.KEYWORD tool
.FLYINGHEAD EMPOWER YOUR LIFE
.TITLE Get organized with your Pocket PC
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY With all the features Microsoft has packed into the new Pocket PCs, it’s easy to forget why they were created (and why you probably bought one) to begin with. Forget the music, movies, and games. In this article, Charlie Carter gives you some tips on how to use your Pocket PC as the organizational tool it’s supposed to be.
.AUTHOR Charles Carter
With all of the features Microsoft has packed into the new Pocket PCs, it’s easy to forget why they were created (and why you probably bought one) to begin with. Let’s face it, it’s so easy to get caught up in playing music, movies, games, and a whole host of other fun applications, that the basic reason we have these devices often ends up taking a secondary role.
.H1 An organizer at heart
Since the reason for this article is the basics, let’s start at the beginning. When Microsoft decided to create the operating system that became Pocket PC, they did it for a reason. The idea was to get a piece of the personal organizer market that was being dominated by paper systems like Day-Timer and the only real electronic player at the time, the Palm Connected Organizer. Since the Palm device was created to make life run a little smoother for those who were willing to make the jump from a paper organizer to an electronic one, it makes sense that the Pocket PC would have the same goal. So at the heart of your Pocket PC is a very simple concept, called a planner.
.H1 The problem with paper
Now that we’ve gotten the obvious out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the not so obvious aspects of planners. Paper systems still make up the majority of planners used, but they have a couple of problems. The most notable of these is that they are fairly bulky and finding information you’ve entered into them can be difficult at best. The other problem is that most people don’t use them properly. I’ve even heard of people who go so far as to enter "Wake up" as a daily task. Call me strange, but I’ve found that I can handle the basic functions of life without writing them down.
Getting back to our problems though, the Pocket PC takes care of the first two nicely. It’s both compact and easy to navigate, so all your important information is readily available. The third problem is a little more interesting. If your organizational skills are lacking, then a Pocket PC will offer you little more than a highly efficient and very expensive method of being disorganized. The temptation then, is to take advantage of all the other features available and turn your device into a glorified Game Boy. After all, you’ve got quite a bit of money tied up now, so you might as well use it, right? If this sounds like you, don’t despair. With a little bit of effort, you can turn your new device into a very effective tool, which can actually improve your life.
.H1 Organizational pointers
While a complete organizational solution goes way beyond the scope of this article, I can offer a few pointers. First of all, always have your Pocket PC with you. It won’t do you any good at home when you’re away, and with the recording feature, you can even make notes to yourself while driving a car. Just don’t forget to check your notes and tasks frequently, so that you don’t miss anything.
Once you get in the habit of keeping your planner with you, the next step is to learn to control yourself. Resist the temptation to enter things you obviously don’t need to be reminded of, like waking up or eating. Paying too much attention to the obvious will only end up slowing you down, and you’ll just end up frustrated again.
.H1 Take it to the next level
After you start to get the hang of the planner concept, it’s time to take things to the next level. A truly effective planning tool will force you to address issues you might ordinarily neglect. Try to make a habit of sitting down once a week and making a list of things you would like to accomplish during the next seven days. Then divide the list in order of importance. How you do this is up to you, but most people do okay with ”Must do," "Should do," and "Could do, but wouldn’t hurt to wait."
Now start scheduling your week, beginning with Must do, and work your way down the list. If possible, set aside a specific time to accomplish each item in Calendar, rather than using the more tempting Task list. If you treat each item as an appointment with yourself, your odds of accomplishing it are much greater. Also, don’t try to schedule too many items for one week (five or six Must do’s is usually plenty), and don’t get frustrated if you don’t seem to have enough time available for your entire list.
The point is to make sure you get done the things you’ve decided are truly important. The less important items can simply be moved to a later week. Also, if you have a spouse or significant other, try to get them involved in the weekly scheduling process, as well. Two people, working in tandem to accomplish the same ends, tend to have much more enjoyable relationships than those who don’t really know each other’s goals.
.H1 Time to relax
Once you’ve invested the half-hour or so it takes to complete this process, you can relax. Your Pocket PC will tell you when it’s time to actually do something (provided you didn’t forget to turn on the automatic reminder function in Calendar), so go find that copy of Doom you’ve been dying to play.
If you would like to learn more about this subject, I highly recommend the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey. Also, FranklinCovey offers add-on software for Microsoft Outlook that simplifies the weekly planning process.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on FranklinCovey, visit http://www.franklincovey.com.
For Steven Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671708635.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Charles Carter is a husband, father, and businessman who became a Pocket PC hobbyist when his Day-Timer got way too big. He lives in Vermont with his wife and three children.
