Organize Anything With SpringPad

A friend of mine is moving for a new job and needed to get a lot organized in a short period of time. She tried a few apps that I’ve suggested on the site, but even my hero app Evernote couldn’t keep up with everything she needed to do. She needed an app that would allow her to make notebooks that could include tasks, people, events, lists, location information, and important links. While I can think of the best apps to handle each of those things individually, I couldn’t think of any that handled them all together. Until we found SpringPad.

SpringPad is a multi-faceted personal organization tool that is designed to help you plan or organize anything. Create custom notebooks for yourself, or share them with others to collaborate. Then, start filling those notebooks up with “springs.”

A spring could be anything, like:

Movies – When I spring a movie title Springpad creates a small icon with the poster of the movie. The app notifies me when the film comes out in theaters (and will help me find showtimes), when it comes out on DVD, and even when it is available on Netflix.

Links – For links, I usually use the “Spring It” feature, a button that lives in the bookmarks bar and allows me to “spring” any website to my SpringPad account. It’s a great way to save articles and videos to watch later. Read more

Oprah’s Most Inspirational Advice

English: Oprah Winfrey at the White House for ...

English: Oprah Winfrey at the White House for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oprah Winfrey has taught me so much about giving, being a good listener, and striving to achieve your goals. She’s been a part of my life since I began watching her show when I was young and has become more of a role model as I’ve gotten older.

She’s certainly given us a lot of wisdom over the last 60 years! Here are my 10 favorite pieces of advice from Oprah in honor of her 60th birthday:

1. You become what you believe

2. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.

3. Turn your wounds into wisdom. Read more

5 Ways To Think About Time

It was my goal when I started this blog that I would be able to help others become more organized and productive. I hope that if you’re using the tips and tricks on this blog, you’ve started saving a lot of time!

It can be so easy to use that extra time to get a jump start on the next day, start a new project, or shorten your to-do list, but I’ve realized recently that that “extra” time isn’t really extra at all. I’m going through some pretty exciting changes (we just closed on an apartment – yay!) and as I prepare to leave some old things behind to make way for the new, I’ve noticed a few important things about time:

1. Time is ephemeral – once it’s gone, it’s gone for good and you can’t save a single second for later use. When you decide to put your goals, your dreams, or the things that make you happy on hold for later, unfortunately time won’t save up until you’re ready. Read more

Fab Find: PocketSuite Connects You With Small Businesses Nearby

A friend of mine is getting married and has been really into getting fit before the big day! I wanted to get her personal training as an engagement gift, but I don’t live near her so I struggled researching nearby gyms and reading several conflicting reviews on the internet. It was important to me to find the right person for her because I didn’t want to waste my money or her time. Then I discovered PocketSuite, the app that would solve my dilemma!

PocketSuite is designed to connect freelancers, personal assistants, trainers, and small business owners with clients in their area. The app helps you find professionals based on your location for a wide variety of services. Simply sign up, attach a credit card to your account, and then PocketSuite handles:

  • Scheduling Appointments – The app maintains a calendar of appointments, making it easy for you to find the best available appointment time for your busy schedule. Read more

5 Ways to be a Better Complainer and Get What You Want

United Breaks Guitars

United Breaks Guitars (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few weeks ago, I told you about an app that helps you skip the wait-time when calling customer service. However, just because you get to talk to a person faster doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get what you want. I’ve had amazing customer service, but I’ve also had really horrendous help that leaves me so frustrated. You know what I mean – it can be really hard to keep your cool when the stranger on the other end of the phone is being difficult about their company shipping you the wrong pair of pants.

A few years ago Dave Carroll was flying United Airlines when he noticed that the people loading the plane were throwing his guitar around, resulting in a broken guitar when he landed. He spent months dealing with United’s customer service, only to discover that they weren’t going to do a thing about his smashed guitar. Dave took matters into his own hands, writing the song “United Breaks Guitars” and exposing the airline’s bad behavior in a viral video that resulted in United reaching out to David and offering to replace his unusual guitar. Now, when the rest of us have to get a new guitar, we can’t quite get United Airlines to send one for us. Instead, we can compare a range of small bodied guitars on a site like thesoundjunky until we find the guitar that is right for us.
I know that we don’t all have the luxury (or the musical ability) to handle bad customer service the way Dave did, but here are a few ways anyone can complain smarter and get better customer service: Read more