t upload multiple files. But when you need something in the clinch, It’s a good site to use.

    I have not found an SSH/Telnet program within browser yet, so if you know of one, let me know in the comments! Later!

  • August 15, 2006

    Tick Time Tracker

    Tick

    LifeHacker is a resource of infite knowledge. While reading the site today, I came across their write up on a site called Tick. This is a web-based, very AJAXy application that helps you budget your time spent on projects by allowing you to make Clients (or subjects) and then add projects you are doing. You then input an over-all time you think you will spend on the project and you can create tasks for the project. While it is a very nifty program I will be using for my business, You can just as easily use it for school projects. With this along with Stu.dicio.us, you should be all set for the upcoming semester! Later!

  • August 8, 2006

    Stu.dicio.us

    Stu.dicio.us is a social note-taking website that looks really nice and handy. It has your schedule, todo list for each class and notes, which anyone using the site can search. This is great for sharing notes with classmates or getting notes if you were skipp….Umm, out sick. Plus, on September 1st, they are integrating Wikipedia, grade tracker and file manager.

    Lifehacker has a great write-up/discussion here. I will definitely be giving this a try, and I encourage everyone (especially those who I share classes with) to try it too! Later!