MyDigitalMemory

So in my previous post I was bemoaning the limitless of the internet and how it leaves me feeling as if a better deal, a more satisfying solution or a revolutionary product is just one more click away.  Well, just yesterday I had an experience that just feeds such anxiety.

I have been looking for a better way to track, manage and (most importantly) remember the myriad of things I need to do in a week.  Lately, my memory has been leaving me hanging and though I love nifty programs and gadgets, I was thinking that a more low-tech solution was in order.  Unfortunately it only took one trip to the planners and calendars section of Office Max to make clear that I was not going to find my answer there.  Who has room (or shoulder strength) to carry around one of those leather binder planners that litter the shelves of that aisle?  I already have my computer, wallet, phone, books, etc.  

So my web search began.  At first, I just found much of the same (or worse) and was about to give up, BUT THEN...  I don't even know what different combinations of words I punched into google or if I found my answer the 'old fashion way' of just poking around at links until you've gone so far down an internet trail that it if your back button broke you'd never find your way out.  Whatever the case, I found it--my answer.  

Now I just want to be clear that my answer might not be your answer--it might even sound a bit strange to you.  If there is one thing I learned during this internet scavenger hunt, it's that there are MANY different approaches to organization and for those people for who such things matter, there is often both strong and wide disagreement concerning the 'right' way to stay organized or GTD (get things done). Nevertheless, I did find a system that seems perfect for my current needs and, had I not been spurred on by that little voice that says, "Just a few more clicks and you'll find the promise land," I would never have found it.

What is it you say.  It's a little program called PagePacker. If you google it, you'll get a plethora of pages singing it's praises.  Of course it's easy to find what you're looking for once you've already found it.  Anyway, it is simple, but brilliant.  Basically the program allows you to make a small eight-page booklet with a mini "day planner" page on each page.  You just drag and drop the pages you want from a 'catalog' and the program orients and sizes them correctly.  Just print it all out on a 8.5 x 11 or A4 sheet of paper, fold, cut and fold again and you have yourself a pocket-size day planner, budget keeper, call log--whatever you want!  You can even drag and drop your own files (pdf, jpeg, etc.) onto the template.  So I can print my iCal calendar to a PDF and then drag the file into PagePacker and it will add it to whichever of the eight pages I specify.  AMAZING!

OK, at this point you are either thinking, "OMG. Where do I get this?" or you are like, "THIS is an example of something that makes you feel as if wonderful things are just waiting for you around the next digital bend."  If you are the former, head here (http://weblog.bignerdranch.com/?p=23) to continue your adventure. (Pay no attention the bit about the Tiger version expiring.  I downloaded from that link for my powerbook running Tiger and it worked just fine.) If you are the former, I guess we're just missing each other here.  If another example presents itself, I'll try again to illustrate the hold that the "just one more click/search" mantra has over me.  

I love the internet; I do.  BUT it does have a double-edged quality to it.  I have learned about and discovered so many wonderful stories, products, sites, etc. via the internet.  I keep in touch with friends, shop for Christmas and manage my finances all from the comfort of my red armchair.  

Nonetheless, I sometimes wish the internet didn't exist.  Maybe it's just me (or the compulsive side of me), but do you ever get tired of the feeling that if you just searched a little harder, surfed a little longer or googled another phrase you'd find that prettier, less expensive, more applicable, funnier thing that you probably can't even remember why you started searching for in the first place?  

There is always this sense that what I am looking for--say, that perfect program that will finally allow me to organize my life or the best deal on the latest gadget to have caught my eye--the endless possibilities of the internet leave me feeling that something better, cheaper is out there if I can just find it.  

Of course, I wouldn't want to go back.  No matter how many times I turn down the cereal aisle and wish that instead of the 30+ options awaiting me there could be just five, I don't really want to give up the possibility that one day--however unlikely--Grape Nuts might be exactly what I want. Likewise, I don't really want to turn my back on the internet.  I just wish someone would invent a search engine that somehow searches based on what I want, instead of based one what I tell it I want; that can take me directly to the best deal, the perfect software solution, the most interesting books and music, etc. without me having to know where to look before I go looking. 

So I was supposed to meet with my advisor @ 1pm, but either she or I got the dates mixed up, 'cause she wasn't there. That was nice because it gave me time to move my car (i.e. no parking ticket) and collect my thoughts before my three-hour seminar. Now I just need to survive the seminar. =)

I started a blog a while ago, but then stopped updating it.  I have been wanting to get back to it, but never seem to take the time to open up iWeb and create a new post.  But then I heard about posterous and I am thinking this just might be the ticket!  I mean, how easy can it get?  I just have to send an email...I do that all the time.  

Well, only time will tell if posterous will revolutionize my blogging.  So here goes...