Software gems help organize your life at home, office | Jun 03rd 2006
By Jacqueline Dooley
My computer is my closest companion during the work day. Most days it’s my only companion. Considering this, it’s no surprise that I have an arsenal of digital resources at my disposal to help me accomplish my job — not the least of which is my instant messaging program, Trillian.
Trillian allows me to chat with colleagues, associates, friends and family across several different IM platforms, including Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and the tried-and-true AOL Messenger. In fact, I send instant messages to my husband regularly even though he’s within shouting distance (an absurdity that I’ve grown accustomed to.)
We both use IM as a tool to help communicate throughout the day. It helps me avoid the unpleasantness of prying a tearful 2-year-old off my leg each time I need to tell him something.
If IM is my trusty right-hand tool of choice, then e-mail can be considered my left hand and both legs. I have my e-mail program set up to scan three different e-mail accounts every five minutes.
I use my e-mail not only as a means of communication, but as my primary to-do list and also as a way to track my hours. I have an elaborate e-mail filing system that breaks down each and every project, person and client that has cause to send me an e-mail in a way that makes it easy for me to retrieve messages that may be months old in just moments. I have grown so accustomed to this electronic way of tracking my files, I run a near paperless office.
Merge calendars
Another important tool is my daily calendar. I use Microsoft Outlook for e-mail, but also for scheduling. My husband and I even e-mail appointments to each other so our schedules sync up. My calendar is a hodgepodge collection of business-related conference calls, doctors’ appointments, evening jam sessions (my husband is a musician) and bill payment reminders. I can’t believe there was ever a time I managed two separate schedules — one work-related and one personal.
The heart of my day is spent online, thus my (other) most important tool is my Web browser (primarily Internet Explorer, but I also use Firefox). I try to stay focused on completing work-related research and marketing campaign management, but when I need a break the mom side of me creeps in. I have been known to update my daughter’s blog during the work day, I’ll admit, or check to see what’s on sale at OldNavy.com.
I’m an information junkie, which is practically a job requirement because my profession — online marketing — is a fast- moving industry driven by technology. Thus my online tools of choice include feed readers so I can scrape news headlines from all over the Web, podcast aggregators, so I can listen to the latest web-based ‘‘talk radio’’ shows relevant to my industry, customized news pages on Google and Yahoo and tons of e-newsletters that get delivered to my e-mail box in bulk on a near-daily basis.
At the end of the day, I’m never sorry to close my laptop and dash downstairs for some very low-tech domesticity that may include bubble blowing, laundry folding, potty training and, in general, much needed time away from my computer.
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This article was published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, June 3rd, 2006.