Tot is one of those apps that is so simple, it does one thing but it does it really well. It’s for Apple devices, and for taking notes, but nothing fancy - super quick note-taking that syncs across devices so you can just get on with whatever you’re doing. The app is easy to use - you get a handful of pages, symbolised by the dots, and in each one you can make notes, add bullet points for a to do list, or break things up with very simple formatting.

My job involves a lot more meetings and scheduled phone calls than it used to, and although that is all managed through the calendar app, I’ve found jotting down the upcoming schedule on paper can be really helpful for me getting organised and prepared for the day ahead. I’ve tried a few different planners, initially starting with just a simple ruled notebook, and then moving on to the more dedicated planners for this exact purpose. I think I’ve found the pinnacle of these planners, made by Clever Fox.

Although I’ve stopped making specific New Year’s Resolutions (for the most part), there’s always one thing that I try and reboot each January 1st and that is being organised and staying productive. Whether it is trying out a new task list software, or actually finding a use for the notebooks I buy when I raid stationery shops, it is really difficult to end the year in the cool, calm state I start it.

There are lots of productivity apps and habit trackers available on the iOS store, but I have become partial to Streaks. It’s such a simple app that can really make a difference – although admittedly my streaks have not been so fruitful lately. The app is really easy to use. If you have a goal in mind, something you want to do on a regular basis (most likely daily, but can be adjusted to weekly or monthly if required), you can set it up on Streaks to track your progress. When you complete the goal on any given day, you just pop to the app and tap it as done. You can view your progress, and your statistics with a couple of simple taps, and you can do that for up to six different goals.

I’ve found the exams I’ve taken this year to be really quite intense and it turns out that the closer it gets to the day itself, and the more intense the revision is, the less room I have in my head for anything else. Whether that is writing on my own blog, connecting with people on Twitter, keeping up with news online, or listening to podcasts, everything comes to a grinding halt.

Time is my enemy at the moment. Life is a repetition of work, study, Sidepodcast, sleep. It is always better to be busy than bored, but frazzled is the word I’m choosing to use at the moment. With that in mind, here are a few things I’ve been using to try and make life a bit easier. News The Yahoo News Digest app intrigues me greatly, because I always think I’m interested in the news but when I settle down to read or watch, I find I’m not. The great design of this app, plus the fact that it is a limited selection of must-read news, makes it more appealing to people like me. I like the idea of checking off the stories, and having the days that you have read marked off on a calendar.

A week or so ago, I posted a picture of my bulging to-do list with the promise that I would get lots of things done over the Christmas period and shrink it, substantially. That was the plan. Of course, I was unexpectedly working over Christmas, which didn’t help matters, so it’s no surprise to see that the list still looks rather large. However, I did manage to complete a lot of the items on there, and although it looks almost the same as it did before, it’s had a bit of a shake-up. The trouble with completing items on the to-do list is that they invariably lead to more items, and thus it is a never-ending circle. So, I am embracing the list in all its new and shiny glory.

Here is my to do list looking quite a state. I have made it mostly hard to read because there are some quite fun and fabulous and secret upcoming things on there. Christmas provides a few days off, and I intend to get this list down to a more manageable size. It used to hover around the three quarters of a page length, and that I could deal with.

Mr C bought an iPad pretty much the moment he could, and we had fun for a while playing around on it. Mostly, it was in his custody though, and about a week ago, I noticed he really wasn’t getting the most out of it. So, I commandeered it. I have an iPad now! I’m still playing around with it, learning things, figuring out how I’ll use it and where, but here are five awesome things I have noticed so far:

Just a couple of things to note: I gave Chrome a try, I did, honest. I set it as my default and I used it for a couple of days. I really like the transition when you drag a tab to become a new window. Beautiful. I missed the Copy Link as Text Firefox plug-in something chronic. And when I was doing some F1 Minute stuff, Chrome was copy/pasting in a really funky way. Then it wouldn’t let me log into Gmail at all, no errors, just refreshing the page all the time. At this stage I have to say, it’s good but it’s not for me. I’m sorry. I know I have let you all down. For a long time, I’ve been scratching my head and wondering why people have their Twitter updates populate their blog. Aside from a little bit of extra content, I couldn’t figure it out. Mostly, I quite like it, it’s a good way of catching up with those conversations that Twitter doesn’t want you to see. Grr. Now I’ve figured it out, though, because it’s an excellent way of keeping your tweets for yourself. A backup of Twitter, if you like. Putting all that info out into the cloud is all very well, but if Twitter goes down (which isn’t out of the question!), it’s gone. Also, I have to hold up my hand and say I’ve been very un-MFC in the way I keep my to-do list. It’s been a scrap of paper. I tried lots of different systems, but it’s a habit you have to get into, and I couldn’t break the pen and paper thing. Thing is, then I lost the paper, and I was really mad. There is definitely something to be said for online productivity tools. I am now using a combination of Doris and Ta Da List, and I’m going to make it work this time. No more paper for me.

I think I might have found it! I’ve been going on and on about the need for a decent to-do list for a very long time. I’ve tried 37 Signals products, Remember the Milk, all that stuff. Nothing seemed to work. Now, I’ve found one, and it’s called: Doris. Yea, I don’t really get the name either, but it’s pretty useful. You can group your list items into as many sections as required, and they recommend having a Today group at the top. What I love is that you can drag and drop items from group to group, within each list, and you can even reorder the groups as you see fit.

I don’t usually make resolutions, as I know I’ll either break them or have forgotten them by the end of January. However, I had already been talked into doing so over at Sidepodcast.com, so I thought I might as well share my three very simple resolutions for 2009. Try and stick to a Wii Fit schedule. I enjoy it when I do it but quite often forget and only remember when I’m tucked up in bed. Be a bit more house proud. I spend a lot of time in the one room - office - and often leave the rest of the flat to ruin. I want to pay more attention and try and keep things “nice”. Stick to one kind of to-do list. In my endless quest to find the ideal to-do list, I have spread my tasks all over the internet, the desktop, and my notepads. If I stick to one, then at least I’ve got a central place to adapt to my needs. Like all good resolutions, you should just start them when you think of them, rather than waiting for a specific day. I have already been mindful of these in the last two weeks, but I think January will be the real test.

Since the dawn of time, but also quite recently, I have been looking for a decent to-do list manager. This is how it used to work: While I’m out all day, I keep a list of things that I need to do, remember, or think about on a scrap of paper. When I get home, I action all the ones I can and cross them off the list, then transfer the rest to a master list in a giant notebook.

My to do list has reached epic proportions, and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. For a long time I just ignored it, hoping that it would go away. But it didn’t seem to, it stuck around, and so I went back to it. Thankfully, I’ve now started to cross things off, which makes the day seem just a little bit brighter. I love crossing things off my list. If I’m about to start doing something that I know isn’t on the list, I will write it down, just so I can cross it off when I’ve done it. It’s the sense of achievement, and the feeling that I’ve actually managed to do something productive.