By nature, workshifters need to have flexible solutions to suit their "work anywhere" style. Here are three tools I use to stay on top of projects and be efficient with every keystroke - at my desk, on the bleachers, or in the library.

Tom's Planner: Visualize Project Planning

Tom's Planner is web-based project planning software which produces Gantt-style charts. Schedule tasks, organize timelines and assign resources. Groups categorize tasks into functional areas, and a status field establishes stage of completion or to-do notes. Tom's Planner lets you create charts and save them to the cloud for access from any computer. You can also save a copy to your local hard drive as an image or a PDF. Collaborate and share with team members by distributing access privileges.

Pros

• Free (for one schedule) to low cost (20 schedules)
• Much easier and more intuitive than Microsoft Project 
• Rapid deployment - get projects rolling quickly 
• No installation necessary (a great work-around if your IT department is rigid)

Cons

• Would be more useful if it had the ability to create subsets of tasks 
• Lacks customization of color palette or the ability to add texture (would help with a large project) 
• Icon options are pretty limited 
• Opens in a new browser window, cluttering up the desk tray

Evernote : Remember Things

Evernote is a clever way to digitally capture, categorize, and save everything. Save a voice memo or text note (the weekly deals from your favorite dining spots). Save a photo of a friend or a copy of a receipt for your expense report. Clip part of an online article to jump-start your next blog post. Evernote lets you save all of that important stuff up to your cloud account for access from any computer or mobile device.

What makes Evernote super-usable is the indexation and searchability. That photo of your receipt from Panera contained text, right? Well that text - "Panera," and anything else in print - are searchable! Add tags to give saved items further meaning and organize all your stuff into stacks.

For example, if you offer freelance writing services you could have a "stack" of Evernotes for each client. Within each of those stacks you could have receipts tagged with specific project ID numbers or meeting dates.

Pros

• Printed and handwritten text within images is completely searchable 
• Free, up to 60 MB per month storage 
• Synch across all platforms

Cons

• You have to just try it to "get it" (kind of like Twitter)
•  The free version has promos/ads (not a real big deal, though)

Dropbox: Cloud File Storage

Dropbox allows you to work on stored files even if you're offline (it synchs up when you go online). Create folders and subfolders to store documents, spreadsheets, photos and other media. Dropbox gives you 30 days of Undo history for free! Talk about savin' bacon. The free account gives you 2GB of space that's accessible for an unlimited amount of time. Don't risk losing your work due to a hard drive crash. Use Dropbox to save everything to secure remote servers.

Pros

• Synch all files online 
•  Access stored files from multiple computers and mobile devices 
• Collaborate through file sharing privileges 
• There are safeguards in place if a connection gets dropped

Cons

• The synching isn't instant, although it's pretty close

There you have them, three of my favorite productivity tools. What are your favorites, and why?

Photo Credit: smemon87

If you're anything like me, you carry a lot of gadgets. My list typically includes chargers, USB cords, laptop, extra batteries, phone, iPod, Flip, headphones and an earpiece. When traveling abroad, I also bring a GSM phone and country specific adapters. All in all, I'd say I am gadget obese.

This only became an issue recently, as I was planning a business trip to Europe. I knew I would be leaving straight from a family vacation so I had to get packed early. Given the weight of my backpack (17 pounds) I decided to go on a gadget diet, mostly on purpose and somewhat by accident. The only tech items I packed were:

• 1 iPad
• 1 Verizon HTC phone (that's the accident; it doesn't work in Europe)
• 2 Chargers (phone/iPad)
• Adapters

The first thing I noticed was that I lost about 7 pounds of gadget fat; less cords, chargers, metal, etc. I was thrilled about shedding all that weight, but now I was worried about being productive with just an iPad.

I first used the iPad when I went skiing over the holiday. I immediately had a large appetite for apps. I grabbed everything from Angry Birds to Evernote and HootSuite; digital magazines like CNN, BBC, Martha Stewart and Maxim...yes, Martha and Maxim. I'd heard that Martha had the best digital experience and Maxim is, well, Maxim. It was in the "M" section, so why not?

I went from my holiday straight to Europe. Now it was time to see if I could survive on my gadget diet. I ran the iPad through its paces. The email client worked great on both Google and Exchange, but now comes the rub. Downloading and viewing attachments via Exchange was cumbersome and I usually couldn't view the entire document. And forget about editing the doc. So I decided to try the Citrix Receiver app. With Receiver, I was able to access Windows applications, and view my desktop files which was helpful during meetings, but I found the speed and navigation to be a bit challenging. That said, I'm really looking forward to using GoToMyPC on the iPad. I know that's a convenient lead-in to our product, but I mean it...its very cool.

One thing that took some getting used to was typing on the iPad. All those typing lessons I learned in school were useless. I was back to typing with one finger. It was more like poking than typing. Over time, I became surprisingly quick. In fact, I wrote the majority of this post on the iPad using Evernote.

While on the plane ride over I tried iBooks and Kindle for the iPad. I downloaded Tony Hsieh's new book on one, and C.C. Chapman's new book on the other. I prefer the page turning experience on the iBook app. It felt more book-like. I also prefer the buying experience on the iBook. It's less cluttered and more intuitive.

What I also found interesting was that I used Apps to navigate the web as opposed to Google. I know how weird that may sound, but I really enjoyed the experience. I was not as productive in terms of output, but I was more efficient in how I consumed information and media.

I highly recommend you try the Gadget Diet for one week. It's fun to challenge accepted norms about technology and productivity. It's also nice not to carry the extra weight around.

Write back; I'd love to hear about your Gadget Diet.

Photo Credit: SlipStreamJC

2010 seems to have been the year mobile gadgets have really become ubiquitous. Smart phones, laptops and the like are no longer just for professional uses. It's hard to walk through a public facility anymore without seeing people of all ages on their smart phones and mobile computing devices. As workshifters you know that the majority of the weight in any of your carry on bags these days is at least 50% gadgets and devices. Well, mine is anyway. The biggest challenge all of these devices bring us on a daily basis is having the ability to access the information you need from any of them.

Today I'd like to talk about an app that I use all the time and has been a lifesaver on many occasions: Dropbox. Dropbox gives you the ability to access data across a multitude of devices and share that data with anyone you allow access to.

Last year at about this time I was speaking at one of the biggest events of my life. While traveling on the plane to the venue my laptop screen decided it was going to just stop working. No warning and no Apple store in sight when I landed. Luckily, I had placed my presentation in my Dropbox folder and had it stored safely up in the cloud. 15 minutes after landing I sent a message to the event promoter and asked if he might be able to lend me his computer to do my presentation. He was more than happy to help me out and within 20 minutes I had alleviated the stress of having to give my presentation without slides.

This is the magic of Dropbox. Heck, my wife is as far from a geeky gadget gal as anyone but loves the Dropbox app! We place photos of our 12 week old son in the secure Dropbox and she then has the ability to show them to anyone that asks via her Andriod based smart phone installed with the Dropbox app without taking up precious memory space.

Dropbox can serve a multitude of functions but really excels with the workshifting professional that wants to have important backups and files easily accessible from any device with internet access. Give it a try today. they have a free 1 Gig plan as well as some paid plans.

Let me know what you think of Dropbox!


Photo Credit: Akakumo

With Google Voice turning one year old and becoming available to U.S. residents, it's time to highlight the benefits to workshifters.

1. Choose a Local Number or use your existing mobile number
At my company I have the ability to forward my office phone to another number. However, the call can't be forwarded unless the number I'm forwarding to is in the same area code as my office. Nowadays, people aren't choosing to have home phones, they're using their mobile phone as their main contact number. And...why change your cell phone number if you relocate to that area code since almost all calling plans are national and don't charge long distance fees. With Google Voice, you can pick a phone number in any desired area code or zip code and set that as the forwarding number, which will automatically ring any and all phones you choose.

2. Transcribed voicemail
When you're in the plane, you can't make and receive calls over airplane wifi, but you do get internet access. If you miss a call and the caller leaves a voicemail it will be transcribed and sent to you as an e-mail, SMS, or both.

3. Visual voicemail
Having visual voicemail is such a time saver. I can see who called, when, see the message as a transcription, archive it, and not have to dial in and listen to a string of messages. Get in, get the info, and get out!

4. Personalized voicemail greetings
This is one of the BEST options; personalized voicemail. All you gmail contacts and groups are accessible through Google Voice. You have options to create personalized voicemails for groups (family, work, friends) or for individuals. Changing the voicemail message is quick, easy, and instant; taking less than a minute. It's especially useful if your work calls are forwarding to your Google Voice number because you can record the same greeting you have on your office phone and the caller/client won't know the difference.

How do you use Google Voice?

Photo credit: Google
 

Successful workshifting is not only about being flexible and adaptable; it's about being resourceful.Having the right tools at the right time. To keep my productivity at a high level, I always try to talk with other iPhone users to discover their favorite apps. I've learned so much to help manage my daily activities.

We've already talked about note-taking and file storage, two app categories every workshifter must have. But what about the others? There has to be more. To get the conversation started, here's my list of go-to apps:

1. Ego ($1.99) - If you like keeping track of your analytics, Ego is a handy application. I can monitor my blog subscribers along with page views and unique subscribers. I can immediately tell when something unusual is happening with my website traffic and investigate.


2. Social Media Apps - Instead of separating them out, I'm just gonna lump the common social networking apps together. LinkedIn (free), Facebook (free), and your favorite Twitter app are a must. Speaking of Twitter, I can't decide between Twitter (free) or Tweetdeck (free), so I have them both. My connections/friends/tweeps tend to use these applications instead of email, so I like to have access and be in a position to respond.


3. Bump (free) - If you're trying to swap contact info with someone and don't want to do the old school business card, Bump is fun way to swap data. If both people have the app, you just open the app - do a fist bump - and viola! contact info is loaded on your iPhone.


4. FedEx (free) - Recently, I've had to send a couple of overnight packages while traveling. This app from FedEx is wonderful. You can load the tracking number and have peace of mind the package arrived on time.


5. Southwest Airlines (free) - Being a consultant, I travel quite a bit. And Southwest Airlines offers great rates (remember bags fly free!) But the secret to traveling on Southwest is checking in at the right time. With the Southwest Airlines app, you can check in using your iPhone.


6. Open Table (free) - When I'm at a conference or an out of town meeting, the conversation always turns to "where are we having dinner?" I try to do some research for cool places on the front end, but if time escapes me, I look to Open Table. I can search for restaurants in the area and make a reservation. All from my iPhone.


7. Starbucks (free) - And the same goes for that morning cup of coffee or tea. Need to find someplace for a caffeine fix or just looking for some free WiFi? The Starbucks iPhone app will take care of you.

And I can't resist tossing in a couple of apps to kill time between appointments or while you're waiting at the airport. Enjoy Sudoku (free and premium versions) and Zombie Farm (free) - two of my latest faves.

What are the iPhone apps that help you stay productive? Drop us your favorites in the comments.


Photo Credit: William Hook

In Matt Martin's post, A Confession: Three Workshifting Sins, he admits to a pretty common practice: using the same password on multiple websites. I've done it. I bet you've done it, too. Well, no more, I say. I've got a few recommendations for password management tools that should help prevent you from ever re-using the same password again.

KeePass
For the longest time I was using KeePass as my primary password management tool. Its open source and came with a strong recommendation from my security buddies, not to mention the countless posts about it on Lifehacker. The only reason I switched is because their cross-platform support is somewhat limited. I love the Windows client and made due with the Mac client, but after I added the iPad to my arsenal of devices I got a little tired of the different user interfaces across the different platforms. You can easily couple KeePass with Dropbox to help you synchronize the database across your computers.

1Password
I didn't test 1Password personally, but received numerous recommendations for it from my colleagues. The only reason I didn't give it a test drive is because they are heavily slanted towards Apple devices. They have a client for Mac, iPhone/iPad, and a beta client for Windows. One of the cool things about 1Password is that they have a dedicated section for managing software licenses. What's more, they also allow you to attach files to your entries.

eWallet
Like 1Password, eWallet is designed to be used for more than just password management. Think of eWallet like a secure digital wallet with all of your important information locked up inside it. They've got great mobile support (iPod touch/iPhone/iPad, Blackberry, Palm, Windows Mobile), but only have a client for Windows PCs.

SplashID
SplashId, by far, has the most comprehensive cross-platform support without going to a browser-based tool like LastPass. Their clients provide support for customizable record types, which means you can store just about anything you want in their AES/256-bit Blowfish encrypted database. I highly recommend you give SplashID a thorough review before making your final decision.

LastPass
As their name indicates, LastPass positions itself as the last password you'll ever need to remember. Unlike all of the other password management tools listed above, this is the only one that doesn't have a traditional OS-dependent installer. Instead you install the LastPass extension (IE, Safari, Firefox and Chrome are supported) and it automatically integrates with your browser. They also have an app for the iPhone/iPad.

Personally I decided to use LastPass. They've got an excellent subscription-based license model (unlike most of the others that are per OS/platform) and most importantly it integrated with my regular workflow. When I was using KeePass I didn't always update it with new usernames/passwords so I would eventually end up re-using passwords to keep things simple. Now that LastPass automatically stores my usernames and passwords and automatically fills in forms I've gotten to the point where I only need to remember my password for LastPass. I've even gone so far as to use their auto-generated, super-crazy passwords. What's more secure than not knowing your own 20-digit password?

Do you have a favorite password management tool that's made your life easier? Leave us a note; we'd love to hear about it.


Photo Credit: Bruno Santos

Whenever I'm out of the office, it never fails that I need a file I don't immediately have access to.  A typical example is I'm at a conference or job site and a prospective client wants some info about my company.  Instead of saying they need to wait until I get back to the office to send something, I've been looking for a way to have a couple of files on my iPhone.  That way when I get a call, I can just email the information.

So I've been trying out a few iPhone file storage apps to hold everyday documents.  The ones I looked at were GoDocs, Box.net and Dropbox.

Very similar to my last post on note-taking apps, all of these apps provide tutorials or help documents to get you started.  And good news!  They are all available for the iPad.

GoDocs ($3.99) is a great app if you use Google docs on a regular basis.  I have a few assignments where the team is using Google docs to report project results and this app gives me access to those files.  You can view files online or offline.  And I really like the ability to email files.  I didn't see a way to edit a document - hopefully that will come in future versions.

Dropbox (Free) provides a lot of flexibility when it comes to storage.  It's easy to use - simply drag/drop files.  It also supports multiple file formats.  If you have a group of people who need access to a file, Dropbox also has a collaboration feature. 

One thing that was interesting about Dropbox is the ability to earn extra storage space with referrals.  So if you're part of a group looking for a file storage app and leaning toward Dropbox, be sure to check out their referral program details.  You can also share a referral link with your Facebook and Twitter friends
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Box.net (Free) offers many of the same features as Dropbox (i.e. drag/drop files, multiple file format support and collaboration options).  A couple of additional noteworthy items include being able to email a file link and the ability to edit documents.  The free version gives you 1G storage and a premium versions can boost that storage to 10 - 15G for a fee.
 
Having a good file storage app can make life easier for any workshifting situation.  The three things that seem to set file storage apps apart are (1) how much storage space you need, (2) what file formats you work with most often, and (3) if you need editing capability.

 
What kinds of file storage apps are you using?  Leave us a note in the comments.



Photo Credit: jazzmasterson