Last week, I came across an article on Apartment Therapy that talked about the different lists that blogger Taryn Fiol keeps on her phone. We’ve all come to rely on our smartphones for just about everything these days, not just for communication purposes, but also for snapping photos and keeping our lives reasonably organized. Similarly, I keep several lists on my phone too, primarily through Google Keep, though I also use Google Tasks.
Here are six lists that I maintain on my phone that can conveniently be accessed and edited through my computer too.
The To-Do List(s)
Let’s start with stating the obvious. Yes, I have a to-do list on my smartphone for things that need to be done. This is both for personal and professional purposes, like remembering to sell something on Craigslist or to follow-up with a prospective client. There’s also a daily to-do list for things that I want to accomplish today and not just some time in the reasonable future. That’s more for the satisfaction of ticking off a checkbox.
The Shopping List
There is always stuff that I want to buy. I’ve been meaning to get a barbecue set for the backyard for a while and there are a couple pieces of furniture I’d like to pick up. They’re mostly low priority — otherwise they’d be a part of the to-do list instead — but the shopping list gives me that subtle reminder of what I should be looking for. My Amazon Wish List serves a similar purpose, listing things that would be nice to have, but I don’t necessarily need to have.
Gift Card Balances
This goes hand-in-hand with the shopping list. Though I wouldn’t say that I have a lot of gift cards (both physical and digital) at my disposal, I do have a few and it can be hard to remember exactly how much more I have to spend at each store. This is also a handy way to keep track of the balance I have on my prepaid phone accounts that I use when traveling.
Where I Want to Eat
We’re quite fortunate to be living in Metro Vancouver, as our city and the surrounding suburbs are filled with all sorts of delectable treats. New eateries are popping up all the time and it’s hard to keep track of them all and that’s why keeping a list can be so handy. I might hear about a place and it could be weeks or even months before I get around to eating there.
If it were not for the list, some of these might slip between the cracks. For example, Forage Restaurant and PiDGiN Restaurant were on my to-eat list for some time before I had the chance to give them a try. I’ll never reach the equivalent of Inbox Zero here, but I’d say that’s a good (and delicious) problem to have.
Ideas for Blog Posts
Beyond the Rhetoric is updated six times a week, so I’m always looking for new topics to cover on this blog. Some of these ideas can come to me in most unexpected of places and times, so it’s important that I jot them down before I forget about them. This is true for Grammar 101 topics, as well as quotes for the Sunday Snippet or any other post ideas I may get. This way, I never run out of topics for this site.
Home Measurements
As mentioned earlier, there are a few pieces of furniture that I’d like to pick up for my home. If I happen to be in a store where there is a piece that I like, I want to know whether or not it will fit in the space that I had in mind. And keeping some of these key measurements handy allows me to do that. It’s quite horrible when you buy some furniture that, upon getting home, you realize is too small or too big.
The smartphone can be a great sort of distraction, to be sure, but it is also a wonderful organizational tool. Keeping a few key lists close at hand can make your life just a little easier to handle. What lists do you maintain?
I do all that with Evernote. One place, one login and I can get to it from any device I have with me. I may leave the phone in the car and have the Surface or the Samsung with me. Then again I may be at the office and have left the phones plugged in to charge and have the win8 tablet in the meeting with me.
I don’t use the built in features of the iPhone because they are too limited for what I do for a living. Since I use Evernote in my personal life, I just added it to my business with a premium account.