Growing up and watching movies I always thought I would have a permanent work area/station and that one of the things I would do is personalize it and in addition have sticky notes to remind me of important things I need to do within the day.
However part of growing up is realizing that not everything
you see in movies is true or that as much as it could be true it just as well
may not apply to your situation. Plus times change. Change is a good thing, right?
What exactly are sticky notes?
The colorful little squares, with a tiny little sliver of
low-tack adhesive. Sometimes they contain your whole to-do list, sometimes a
single brilliant idea, and sometimes a simple doodle. You might know them as sticky
notes or post-its. I call them my saviour. Starting my day with a crispy, empty
sticky note is so promising. And, crossing things on my to-do list is so
rewarding. Their size is optimal, forcing you to be on point. When writing
to-do lists for the day, they shouldn’t be longer than what can fit comfortably
on a sticky note. Although I’m a bit of a serial offender in this category, where
my to-do lists regularly sprout little babies to the side or grow
exponentially. But I try.
However, living in modern times, workstations have become less
personalized and a move towards work mobility which then reduces
personalization due to the constant movement and lack of a permanent place.
Additionally, the move to digitization is not pleading the case for my beloved
sticky notes.
Out goes my dreams of sticky notes, a bit sad but it’s
alright. And just because things change the underlying concept is always the
same.
The idea of sticky notes is to keep you organized and to
remind you of your to-do items. With our digitized space there are tools and
applications that give us a digitized version of sticky notes. It has taken me
awhile to figure out this whole sticky notes situation and what I want to make
use of from the endless solutions out there. That said I have found some sure
ways that help me as much or even better than sticky notes:
1. Notebooks
The use of notebooks is as old as it gets. I love notebooks, I literally have collections of notebooks. Simply writing down all the
things you want to do within the day and checking them off when done. Also
noting down important things.
The only limit I find with this is you may lose the
information when the notebook gets filled up and you have to replace it and
also not having access to the notes when you are not with your notebook.
2. Computer sticky notes
Lots of computers come with inbuilt sticky notes (electronic
of course) and you can utilize them. Almost like the real sticky notes as a
click on the sticky note app and the sticky notes pop up. This is one of the
closest it comes to the real deal.
My only reservation with this is when you lose your
computer/laptop or when you are not with it. How will you access your notes
plus having lots of sticky notes can feel unorganized and off.
3. Sticky notes applications
These are very similar to what I have described above for
computer sticky notes with the additional benefit of having the applications on
your phone which is a plus as we always have our phones. But then again there
is a risk of losing your information when you lose your phone or have to delete
the application for one reason or the other.
The winner!
4. Keep by Google
I recently discovered Keep and honestly, I have not looked
back and will not look back. Almost everyone has a Gmail account. Right in your
email you will find Keep. The application is not very obvious though and unless
you seek to find it you may spend years before discovering where it is. It took
me years to stumble upon it so …. Don’t freight we are many.
On the top right of your Gmail account, you will see a square
icon made up of other tiny squares. Click on it and you will find icons for other
applications YouTube, Search, Maps, etc. On the bottom of the tab click on more
and aha you will find the Keep icon click on it and organize your life.
What I love about Keep is that regardless of the device you
have, computer/laptop, or phone you will always have your notes. Download the Keep
app on your phone and synch it with your devices. Additionally, within Keep you
can organize your notes according to different categories.
I absolutely love it.