by Eugene Matthews
Stop allowing your PDA to sit in your pocket, purse or on your desk under employed! If the only thing you use your Palm or Handspring (or other PDA device running on the Palm Operating System) is to store telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and contact information, then you’re letting your PDA collect unemployment. Here are some ways you can fire up your PDA.
If you’re familiar with the book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” you may recall the concept: “Sharpen the Saw”. In order to maintain an edge, remain current on trends, techniques and developments in your field, you must continually update your knowledge. Reading, researching and self-study are effective ways to improve personal performance. However, most of us don’t have the luxury of carrying around books, magazines or newspapers. The volume of paper we’d have to cart around makes it impractical.
So what’s the answer? Take your Palm, Handspring, Sony or other brand name PDA off the unemployment rolls and put it to work today!
There are some basic tools your system has that you can quickly learn to use. One essential tool is a document reader. Your PDA may have a similar program but if not, there are dozens of free readers available.
A program I use for reading e-books and articles is called Mobipocket http://www.mobipocket.com. This program is free and allows you to read books and documents on your PDA. Because of the unique software compression PDA’s use, you can carry a small library in the palm of your hand! I regularly keep half dozen books on my PDA that I read for pleasure.
A program I’ve used to keep current daily news is AvantGo http://www.avantgo.com. This application is free and offers a variety of news from dozens of major newspaper sources which you can download directly to your PDA, then synchronize it with your computer as usual.
Most PDAs have an e-mail reader. What a fantastic way to stay up to date on your important e-mail traffic! Configure your PDA to transfer your e-mail when you Hotsync and you can breeze through your mail at your leisure. You can write e-mails you can send through your computer when you Hotsync. If you Hotsync at home prior to leaving for work, you could have read through your e-mails and prepared responses, or integrated the information into your day before you even get to work — on a train or bus, please don’t try this while driving!
You may be thinking to yourself, “that’s fine for productivity, but what how can my PDA help me ‘Sharpen The Saw?’” One of the most effective ways to stay current on the latest developments in tactics, techniques, procedures and practices in your field is through reading and research. If you know of a book that speaks specifically to your discipline, or addresses a particular need you have, such as time management, personal finances, relationships, etc., you can probably find it at an on-line bookstore. Stores such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Hastings, etc., also distribute e-books in the format for your PDA device. Order the book of your choice and Hotsync it to your PDA for later reading. There are also thousands of on-line magazines and newsletters, which may speak directly to the information you’re looking for. Download these books, magazine articles or newsletters to your PDA and read them in your spare moments throughout the day. You can read on your way to and from appointments, while waiting for meetings, or a hundred other moments that you find ‘extra’ time you had not accounted for.
Have you ever been unexpectedly delayed during business travel and wished for access to your organization’s Web or Intranet site? Add a modem to your PDA and now you can stay in touch. A program I use to access the Web is Eudora Lite http://www.eurocool.com. This program is free and contains an Internet Web browser and e-mail access. It allows you to access the Internet in real time.
With or without the addition of a modem, keeping your PDA employed is easy!
So if you’re wondering what you need in order to make the most of your PDA, here’s what I suggest:
-Portable keyboard
-Modem
-Additional Hotsync cradle
Although none of these items is required, having them will make your PDA more useful to you. If you make it more useful, you’re more likely to use it. With a portable keyboard you can quickly add or modify information on your PDA.
A program I use along with the standard Memo Pad feature is Freewrite
http://www.handheld.hice-dev.orgThis program is free and is a fully functional word processor. It features a 109,000 word dictionary/spell checker and will support over 25 pages of letter size page text.
The last feature I recommend is a modem. Having the flexibility to communicate while you’re out and about is an invaluable resource. Whether you use an analogue modem module or wireless link should be based on your specific cost/benefit analysis.
Finally, I recommend you invest in a second Hotsync cradle. I have found that by running my Palm program on my home computer and my office computer, I always stay current with information, updates and changes. This truly simplifies Hotsync operations and in the event of a catastrophic information loss, you’ll have current and valid back-up information. My PDA takes AAA batteries, but some models can only be recharged in the cradle.
How to reduce stress using your PDA
A major cause for the stress people experience today comes from making, accepting and keeping commitments. By better managing commitments, we can reduce stress. Before you can get control of your time, you need to make two commitments: commit to using your PDA to capture and record all your commitments for 21 days; and record all your commitments in your PDA. That’s it! It’s that simple.
Follow these simple steps and discover how stress free your workday can be. Whether you work in an office, on an office, or in the field, this simple technique will allow you to get control of your time, and give you the flexibility to decide how to invest your time.
Making and accepting commitments is easy and often done without a lot of consultation. Often we over-commit, making us late, or having to cancel a previously accepted commitment, and the stress builds. Or we worry and struggle to remember the date or time of a significant commitment and stress builds. Or maybe we become so focused on one pending commitment that others get ignored, and stress builds.
By maintaining all your commitments on your PDA, you can reduce the likelihood of over committing. You simply cannot be in two places at one time! By keeping this single source of information with you always, you can always know what’s pending, and track what you’ve accomplished. Family commitments are as important as business and deserve the same amount of consideration. They should be recorded in your PDA! There was a great line I heard someone say, “I write things down, so I don’t have to remember.” Consider how often you refer to your office, or kitchen calendar before making or accepting a commitment?
Whenever you get a request for new commitment:
1. Check your date book and ensure you can accept the commitment and enter a detailed explanation into your PDA; and set the reminder alarm feature to remind you of the commitment a few hours, days, or weeks before the event.
2. Identify what tasks you need to complete to ensure the success of your commitment; whether it’s renting a vehicle for an upcoming conference, or obtaining a projector for an upcoming meeting. Set each task as a To Do item with a floating reminder or alarm. Until each task has been completed, it will continue to appear until the date of the commitment.
3. You’ve accepted the commitment. You’ve developed and set reminder alarms to your tasks (or your “To Do”) list to be completed prior to the date of the commitment. Now forget about it. That’s right, forget about it! You will be automatically reminded by your PDA of your commitment, hours, days or weeks before the event!
The last part, which is the most significant, is to visit your PDA date book calendar at least once a day for 21 days. After you initially scan over your day’s scheduled commitments, check to see what tasks still remain to be completed in support of your commitment. Prioritize your tasks in order of importance, not in order of preference. We all tend to do the things we like to do first. Often, we do this regardless of whether what we like to do is a task needed for the successful completion of a commitment.
Thanks to the compactness and portability of your PDA, you can and should keep it with you … always! It contains the essential information you need to make and accept commitments, to task organize your workday, to stay productive and informed … and to keep your PDA employed.
Eugene Matthews can be reached via e-mail at
matthewse@wood.army.mil
matthewsem@lycos.com