Mac Daniel's Advice

Getting Organized on Your Mac

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Evan Kleiman - 2000.12.05

Q. Hi! Getting and staying organized is a huge problem for me. I've seen a lot of programs like this that can keep me organized, but I don't want to have to have a lot of different programs to clutter up my desktop, so which is the right one for me? Thanks!

A: Staying organized is a major problem with today's busy lifestyle. But there are many programs out there that can help you with your organizational problems, and, of course, today I'll review the best ones for your organizational duties.

The first program I'll recommend to you is Now-Up-To-Date and Now Contact. This PIM (Personal Information Manager) suite gives you pretty much anything you need to get (and hopefully stay) organized. NUTD and NC have been around for a while, and with every update they get better and better.

NUTD has a very straightforward interface. When you start it up, you're presented with a very nice monthly view of your schedule. Or, if you don't like the monthly interface, you can switch it to a Daily, Weekly, or Yearly calendar. Next to the calendar is a cool daily to-do list. This way, just by seeing the main window, you're sure not to forget to do the wash, take out the trash, or anything else you might forget.

But sometimes just a calendar and to do list aren't all you need to get your many different jobs done. So Now Up To Date has many other cool features. One of my favorites is the ability to place graphics on important dates - if just writing "Wash the dog" isn't enough, you can also paste a giant picture of a big, brown dog on it! You definitely will not forget it then! Another feature NUTD offers is synchronization with your Palm Pilot or Handspring Visor; this feature is a must in any PIM.

Of course, the other part of the Now-Up-To-Date and Now Contact suite is Now Contact. Now Contact is your basic, straightforward contact manager. When you add a new contact to the database, it lets you input information such as phone numbers, fax numbers, web address, email address, street address, notes, etc. While, of course, it's not as feature rich and just all out cool as Up-To-Date, it still makes a nice companion.

You can get Now-Up-To-Date and Now Contact from Power On Software.

But what if you want more in an Address Book than just the basics? Well, there are programs to do that, too!

My favorite program for an Address Book is OneApp Address book. This small program is very feature rich and simple to use, with a cool looking interface. It also lets you store names, addresses, email addresses, web addresses, notes, and up to three phone numbers for each person. One of the coolest features of OneApp Address is that you can have your computer dial the phone number of the person (or have the computer speak it directly to you). This way, you can even use it as your digital speed dial! You can even think of it as your personal digital secretary!

In the end, you don't need a lot of programs to really get the job of organizing done, only one or two will do what you need and then some!

Evan Kleiman has been writing for Low End Mac since January 1999. He also runs his own site, Evansite. Evan uses an iMac, along with some vintage hardware. You can read more about his computing experience in The Many Macs of Evan Kleiman.

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