How you can use the Internet to get, stay organized in '08

By Rick Castellini Special to PRIME Ah, the time of New Year's resolutions is nearly upon us. Near the top many New Year's resolution lists is the promise to become better organized. Better organization starts with keeping to-do lists and calendars. If you are anything like me, keeping a paper calendar and to-do list quickly becomes bothersome and boring. Bothersome and boring leads to not keeping the calendar and to-do list current and eventually you stop it altogether. Computers, on the other hand, offer a little more pizzazz and interest in keeping up with these types of mundane activities. I know that I instantly became much more organized once I switched to computer calendars and to-do lists and even more so when I combined that with a Palm Pilot and now my Treo smartphone. Resolved: an organized you in '08! Today, however, the Internet offers many intriguing ways to keep track of your daily life. Using the online tools I will describe for you in this article not only help you keep organized, but also give you access to the organization tools from any computer, anywhere in the world. As a bonus, you also have the option to share or email your online calendar or to-do list to family and friends. And all these tools are free to use. Top three online organizers Our first stop on the Internet organization express is Google. Google offers some superb, simple tools to help you organize your life a little more easily. The Google Calendar(calender.google.com) works extremely well and contains some great options like emailing you notifications of upcoming events and even emailing friends or family of upcoming events. The calendar is laid out very simply and adding or changing events is a breeze. However, it does not offer a to-do list. Yahoo's calendar function(calendar.yahoo.com). Yahoo started offering online calendars years ago and therefore has a more robust system than Google. Adding and editing events and sharing calendars work similarly to Google's, but the Yahoo calendar system also gives you the option to have a text message sent to your phone as a reminder of upcoming events very handy! In addition, you can also create to-do lists (tasks) and even keep important, non-schedule related notes in a Yahoo calendar. Backpack. Ratcheting up the features even a little further, yet keeping all the simplicity and elegance of Google and Yahoo is a site called Backpack (www.backpackit.com). Backpack's online options include not only the calendar and to-do lists, but also photo galleries, uploading of documents and more. The user interface is inviting and easy to navigate and even if you only use the calendar option, you won't be disappointed. As this year draws to a close, don't fret about making those New Year's resolutions. In fact, if you don't usually make resolutions, easy-to-use organizational tools like the one's I described here might get you thinking about making those resolutions after all. The three online calendaring tools I featured aren't the only ones available, but I think they represent the best of the breed. Drink that last bit of eggnog, toast the New Year, then get your mouse, web browser and keyboard fired up to make 2008 your most organized so far. Rick Castellini is an author, computer consultant, and hosts a nationally syndicated computer radio show from Colorado. Visit his web site at www.HelpMeRick.com for new tips every week and sign up for his free weekly email newsletter.