Top Ten Technology Tools -- Part Three

by Ramona Creel

PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGER
It’s funny – no one ever really cared about having every single piece of contact information at their fingertips, before technology took over. If you were out and about and someone asked you for a phone number, you would have said, “Sure, I’ll call you with that when I get back to my office.” But now, with PIMs and PDAs (like the Palm Pilot) so popular, people are almost shocked when you don’t pull your entire database out at lunch! Scoff though I may, there are still some great benefits to having a PDA -- the first being the incredible convenience of having any piece of contact information in your database right at your fingertips. And you have a tremendous amount of memory, so you don’t have to worry about space limitations.

You can also keep your calendar close at hand -- recording new appointments and reminders with the tap of a stylus. And rather than having to transfer your to-do’s from one day to the next by hand, you can simply slide unfinished items over to a more convenient time. With some of the newer models, you can even set up a wireless internet account and access the web and e-mail via your handheld. But best of all, your PDA can be synchronized with the contact manager on your home computer. Just select a contact management program that can interface with your handheld (ACT and Outlook are two easy choices), set up a docking port (looks like a cell-phone recharger), plug in your PDA, and your computers will automatically update the most recent changes in information to both computers. Now, here’s the down-side. PDA’s run on batteries -- and if you let the batteries die without backing up your information, you will lose everything (it’s happened to more than one of my clients). And just like the contact manager on your computer or the planner in your briefcase, a PDA is useless unless you COMMIT fully to it.

That means letting go of the paper calendar and recording all of your appointments in the handheld -- and tossing the business card rolodex in favor of tracking your contact information electronically. If you try to keep two kinds of systems going at once, you will just get confused and frustrated with both. Finally, there is a learning curve for using a PDA -- just figuring out how to write with a stylus will take a minute. If you are having a hard time mastering the special lettering techniques a PDA requires (to recognize handwritten notes), go for one with a small typing keyboard.

SCANNER
When I first started my business, my husband wanted me to get a scanner. And I said, “What on earth for?” Years later, I am kissing his feet daily for making that suggestion! A scanner is one of the most versatile pieces of office equipment you can ever own -- and this is doubly true if you run a small home-based business with limited space. i use mine to death. And they are very reasonably priced, these days -- no more than the cost of a printer (and sometimes less). But before you buy a scanner, think about what you plan to scan. These machines come in all sizes and with all kinds of functions. If you plan to scan legal-sized documents, make sure you at least get an 8 ½” x 11” scanner. If you want to be able to edit the text on a document you have scanned, get one with OCR (optical character recognition) built into the enclosed software. And be sure to talk to other people who have used the scanner you are considering to find out about its quirks, bugs, and features. Scanners can be incredible space-savers, replacing other bulkier equipment in your office.

If you don’t have room in your office for a full size Xerox machine, you can always use your scanner as a copier. just scan the document in, and print as many copies as you need out on your computer’s printer. And that goes for black and white as well as color copies (if you have a color printer). There is also no reason to have a fax machine in your office when you have a scanner. Just set up your computer with an internet-based faxing program (like WinFax or one of the online services), scan your document in, and fax it directly from your modem. Most scanner software also allows you to link directly to your e-mail program, sending scanned items as attachments. And if you are running low on space in your file drawers, why not scan some of your documents into the computer and save them on a DISK or CD-ROM? Unless you need an original of that document, why keep the paper? You can always print it out or fax it or e-mail it later, if you need to. And the OCR feature found with most scanners brings document creation to a whole new level. Let’s say that a colleague faxes you a notice about a networking function, and you would like to send that notice off to some of your other friends. But the page is messy and you really don’t want that big fax notification at the top of your sheet. You can scan the document into your computer, use your scanner software to clean up the page, and even add some additional text, if you would like. Then you just shoot the new document on out to your other friends. Or let’s pretend that you receive a printed report from a client and need to change some of the wording. The last thing you want to do is retype the entire document. So you scan it in, use your scanner software to import the document into your word processing program, and make the necessary changes. Voila! And don’t even get me started about the graphic possibilities. If you do any kind of design work -- creating your own marketing materials, putting together a website -- the possibilities are endless. Just scan in your graphic an export it into Publisher or PhotoShop or whatever program you use for design, and go to it!

PAGER
Okay, I’ve saved the most offensive piece of technology for last (that was a little subjective, wasn’t it?!) Pagers embody sort of a “yin-yang” of good and bad -- convenience and connectivity paired with constant interruptions and a pressure to respond immediately. And my favorite is the people who page you with a “911” after the number -- indicating that their issue is an emergency -- and then they ask some inane and completely non-urgent question when you call them back! So you will have to draw your own boundary lines around how you use your pager – who you give the number to, how quickly you will return calls, and when you turn it off. But there are some great technological features that can save you a lot of headaches and make using a pager much less intrusive. If you need to stay connected on many levels, consider a web-enabled pager.

This device allows you to receive e-mails and internet updates on the go. In many cases, you can also respond to e-mails that require immediate attention. You can even hook up with a variety of reminder services that will send you a page to remind you of meetings, medication times, and other important daily events. You can also talk to your pager dealer about having your voice messages transferred to your pager. In fact, many pagers now offer multiple messaging options -- people can leave the typical numeric page, a voice message, or (in some cases) a typed message which you read on a small display screen. And if you want to save space and avoid carrying too many devices around with you, find a cell phone with a built-in pager. Of course, the fact that you have a pager doesn’t mean you always have to respond to it. With the old pagers, you either ignored the beeping or turned it off -- meaning that no one could reach you. But now, especially with the voice-enabled pagers, you can have your party transferred to voice mail, where they can leave a message that you will pick up at a later time. And you always have the option to turn the thing to vibrate rather than beep -- a courtesy to those around you when in a meeting, movie, or other occasion when you don’t want to disturb others.

About the Author
Ramona Creel may be contacted at http://www.onlineorganizing.com. Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- a web-based one-stop shop offering everything that you need to get organized at home or at work. At OnlineOrganizing.com, you may get a referral to an organizer near you, shop for the latest organizing products, get tons of free tips, and even learn how to become a professional organizer or build your existing organizing business. And if you would like to read more articles about organizing your life or building your business, get a free subscription to the "Get Organized" and "Organized For A Living" newsletters.