School Tip: Paper Due? Use Voice Dictation

Both Apple and Android have worked hard to make voice dictation very powerful.  It is a shame that most people fail to harnest this power by using it to write long documents. If you are one of those people that type faster then you speak, then this tip is not for you.  However, there are a large part of the population that are still using their index fingers to type .  Here is a way to get that paper done in record speed:

1. Install Google docs on your phone or tablet.

2. Open your phones keyboard.

3. Click on voice button and speak at a normal pace and include punctuation.  

4. Go to the completed paper on your computer and correct any mistakes. 

With a little practice this works very well with few error. 

Evernote Power User Volume 7 - Evernote Web Clipper

Doing research on the Internet can be a messy, unproductive thing. I have seen people take a pencil and paper to their computer and write down links and resources from the different websites.  Others, that are more advanced, will open a Word document and create a document for researching.  I find that both of these methods are flawed for researching as they are not good with some of the key things that make research useful, the ability to organize it and reference it.  The Evernote Web Clipper is an extremely powerful tool as allows multiple ways to capture the information from websites. Once you have it captured, you can use the power of Evernote to manage the information. 

1. Article - The article option recognizes the relevant portion of the web page and allow you to take a snapshot of it. 

2. Simple Article - This will place the webpage in a readable mode where all the ads and buttons are taken off the page and the all you are left with are the relevant content in a more readable page. 

3. Full Page - This is will take the full page that you are looking at without cropping anything out. 

5. Bookmark - This will simply place the bookmark of the current page into your Evernote with a small picture from the site and a heading. 

4. Screen Shot - The Screen Shot option pulls up a grid based pointer that allows you to select an area in the web page and take a picture of it. 

Get the Chrome extension here . 

Evernote Power User - Volume 1 - Evernote Reminders

I am a productive tool junkie.  I have the need to find different applications, books , and videos on making me more productive and efficient. In this journey, I have tried to find the best note application to dump all the crazy ideas that I have on the daily . There are no applications that came even close to Evernote. There is way to much in Evernote to cover in one blog , so I am going to address specific parts of the application that I will explain in small snacked sized portions. Your Welcome. 

Evernote reminders is a great place to start with this series. Evernote reminders are simply that, they are a setting in Evernote that allows you to make a note a reminder. The reason that this is powerful is the mobile component.  Since the Evernote reminder syncs with any and all platforms you place it on, you will get your reminders where ever you are. Another benefit is that you can create a widget that will show just the notes with reminders. This makes it easy to make Evernote your task management program as well as notes. 

Simply making a note of what you need to do is not enough to stay productive. Evernote reminders are a great way to make your notes actionable.  

Resource:

Evernote.com 

Do It Well with Doit.im - Sub-tasks Done the Right Way

Your son's football practice, getting ready for the big meeting, getting ready for the real estate exam.  All of these tasks can have multiple tasks within .  There are a great deal of tasks management programs that will help you organize your life , but they all had one big flaw, and that is the way that they handled sub-tasks. 

The advantage of the managing tasks using sub-tasks, is that you will separate your tasks into projects.  This , for me , has been very powerful because I can easily group my tasks and focus on details that I may miss otherwise.  There is only one system that that I have found available that is both an Android application and a web application.  The application is called Doit.im.  

This powerful application gives you the ability to create tasks just as your simple tasks managers like Tasks (yes the application is called tasks) , but it goes much further with powerful subtasks options. The subtasks are used through projects.  Each project can have several subtasks.

Doit.im also has a powerful online application that is very consistent and works very well.  This application are for those that are highly productive and need to manage their lives like a business.  Doit.im is the perfect companion for the hustler in you!

Doit.im android application

Doit.im web application

Previous blog on Astrid with Producteev 

Education Moving Forward with Khan Academy

It is very easy to get too busy to make sure that the kids are studying. When you are consentrating on so many things, the kids get lost in the shuffle. Khan Academy is a great website that allows you to create a lesson plan that can be tracked.

I have found it very useful . My only problems are two things:  One you have to have a Google or Facebook account to join.  This was not a problem for my older kids but an issue for the seven year-olds.  My other issue is that the information tracking does not show up in the mobile application.  These small issues are small and I am sure they will be addressed with later updates to the site.  

I highly recommend that this site as it will give you a way to have study time over and above their school work.  

Check out this video where the one and only Bill Gates co-signs this site:

Resources:

Khan Academy 

Dropbox , Never Lose a Document Again

If you use a computer you will get into a situation that you will need Dropbox. There is nothing more stressful than having a presentation that you worked on all night, to wake up and your computer wont boot up!  Or what about the scenario when the print out of your term paper has gotten damaged by rain, and you are miles away from where your files are on your computer?  The less effective way had been to email things to yourself, which would make that document available for you anywhere.  The more clean and effective way to get this done is to use Dropbox.

Dropbox has gotten me out of way too many sticky situations for me to list.  The way that it works is it creates a folder on your computer that is synced with your Dropbox Internet account.  What ever you place in the folder is then accessible not only on your Internet Dropbox web account, but on any computer that you are using the Dropbox folder in.  To make this clearer:  Say you have a term paper that you save on your computer as termpaper.doc in your Dropbox folder on your computer.  That same document will be saved on your dropbox.com web site and on your second computer that also has the Dropbox program on it.  Also any changes made to the termpaper.doc will reflect on the web and the other computer instantly.

This is one of those must have apps for any busy person!

Resources:

Dropbox Website   
Dropbox Android App 

Evernote, Not Just for Recipes

I think if you have any experience with the Internet at all, then you have some familiarity with Evernote.  Evernote is the do it all program that is available for any platform you can think of Web, Android, iOS, Honey Comb, etc. The great thing about Evernote is that there is a lot for the busy man or woman in you.

Some of the uses are :

For students:

• If you are a student on campus use the HP View tablet has a pen enabled Evernote that will allow you to take a digital note writing on the tablet like a notepad.
• If you are an online student, use Evernote to start your discussion topics. 

For Business Owners 

• Use your mobile Evernote program to take pictures of business cards , which are then searchable in Evernote.
• Keep notes of things done for a client , this is a great way to keep time stamped notes for future reference. 

For the Home Administrative Engineer (House Wife/Husband)

• Using the mobile app , scan receipts to keep up with expenses and stay organized.
• Create a recipe book with pics and organize them with tasks for easy the reference. 

This is truly just a few things that can be done with Evernote, spend some time playing with it on all your devices so you have access to your notes everywhere.  

Resources:

Evernote Website

Evernote Android App