How do you plan your weekly tasks and to-do’s?  Do you work from a list? I almost always do, but during the past two weeks, I got so busy that I neglected to write my weekly task list.  I accomplished (most) of the biggies on my plate, and nothing catastrophic was overlooked.  Nevertheless, without my list I felt a bit unmoored, a bit less productive.  

As of this morning, I’m back on track.  My weekly task list (via Google calendar) is at my fingertips, and I’ve already checked off a few boxes, which can be ridiculously satisfying.

If you habitually carry your to-do’s in your head, I suggest you write them down, and make a list.  Whether on paper or electronically doesn’t matter much–whatever works for you. Options could range from a small spiral notebook or giant post-it, to an app such as Toodledo (www.toodeldo.com) or  Remember the Milk (www.rememberthemilk.com). 

So try it–make a weekly list, and give your productivity a boost

An unfortunate series of events recently befell my friend’s BlackBerry.

My friend is a busy, successful entrepreneur, and mom of two young ones.  Always on the go, always multi-tasking.  It’s what we mompreneurs do best, right?  

Not always.

Five minutes after starting a load in the washing machine, my friend realized that her phone was tucked away in her pocket…in a pair of pants at the bottom of the machine.  She estimated that her BlackBerry was fully submerged for a good three minutes.

Panic time? Well, sure.  But she remembered hearing about the bag of rice trick: if a cell phone gets soaked, quickly seal it in a bag of uncooked rice.  Supposedly, the rice will draw out the moisture.  Am I suggesting that you try this? I am not.  Though it just may work, as it did for my relieved friend.  All was good again.

Until two days later, when she absolutely, positively, lost her phone.  It was replaceable, of course, and she had her contacts backed up.  What put her into a tailspin, was that she didn’t have her calendar backed up.  A calendar that was booked solid for the next six months.  Uh oh.

 Is your electronic calendar backed up?  If not, I suggest you start using Google calendar asap.  It’s free and user friendly.  If you don’t already have a Google account, set one up here.  You don’t have to use gmail; you can sign in with any email account.  (This is also the source  for Google Analytics and Google Reader.)

You can set up your Google calendar so that someone else (an assistant, say) can set appointments for you from the office, which then magically sync to your phone.  You can also share your calendar with friends, family, or post it on your website. 

Best of all, Google calendar syncs with a number of  mobile devices, like the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and a few more.    So, you can continue to use, say, the BlackBerry calendar that you’re so fond of–the interface is the same–but it’s synced, and therefore backed up on the Google cloud.  (You can find Google sync instructions here .) 

Volia, calendar back-up problem solved.

I haven’t spoken with my friend in several days (you know, no phone.)  But if she knows what’s good for her, one of the first calls she’ll make on her new phone will be to me, so I can remind her to set up her Google calendar.  I suggest you do the same.

P.S.  If you have any first-hand experience with the soaking-phone-in-a-bag-of-rice trick, I’d love to hear about it.