Keeping It Together in this Busy, Busy World

Fact: Life is busy; it can be hard to keep up.

It seems that every year we get busier and busier and staying organized and up-to-date can seem like a challenge. The key to keeping it together is being able to manage all the aspects of your crazy work, school and social life. With new apps and technologies coming out everyday aimed at making things easier, the influx of products and lack of time to test them can also be overwhelming.

But don’t fear it is way easier than it seems…

These are my go to top two resources to staying organized. I have found that having to many resources to stay organized can make matters worse. Sticking to these two simple tools has helped plan ahead and remember those little details. I love these tools because they aren’t limited to just work or just school, I can use them and integrate them into all aspects of life.

Trello is an online project (or life) management tool that is starting to take over work places and schools. This unique platform also you to create work boards for yourself, colleagues, projects or anything else. In each board you can make lists, for example my lists are ‘To Do’, ‘Doing’, ‘Needs Review’ and ‘Done’. In each list you add cards where you can provide details, tag people, leave comments, make checklists, attach documents or images, import emails, create labels, and set due dates. Trello is keeping up with times integrates into your most used platforms and lets you collaborate with others. This is the future of project management. Make the time to check it out.

This may sound old fashioned with all of the calendar services on the market today but Google Calendar is a simple and easy way to store your events. It is an even better tool if your company or instiution uses Google services like Gmail or Google Drive. Having the ability to color code events, share your calendar, and invite people to meetings is a time saver. I use color codes for my different jobs, classes and appointments. With the calendar synced to my appointments I get reminders of where I need to be and when. The key to using Google Calendar is making sure you add in your meetings or appointments right away. That way, if you are like me, you won’t forget the small stuff. Another great feature is being able to share your calendar so scheduling times to meet becomes more efficient. Microsoft Outlook has a similar product but I have found that Google is a more seamless and widely accepted tool.

Fact: Organization is possible!