Today technology is not my friend.

But I am optimistic.

I recently purchased Bento for Mac. This is a home database program. Yes, very geeky. But I figured, hey - I have a team of six to manage and that means a lot of data. Schedules, phone numbers, soccer teams, all that kind of stuff.

One full day later, I know a lot more about Bento and it has a lot of potential. But it can’t do laundry, cook dinner, play with the kids, drive them around, and all of the other parenting stuff that I haven’t been doing because I was learning how to use Bento.

C’est la vie.

How to Use your iPod Touch as PDA

If you are a big Apple fan like me, you probably use your computer to keep yourself organized. Apple’s native applications like iCal and AddressBook are excellent organizing and productivity tools for any busy parent. Or, if you prefer, Microsoft Office for Mac works equally well.

This is great if you are at home, but when you are on the go - it doesn’t help that your schedule and your contacts are trapped in the computer on your desk. But getting a handheld device or PDA that plays well with a Mac has always been a bit of a challenge.

iPhone

So, Apple created the iPhone. Everyone has heard of this incredible device. But it is not right for everyone for a myriad of reasons that I won’t go into here. I have my own reasons for not making the jump to iPhone, the biggest one being the 2 year cell phone contract that I am locked into with another carrier.

Enter the iPod Touch

On the surface, it looks like I am out of luck. But what many people don’t realize is that I can use the iPod Touch as PDA right out of the box. For whatever reason, Apple decided to market the iPod Touch as, well, an iPod. A music player. In reality this handy little device does so much more than deliver tunes. So, if you are not a music aficionado, or if you already have an mp3 player, your may never realize that an iPod Touch as PDA can be an important productivity and organizing tool in your life.

iPod Touch Productivity Applications

The iPod Touch ships with several applications including Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Email. When it comes to productivity these three applications are what you need. The Calendar and Contacts applications easily sync to your iCal and AddressBook or Microsoft Office on your computer. And, YES, you can input new events and addresses directly into the iPod Touch. The next time you sync with your computer this new information will sync onto your computer and the data will be in both places. (Not to confuse you, but when this device was first introduced by Apple there was no calendar input on the iPod Touch - but since that time Apple has added the calendar input capability)

At this point the iPod Touch Notes application does not sync with the computer. So whatever notes you make on the iPod Touch stay on the device only. The Notes application is useful to parents for making grocery lists, errand lists, organizing projects and the like. Even though iPod Touch Notes has no Mac counterpart - I still love this application.

I don’t find Email to be as useful as the other iPod Touch as PDA applications. This is because iPod Touch only has internet connectivity through wi-fi. This means that you need to have access to a wi-fi netwok either at home or at a hotspot to use the internet and to download your email. But if you want 24/7 email and internet then you should be looking at the iPhone.

Using the iPod Touch as PDA is a natural choice if you use a Mac at home. Even if your platform is Windows, the iPod Touch is still compatible.

If only I had more time….. All parents need more time. All people need more time. Nothing is worse than a having a “to do” list that is a mile long, trying to get it all done, and accomplishing nothing. Sure, time management is the key but how do you really accomplish your goals?

It really isn’t as hard as it seems.

Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals is the single most important step for success with time management for parents. If your to do list actually a mile long, then that is a problem. Keeping a master list is fine. But each day you need to assign yourself smaller set of tasks. Look at your schedule for the day and make sure that you have the time to accomplish this smaller list of goals. Chipping away at your master list in this manner will get you farther than keeping a running to-do list that never seems to go away.

Prioritize
Almost everything needs to be done “yesterday”. But guess what? That’s not possible. Put the hottest fires first and everything else will have to wait. It is human nature to put off the stuff you hate to do - but this will only bog you down. Make yourself do the worst stuff first, then you will breeze through the rest of the day.

Create an Action Plan
Setting your goals is the easy part. Another essential parenting tip is that you need to outline the steps to make it happen. One of your goals can be as basic as getting little Suzy to her swimming lesson on time. But it is not enough to leave it at that. What are you going to do to make it happen?
You must write down these actions: pack Suzy’s swim bag, allow for driving time, allow time for changing, allow time to chat with other parents and Suzy’s friends, after the lesson need time to change into dry clothes, time to drive home.
If your write out your actions, you might realize that that half hour appointment will actually require one and a half hours of time.
You may then realize that what you thought were realistic parenting goals, are in reality not that achievable.

Don’t Give In to Distraction
You could have the best plan in the world and one little distraction can throw you off schedule. I can tell you the two biggest distractions that face today’s parents: phone and internet. If the phone rings and you are in the middle of one of your action plans resist the urge to answer it! With caller ID it is easy to screen calls, let the call go to voicemail. Make sure you have some phone call time built into your schedule and call back when it is convenient for you. You may end up playing phone tag - but you will accomplish your goals. If you don’t know by now - the internet is a black hole, it will suck you in and it is hard getting back out! Again, budget internet time into your schedule, set an alarm if you have to, and just walk away.

Allow for some Down Time
Parents aren’t robots and parenting is a full time job. Give yourself a lunch hour, a coffee break, some time to read the paper, exercise, work on a hobby, or do something that you enjoy.

Avoid Hobby Overload
That being said, hobbies can create time pressures of their own. As much as we are parents, we are also individuals with a wide variety of interests. Take an avid reader for example, a bookstore is like a candy shop. And the library is even more tempting - a huge building filled with free reads! So what happens? You borrow every book that strikes your fancy and your bedside table turns into a huge, unread, to-do list. Don’t turn your hobby into work. One project, one book, one activity at time will be more enjoyable in the long run.

Small Accomplishments = Greater Success
Nothing beats the feeling of getting things done. Set yourself up to succeed on a daily basis!

photo by Beachy

A mother’s work is never done. Parenting is a tough job. We all know that. But, hey, moms need a little time to relax, too.

If you can’t justify putting your work away at the end of a busy day, here are 10 things moms can do to “relax” and tackle your to do list at the same time.

1. Hobbies - hobbies are supposed to be fun. But sometimes having an unfinished project can add to the daily stress. Use this time to work on something that you have been meaning to finish.
2. Call a friend or relative - someone that you haven’t spoken to in a while and whose company you enjoy.
3. Organize that mountain of family pictures - online or off.
4. Exercise - go for a walk or do some aerobics.
5. Pamper yourself - do your nails, soak your feet, whatever you have been putting off that makes you feel better about your appearance.
6. Flip through magazines and cookbooks and find some new recipes - this helps with the “what’s for dinner” stress.
7. Listen to your favorite music and work on your lists. Planning makes everything run more smoothly.
8. Read a parenting book - yes, it is job related but you should always take the time to read the instruction manual!
9. Pre-screen a movie that your kids want to see but you are unsure about.
10. Play one of your kids favorite video games - so you can play it with them later (you will score some points for “cool mom of the year” as well!)

This post was written as part of the Litemind Lists Group Writing Project.

Heather (at Home With Heather) has an excellent blog with tons of useful information for work at home moms. (WAHM’s). She also happens to be one of the first bloggers that I networked with, and she probably doesn’t know it, but has given me a lot of guidance - via her blog - on my foray into the world of blogging.

Last week Heather was talking about meme’s, which is sort of a blogging game where one one blogger “tags” a bunch of other bloggers - which means that the “tagged” bloggers are asked to write a post about themselves. The subject of each meme is a little different, but you get the idea.

To add a fun, new twist to the traditional meme, Heather has started something called a “cross blog conversation”, where she has asked specific questions of a few bloggers. We will answer in a post and ask her a question back.

So, Heather has asked me for my best tip to other WAHM’s (work at home moms) for juggling a busy life. Definitely not an easy question. Perhaps a Letterman list of ten is the best way to handle this:

• 10. Time Management
• 9 . Lists, Lists, Lists,
• 8. Carpools
• 7. Meal Planning
• 6. Scheduling every detail, including household chores
• 5. Keeping a well stocked vehicle
• 4. Sunday planning time for the week ahead
• 3. Make your kids lunches the night before
• 2. Make dinner early in the day so it is ready at dinner time
• 1. And the number 1 tip (drumroll, please) - No stress, improvise, and be flexible! Do not expect perfection from yourself or you will be disappointed.

Unfortunately, many of us WAHM’s expect to be able to do it all perfectly and feel a sense of failure when we don’t get it done. Setting priorities and attainable goals is key.

Heather’s question was actually very timely, because I recently wrote a post called How to Increase Productivity While Working from Home on my other blog - Blog Resources Online.

Now, Heather, my question to you is this:

I love success stories and you are obviously one of them. As a new blogger, I am wondering how long you have been blogging, how much time you devote to blogging, is blogging the only business that you run from home, and at what point did you feel comfortable enough to make the switch from corporate America to working at home.

Okay, I know, that is more than one question - just write your whole biography while you’re at it! Actually, an answer to any part of that question would be fine.

And sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you. You see, my time management (#10 above) has been rather efficient lately, but the problem is that I need more time to manage - and I can’t create that!