This rather mega post from Paul Stamatiou made me think about what I’m going to be using from September to manage myself and my business. Most of these I have been using for a while, or have just started to get set up.
I use Gmail for my email, set up to work with the DavePress.net domain through Google Apps. It works wonderfully, including being able to access it on my iPhone.
Calendar
I use iCal on my Mac, which syncs with the iPhone through MobileMe. Some people have had trouble with this service, but it works fine for me. MobileMe also means I have a web based version of the calendar should I need to give others access.
Documents
I have two types of documents, those that I am working on with others, and those which are pretty much just for me. The former I put on Google Docs, the latter I edit with Office 2008 on the Mac and save on my iDisk, which thanks to MobileMe is accessible from anywhere. All Docs I regularly back up on my hard drive.
I’m currently experimenting with how to plan work and time, with spreadsheets and calendars. Am sure I will figure it out soon.
Contacts
I have contacts in my phone, synced to the Mac and online with MobileMe. I’m also starting to fill out Zoho CRM, which is an online customer relationship management platform, running in the browser, which is free for up to three users. It’s a very comprehensive system, far too big for my purposes, really, but I am trying to find the bits of functionality I need and how I can make them work for me.
The Zoho suite of online apps is truly amazing, though I have to admit to never having got into them properly because there is simply too much of it!
Notes
Mixture of old and new media here. First port of call is my notebook; but second I go for Evernote which syncs between web, iPhone and Mac desktop application, including text, images and audio.
What’s important
So what I seem to need in the apps I use is mobility. I need to be able access as much of my stuff as I can in different locations, whether I have my own laptop with me or not – and even when I only have my phone with me.
Just signed up to evernote – thanks for the pointer to that – is exactly what I’ve been looking for for ages!
I also use RememberTheMilk:
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/home/masyomo/
Its a todo list and syncs well with gmail and twitter
um I think replies I make with links don’t appear (maybe anti-spamming?)
Just remembered the other thing I use thats been really useful is 1password – think that syncs passwords to iphones as well as browsers (I’ve so far resisted getting an iphone waiting for the even bigger/better/cheaper version!)
The link I put in the previous comment was for RememberTheMilk which is a todo list that syncs with gmail and also twitter
David If you want a todo list organiser Things now syncs with iPhone
http://www.culturedcode.com/things/
Cool, thanks for th tips, guys!
Mike – sorry, Akismet didn’t like your first comment (I did though!).
like you, I’m using MobileMe with no problems.
For task management, as you use a Mac and an iPhone, I recommend OmniFocus which allows you to implement Dave Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ (GTD) method. Works really well for me!
Paul