Wow, can you believe we’re already four days into the year 2013?? I’ve been really looking forward to the coming of this new year, mostly in a symbolic way to integrate better organization in my work and at home. This is a New Year’s resolution that I’m bound and determined to hold on to! I don’t know about you, but no one could ever accuse me of being a Mighty Organized Bunny.
So it’s fine and dandy to say that I’m gonna be more organized this year, but exactly how am I gonna pull this off?
Well, I’ve been researching how for the past few days, and here are a few tools that are going to be massively helpful to me (and hopefully to you too!)
- Use Evernote – Holy Awesomesauce Batman! I’ve only had access to this iPhone/iPad/Android/Desktop compatible app since January 1st and it’s already been a HUGE help for me. I’m able to jot down ideas for my site(s) and the ever needed To-Do lists right when I think of things to add; I can take pics of cool, funky, awesome stuff in Toronto and actually remember to blog about it (as the pics themselves will be posted in my ongoing list of notes); Biz cards and the actual people attached to them can be better captured and remembered. I hate bringing a card home and have no clue who it belongs to truly; I could take pics of important receipts and keep them in a specific folder that would be accessible anywhere I have an internet connection (i.e. ones that happen to have warranty information printed) or pics of review-items received, along with the MSRP for tax purposes (all nicely organized in its own folder in my Evernote account). The ways this app can help me keep it all together are practically endless.
The only thing I wish it had was a calendar option. I would love to be able to use it to write out a bloggin schedule, but I found a great WordPress plugin that does just that….
- WordPress’ Editorial Calendar plugin is a simple app to keep potential blog posts organized. For instance, on January 1st, I knew I wanted to have my first blog post of the year to be published on Friday January 4th. So after installing this plugin last Tuesday, I had created a quick draft file directly in the Friday, Jan 4th box (shown below) with the Title of this post. I was also able to add a few notes on what I wanted to include in this article. Timing is a fabulous thing, and if I decide that a specific post should be published on a Tuesday instead of a Monday, I simply have to drag and drop the titles around as I see fit! 🙂 This? Is gonna be so MUCH fun!One down side is that you can’t add additional notes to this calendar without those notes being turned into draft blog posts (that could potentially be published). So if you don’t mind seeing the word “[DRAFT]” pop up repeatedly on your calendar as you leave yourself little reminders like: “Post a Fashion Friday status on Facebook today,” just ensure that it doesn’t become a published post in your blog down the road. *shrugs*
- And finally HootSuite – it’s and oldie but a goodie nonetheless! Of course, I want to keep most of my discussions online spontaneous, but sometimes its just better to prepare. Such as those Fashion Friday posts for Facebook. It takes a little more effort than you might think to put those together, and I like to jot down which clothing/accessory items I’d like to discuss all at once for a month in advance. It means that I’ll take an hour and a half out of my work day to put together four or five facebook posts, instead of taking an hour each week for each post (I don’t know why it takes me longer to do one a week than five at the same time, but it honestly does!) So yeah, HootSuite will be my new best friend this year to keep track of Facebook and Twitter stuff. I understand some fellow bloggers actually use HootSuite to “chat” on both Twitter and Facebook… I’m not sure I could, but I think I’ll give it a shot for a week or two!
So those are three ways that I’ll be keeping more organized this year. By being more organized, I truly feel that I’ll be able to blog more. Heck for every post published on Geek with Style last year, there were five that weren’t. I’d like to turn that around and have four out of six potential posts published for 2013!
So fess up, what are your organization habits? Did you create a resolution for this year?
16 Responses
Organization is one of my big personal goals this year, but I’m not quite feeling as techy based as you hehe. I am going to focus on the word PLAN. I am making plans for every area of my life that feels out of control and hoping that I can stick to the plan! Thanks for sharing. I’m actually intrigued by Evernote – I’ll have to check that out! 🙂
Evernote is such a beauty of a program! I can’t remember when I had last made a New Year’s Resolution (it’s been possibly five years now, heh,) but yeah, this year I really need to organize, so decided to get that resolved for 2013… and not just for my blog, but for all aspects of work/home. I love the word PLAN! 😀 I plan a lot, but it’s sister action “Procrastination” usually got me in the end. 😉 Am thinking if I use the Editorial Calendar to give myself deadlines, and plan to blog about ways to keep organized this year, I could actually get my physical work-space in tiptop shape this year too! *crossing fingers*
Love this post! I’ve already been using Hoot Suite and am trying to get into the habit of using Evernote (I’m going to install it on my iPhone and see if that helps), but I’d never heard of the Editorial Calendar plug in for WordPress and that is going to seriously save my life, so thanks.
Thanks Denise, am glad to help! 🙂 Yeah, getting used to Evernote was pretty instantaneous for me, lol. I think the access to it from my Android phone really does help, ’cause that little bit of tech is basically glued to my hand so I can now capture and file easily, lol, but so did having access to it from my desktop and tablet too! 😉
Organization is also one of my goals this year too, my blog is getting messy and so is my house. I can’t concentrate on writing my blog posts when I have all of this chaos in the back of my mind.
I love hootesuite as well. For trying to stay organized with my blog I think I am going to try a google calendar and see how that works out.
I love hootsuite! As for goals for the year, I am trying my best to live the best life I can and quit being so hard on myself…I think every area of my life will get better with this attitude…including organization 🙂
I love this post…if only I could get a little organized! thanks for the inspiration!
Oooh! Thanks for posting this! I NEED to get organized! Umm…So glad you posted this. I was trying to figure out Evernote! I think we need a Skype date soon, my friend!! 🙂 P.S. Did you get my FB DM today? Chat soon! xo
lovely tips to get organized I need to write everything down
Love their tag line, “Remember Everything! I have pregnancy brain and I think I’ll be needing something like this, LOL!
My habits are poor…as for resolutions…I never do them.
I love your blog and this is a great resolution to have. Mine is similar but it is a goal and I sense my friends haughing at me even as I say that I will become more organized. Gah. It’s worth a try, right?
I have been doing this and slowly but surely I am gaining the upper hand on the now ever diminishing chaos
thanks for the great tips.
Thanks for the info. Hope to be better organized this year 🙂
Seems every year – resolutions to get more organized – Evernote – could eliminate a lot of post-it notes and those jots of paper we always seem to leave behind until we need them. “Where the heck did I put my list….” My program reminder is my 9 year old son, Evan. But this application would prove to be my salvation – keep in mind – always on the run….and take that quite literally.
Eva Mitton-Urban