Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Scheduling Dilemma

As I have been blog stalking and keeping notes of what teachers want and need, I have seen a lot of talk about Erin Condren's Teacher Planner or Life Planner. These are so cute! I love the COLOR. I love that you can personalize it but they are expensive ($50!).


Meet my pal... Pocket Informant HD. It is an app on my iPad, it is also my BFF. I love this guy. It is the most expensive app I have ($14.99) but worth every penny!



First off... do you see the colors. Yep... you can color code things. So hubby has a color, son #1 has a different color, son #2 has a different color, son #3 a different color, grad classes a different color.... you get the idea. I can add cute little icons to make them more fun. FUN is awesome. There are tons of pictures. I can view it as a monthly calendar, a weekly one or a daily one. I can see years in advance or years in the past. 

It has a to-do list and if I want it to, it will show up on my calendar. It has an alarm to yell at me if I forget something or I can turn it off and ignore him. 

It has all my contacts sinked into it. Yes..... everyone is here. I can easily add a doctor's appt and his address and phone number pops right up in my scheduled appointment. It has pictures, so I can see who I am looking at. It takes the photos off of my Facebook and adds them there. I can set my ICE in my contacts easily and I use the notes section under each family member to list there allergies, dates of serious injuries, or medical conditions. This way if a doc asks, I can tell them. I also use the notes section on my appointments to fill in what happened when I was there. So if a doc asks what a different doc says and when, wala... I flip and there it is. Contact history is also stored in my contacts. SUPER easy to find! Oh and the birthdays from my contacts now appear in my calendar. =)

And there is a random note section as well. Just type in reminders for whatever and wa la. Its all there. Simple and easy.



It is also set up to do project planning and goal achieving. I just don't use those functions. I can view everyone's calendar at once or just a certain one. It syncs with my Google calendar (which I no longer use thanks to this baby!). It can also sync with Outlook and Toodledo.When hubby keeps asking when something is, I add him as a participant to the event and walla... it emails him.

I LOVE this! It keeps me sane. I was a paper gal for many, many years. I searched and searched for something I could love but never found one. I am sure if I found Erin Condren all those years ago I would be happy but paper has been replaced!

What do you do to keep track of all of your appointments? 

16 comments:

  1. Wow, I've never heard of such a neat scheduler before. I use a planner, of course, but I am also famous for using sticky notes. I use them for everything and put them on everything, including my scheduler!

    www.mypinkscribbles.blogspot.com
    PS-congrats on so many followers, I just added myself, as well :)

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  2. Hi Misty:
    Thank you for considering my blog worthy of an award. Although this “Thank you” message is arriving late, it is still sent with heartfelt gratitude!

    http://joyin6th.blogspot.com/2012/03/make-up-homework-part-1.html

    Kim
    Finding JOY in 6th Grade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim - you are never late! Your timing is simply different than others but you are always there right when your needed the most. I am so happy to see you accept the love that myself and so many others have for you!

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  3. Thanks for stopping by!! I added you to the 4th grade list! :)
    Julie
    Thoughts of a Third Grade Teacher

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  4. Hi!
    I am now a follower of your blog too! Thanks so much for finding me! As for the cute "wizard" pens, I was given them by a promo place that had a "goof" with the text---I literally see nothing wrong though LOL. But I have seen them at the Dollar Tree too in a two pack! :-) Can't wait to share ideas!

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  5. Thank you for the tip! I haven't downloaded it, but I'm considering it. I am a paper pencil gal. I love writing in my August to August spiral bound calendar. BUT, to be truthful, I don't ever look at it. I also keep things in my iPhone in the iCal, but unless I set a reminder alarm, I don't look at that either! Needless to say, I'm not organized enough with my calendar. It's a good thing I have a pretty predictable life!!!

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  6. Thanks for reading my blog! I'm looking forward to checking yours out....Spring Break is coming up. :)

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  7. To make it simpler, I just quit scheduling appts.
    I don't go anywhere:)
    just kidding.
    I don't have a smart phone, so no apps for me...I use stickies on my Mac
    and if it is personal, it is on my calendar on the fridge:)
    Staci

    Going Nutty!

    misssquirrels@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes! Now that is the perfect idea!! LOL! No more appointments! Does this mean the kids and hubby will manage their own lives and I am no longer their secretary?

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  8. I brought myself an A5 Filofax, and created lots of personal pages that work well with me, as a secondary teacher I have a different group at a certain time each day. Being a computer whizz I set up a word doc that would write in for me exactly what group I have and what I teach. I played around to add symbols (that mean things to me save me keep on writting the same words time after time. I have a section with a year diary, A section for each individual groups with photos SEN information, letters from parents records of all homework set. etc. The folder also have 2 handy pen loops (I keep a red and a black pen on me at all times) and a big zip so I can slip a paper in instead of hole punching immediately.
    I will soon be doing a blog post on this. You should come check it out when I do.

    vintagegiraffe.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. I can't wait to read your post. This sounds interesting but I need more details to fully grasp your system. Maybe even pictures.

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  9. I'm your newest follower! *Thanks for stopping by to visit me!* I love that APP!!! Do they have the App for iPods too? My husband just got me one to train for a 1/2 marathon and I'm wondering if I could put the App on that too! Love it! :) Thanks!!

    -Staci
    Let's Teach Something 

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    1. I know they have it for the iPhone and usually any app for the iPhone is useable on the iTouch but I am not certain. I also have an app for a marathon for my hubby. He likes it, I prefer Nike+.

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  10. I love Google Docs for keeping me up-to-date. I can update it from home, from school, or from an iPad, and it stays synched up everywhere. Even better- I can put things on different calendars, so I can separate school life from personal life from my husband's activities, and he and I can each check it wherever we need to!

    I love having a calendar in my binder at school (because I'm not usually right at a computer), but for most things... digital is the way to go!

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    Replies
    1. This will sync with your google docs and I don't have to see everything at once. I can view each calendar (color) separately or pick and choose any group of interest to me. I often only have mine and my middle son's showing as he has so many doctor appointments to attend too. However, if I am scheduling something like taxes with our accountant, I add in my husband's calendars. I can see his work and personal ones and know when he can/can;t take off of work or meet me. I can also schedule surprise lunch dates!

      I keep my iPad with me at all times. It is worse than my phone! I am still learning to go green on lesson planning! That is in a binder. LOL!

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I love comments! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. =)