Thing 13: Online Productivity Tools

I chose iGoogle as my main productivity tool for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, I already have Google Reader set up and have started using Google Docs for files that I want to work on at school and at home without worrying about carrying a jump drive. It seemed to make sense to have my productivity tool linked to my Google account also so everything is in one place. Once I read the article "Top Ten Productivity Web Sites" I was pleased to find that the author recommended iGoogle as the best such site - which served to solidify my initial reason for choosing that site over the others.

I explored a few of the list services and calendar sites, but again, it made the most sense to use the calendar and other functions on my new iGoogle page. I've never really kept a calendar - either in physical form as a planner or on the computer. But it is a nice function when needed. The one thing I didn't like about iGoogle was the sheer amount of applications you can have on your page. It might sound strange to complain about having options, but there are so many applications and tools that it's hard to find which ones work the best. I'm the sort of obsessive compulsive person that wants to know all the possibilities so I can make an informed decision about what I want to use - that's impossible because of the potential time involved on iGoogle and that bothers me. It took me 15 minutes just to decide on a theme for the banner across my iGoogle home page and I'm not even convinced that it is the best one! But there is a great trivia game on there that keeps a running score - huge time waster but fun.