GeekSugar

How to Receive a Daily Agenda From Google Calendar

GeekSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:20:35 -0700

Google Calender has tons of features that make it easy to stay organized, and one of my fave tools is the daily agenda email.

To get your daily agenda, just go into your GCal and look in the left margin for My Calendars. Click the down-arrow button and then click Notifications. Check off the "email" button next to Daily Agenda. Click save and you're all set.

The daily agenda emails will hit your inbox each day at 5 a.m., so even if you forget to open up your calendar that day, you'll still know what's going on. And you can get separate agendas if you have different Google calenders for different groups.

Geek Tip: Add the Date to Your Top Nav Bar

GeekSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:25:05 -0700

Do you ever ask people around you what the date is, even though you have like, five applications available that will tell you? Not only do I have iCal in my dock, but iGoogle (which I have open all day), and my iPhone can all tell me the date at the click or push of a button. Call me lazy, but sometimes when I'm feverishly typing along, I don't want to stop and check to make sure my dates are right. So here's a shortcut for you Mac users: add the date to your top nav bar. Trust me, it's pretty handy.

To see the step-by-step instructions on how to add the date to your Finder nav bar, just read more.

Open up your System Preferences
Click on "International"
Click Formats
Under the dates section, click "Customize"
Under "Show," use the drop-down menu to select "Medium"
Copy the month and date from the field, then hit "Cancel"
Under the "Times" section, click "Customize"
Under "Show," use the drop-down menu to select "Medium"
Paste the month and date at the end of the time format
Click "OK"

You're all set! You'll now see the date as well as the time at the top of your Finder's nav bar.

Do You Keep Your Plans Electronically or By Hand?

GeekSugar — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:10:11 -0800

Pretty much everything I need to know, I have in my iPhone or BlackBerry.

Appointments, plans with friends, meetings, events - they're all in there somewhere. But I can't deny the secure feeling of a leather day planner in my hands, and knowing that the paper pages inside have my plans on them in ink.

Even though I'm a geek and I love and trust my electronics to get me through everything, I still find myself reaching for the tactile confidence of a pen and piece of paper (even Gina Trapani said so) for notes and the occasional reminder. . . which then, ends up in my phone. And yet, I kind of want something beautiful to write my plans in, like this Kate Spade Day Planner.

Anyway, tell me: How do you keep your plans?

Get a Tip a Day With Google Countdown!

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:00:09 -0800

Eeeeeee! It's almost 2009! Whether or not you have done all you wanted to in 2008 (at the very least, do try to make your voice heard on some Best of 2008 polls), the end of the year is nigh - and Google wants to help you get there with Google Countdown.

Follow along with Google and you'll be rewarded one useful tip per day (such as iGoogle holiday themes and baking measurements). Me, I just like seeing the days, hours, and minutes count down before my eyes. . . like sands through the hourglass.

Website of the Day: Deadline

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:00:02 -0800

I'm not as obsessive about my online calendars all the time as I wish I were - I would never forget about the occasional appointment or date I made on the fly. Even though I use calendars, sometimes you just need really straightforward reminders - which is what Deadline is great for.

For instance, I have a doctor appointment on my calendar, but what I really need is an alert a half hour before I need to leave for that appointment. I just need to add a deadline from the home screen, set the time and date, and make sure I set when I want to be notified by email so that I can get to my appointment on time (I set it to go off a half hour before). No more sheepish calls about why I'm not where I was supposed to be!

Bubble Wrap Calendar Has My Fingers Itching to Pop

GeekSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:45:13 -0700

Everyone knows I'm a big fan of bubble wrap (little Katie Sugar loves it too!). Whenever a package comes in, I pray for the bubbles instead of those lame peanuts that I can't do anything with (besides toss them up in the air and create my own personal snow globe).

The Bubble Wrap Key Chain has quelled my need for popping somewhat, but I need more! More bubble wrap, I say!

Enter the Bubble Wrap Calendar, which allows me to pop a new bubble every day of the week! The calendar even comes complete with holidays and important dates printed right on the bubbles. And bonus, it's handmade in Brooklyn! My only concern? What will keep me from popping all the bubbles today?!

Best Online Calendars For the New Year

GeekSugar — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:30:41 -0800

If you hope to be more organized this year I suggest you spend some time selecting an online calendar that can easily sync with your gadgetry and life.

Though relatively unknown Famundo has received a lot of attention lately for being a great option for families. They call themselves a "family hub" and hope to replace your wall calendar, address book, filing cabinet, fridge magnets and yellow sticky notes. Famundo offers Outlook synchronization, a list maker and even a family library for storing your documents, photos, bookmarks and other personal information.
You all know I am a die hard fan of the free shareable Google calendar, which makes it easy to keep track of birthdays, schedules, dates and appointments. I couldn't live without its invitations feature, which allows you to send invites to friends and family.
Real Simple recently sang the praises of Which Time so I checked it out and am pretty impressed with its set up. It seems like a simpler version of Google Cal or Famundo and takes style points from iCal. The calendars can be downloaded or accessed from the web.

Geek Tip: Organize TV Shows With CAT Online Calendar

GeekSugar — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:00:30 -0700

On Wednesday night I found myself in quite an embarrassing conundrum: After many reminders from BuzzSugar, I set my TiVo to record "Gossip Girl" and the series premiere of "Dirty Sexy Money" and completely forgot to record or tune in to "Private Practice."

I typically don't watch that many shows a night, but realized there are many people who do, so I did a little searching and found CAT (Calendar for TV), which lists primetime shows on a monthly calendar.

CAT marks premieres in orange and offers a rollover episode synopsis. If you don't have TiVo or a DVR, but care about keeping up with certain shows you should check it out. I won't miss a premiere again.

Source

How To Create Your Own 'Seinfeldian Chain'

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:00:56 -0700

Jerry Seinfeld once told an aspiring comic that he uses a unique calendar system to force himself to write and achieve goals. It's a simple system - you just mark days off with a big red "X."

Much like crossing off days or goals in your good old moleskine, you'll feel accomplished and successful if you follow suit. "After a few days you'll have a chain," Seinfeld reportedly told the comic. "Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

How does it work? The widespread use of web calendars means no one marks dates off on big wall calendars anymore, but you can do it online with the Seinfeldian Chain. It will allow you to keep track of your progress toward any goal. You can give your chain a special name (say maybe a fitness goal or goal to make meals at home) and then save it by clicking on the provided link. Bookmark the page and you'll be ready to mark away toward your goal.

Website of the Day: eventful

GeekSugar — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:03:08 -0700

Want to know what's going on in your city? Check out eventful.com, a website that has the world's largest collection of events. From festivals, to concerts, to sporting events, this site covers it all in one place.

Now you can keep track of all the events you're interested in and any events your friends are watching or attending. Receive event reminders and track your favorite performers or venues events. You can also personalize your events page and tailor your experiences by choosing your favorite performers and venues. It's simple to use and jammed packed with fun events. So much to see and do, oh me oh my!

To learn how to post your favorite sites to the Website of the Day group, read more

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you love the website, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all of your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!