Keep Organization in the
“Palm” of Your Hand

While many people associate high-tech gadgets with the business world, Palm Pilots™ and other handheld electronic organizers are invaluable tools for everyday life. Through my experience as a professional organizer working with individuals with ADHD, handheld organizers are a great solution to keeping you focused, organized and on schedule.

Rather than let written reminder notes remain scattered about your purse, wallet, refrigerator or bulletin board, consolidate everything into this electronic organization “atlas.” In addition to being your address book, handhelds are handy in a variety of ways and can be your road map to organization.

Consider keeping the following useful information stored in your handheld:

Directions: Save directions to places you go to a few times a year, such as the doctor.

Online Information: Store your favorite Web sites to cut back on search time and to make them readily accessible to you.

Important Codes: Fortunately, handhelds offer protection within security walls, so they’re great places to store PIN codes, passwords and other important numbers.

Car Maintenance Reminder: Include the date for your car’s next oil change and other regularly scheduled maintenance services (such as annual SMOG checks) for your vehicle.

Health Check Ups: Mark days on the calendar to remind you to: perform a monthly breast exam, get an eye checkup, visit the dentist and go to the doctor.

Gift Information: Record gift ideas and sizes for family and friends. This way you’ll be armed with that much-needed information for those spontaneous shopping trips when you think you have found that “perfect” gift or a great item on sale, but can’t remember the person’s size.

Errands: To maximize your time and schedule, and to avoid running errands twice to the same area in one day, indicate when to drop off or pick up items left at the laundry, framing store, etc.

Parking Lot Aid: There’s nothing worse than getting on the airport shuttle and not remembering where you parked your car, only to find yourself wandering aimlessly around the parking lot with your suitcase in tow. Get in the habit of recording where you parked the car each time you visit the mall, airport or a parking garage.

Travel Planner: Keep track of your travel plans and flight schedules. Be sure to include the phone numbers for the airlines, hotels and other transportation you will be using during your trip. When traveling with a handheld, always remember an adapter, battery charger and a back-up stylus pen.

Pets: Keep Fido’s health care on track by inputting your pet’s records and vet appointments.

Bank Holidays: Mark out the bank holidays for the calendar year to let you know when federal businesses will be closed.

Using a handheld organizer is easy and convenient. They are small enough to store in your pocket or purse. If at anytime you need hard copies of information, you can upload the data and synchronize it to your personal computer and save and/or print out anything you need. They range in price based on the models, but you can get a basic one for under $100.

For this reasonable investment, you will be guaranteed to have organization at your fingertips so that you can have structure in your life while keeping peace of mind.