Dispatches From the Next Generation: When Writing On Your Hand No Longer Works

From DFNG correspondent Nicole Norfleet, on summer break from UNC:

Summer used to be the most relaxing time of year, but I guess just like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, at some point you grow too old for "summer vacation." For me, the summer means having to get a job or an internship, making family trips and visits, and planning those awkward rendezvous with your old high school buddies.

It's hard to keep everything organized. Instead of jotting down a to-do list on little pieces of paper or keeping the names of the people you are meeting in a mental Rolodex, some people have turned to online organizing. The upside to having your schedule online is that you can't lose it; you can access it anywhere you can connect to the Internet. Obviously, that would mean the downside is that you can only see your schedule when you have Internet access.

Many people have heard of Google Calendar and Yahoo Calendar, but there are also some relatively new sites that can help.

30 Boxes

It's predicted that 30 Boxes (named after the average 30 days in a month) will be the online calendar of choice for the young and hip. I can see why people would say that -- you can connect your happenings from your Facebook, Flickr, and MySpace account to your calendar. But not everything associated with social networking sites is "the next big thing," ladies and gents. This tool is cool if you already use these sites to plan your parties and other events, however, if you don't use them then 30 Boxes may not be worth your time. While you can customize your page, there is no daily or weekly view which is irritating if you want to get detailed with your schedule.

MyMemorizer

No more tying a string around your finger. Post your events and the program will send you emails or text messages reminding you what you have to do. Creating the events take a little bit of time, however, I do like how you can tell the application how far in advance from the event that you would like to be reminded.

Kiko

Kiko is probably the hardest application to learn, but I like it the best. You can label categories by what type of things you have to do such as work, school, family etc. Plus the calendar can be looked at by the month, week and day. There is also a menu that shows some of your upcoming events as a quick reminder. This is my site of choice.

Ta-Da-List

I'll give it to them - it's very easy to use. But maybe it's just a little too easy. You can name a list. You can put events on a list. You can reorder your items on a list. I was bored within a couple of seconds. Ta-da!

Famundo

While this web site may look corny, I think it has the right niche. Famundo targets busy families and organizations, who need help communicating with multiple members. Each family member or organization member can drag their schedules on one schedule. Each person's schedule is designated a color and can be shared with other family members.