My Go To Device

As anybody who knows me can tell you, I love technology and I love gadgets. But mostly, I love how they can be used to make our lives better. So as it’s been about three months since I got my iPad, I thought I would reflect on my experience so far.

On a regular basis, I am asked “what do you use it for?” The short answer is ” Almost Everything”. More and more, I am finding that my iPad has become my go to device with my Macbook Pro and iPhone taking a lesser role in my daily life. Don’t get me wrong, the iPad is not for the heavy lifting. I would not use it to create a complex spreadsheet of draft a contract however for content consumption it’s awesome.

And it’s portability, easy of use and abundance of apps allow me to greatly increase my productivity. I often take my iPad with me at times where I would not have wanted to lug a laptop. Did I mention that it’s lots of fun too?

So how do I use it on a daily basis? Here are some of my regular uses:

Apps

There are over 200,000 iphone apps most of which run on the iPad so there should definitely be some that you would find useful or fun. Although those iPhone apps that have not been yet been upgraded to utilize the iPad’s capabilities leave something to be desired. But don’t fret, there are plenty of iPad optimized apps.

So far my favorites include:

• Notes and Pages: for small documents and meeting notes
• Keynote: for editing and making presentations
• Things: Task/To Do Management
• iBooks and Kindle: for reading
• iPod: for music and Audiobooks
• Twitterific, and
• Scrabble

Of course my kids have their own favorites.

Web Browsing and Watching Videos

Surfing the web on the iPad is great. Web pages look great on the iPad’s 9″ screen. In general, I often prefer to use my iPad than my Macbook Pro and at 1.5 pounds and small size I take it almost everywhere.

It’s lack of flash support is definitely an annoyance. I think Apple made a mistake on this one and clearly they will lose sales by this omission, however that is the choice they made. There are however an increasing number of online videos that do support iPad friendly format.

Email & Note Taking

While I read and reply to many emails each day, I read more tan I reply and most of my replies are a few sentences or shorter. Even at my desk when my laptop is right in front of me I generally prefer using my iPad as graphically it is just so much nicer to look at. The virtual keyboard is an issue but I have found that after a while i got used to it.

I even now take my iPad to meetings to take notes. It is smaller, lighter and easier. It is also less intrusive as I don’t have a laptop screen sticking up and blocking the view between me and those in the meeting. Once the meeting is over its very easy to email the notes to others.

I could go on and on

Needless to say my iPad has become very useful to me.  And for those of you who are skeptical on being able to do real work, I wrote this post with the WordPress App on my iPad while enjoying a latte at Starbucks.

Tell me your favorite uses.

Is Constant Connectivity Costing You a Bundle?

Efficient Use of Time is Essential.

In this competitive age, efficient utilization of resources is essential to stay ahead of the game and there is no resource that is more valuable than our time. Yet with constant connectivity, we are bombarded daily with a barrage of phone calls, email, IM and Social Network notifications that make us feel compelled (or addicted) to respond to in real time.

Time Interrupts are Inefficient.

In addition to the electronic interrupts, there are the constant barrage of impromptu meetings that occur in the office throughout the day. With all these interrupts it is a wonder that we get anything done at all. What is the cost of this lost productivity?

Carve Out Some Time.

It is essential that you set some time aside each day where you can work in a uninterrupted fashion. In my case, this is early in the morning before I get to the office. In his blog posting “Breaking the email addiction” in the Harvard Business Review, Tony Schwartz gives some suggestions on how to wean yourself off the need to constantly stay connected.

Are you able to disconnect regularly? Do you schedule “uninterrupted” time? Let me know.