Google Calendar

I just wanted to take a moment to blog about a little gadget I have recently come to love.

 

 Now, I have loved Gmail, Google Documents, and Google Reader for years now, but I have only recently tried Google Calendars.

 

It is very similar to iCal on my mac, which I LOVE. But there are some key differences/additions that have gotten me hooked.

 

1. I can pull this up on any computer as long as I have internet. My iCal is great because I don't need internet, but I have to have my computer.  If I am at work or on a campus computer, I am out of luck. But Google Calendars is accessible anywhere, even on slow old PCs.

 

2. It has an awesome Tasks List. 

 

 I am a list maker. I love lists. Sticky notes with lists. Everywhere. The best part of a list is that you get to cross something off when you are done.  Yes, I am one of those people who will just write something down so I can cross it off.  In the summer of 2009, when I was working in the main office at camp, Jason had a huge list written on the board in his office.  Above it said, "Haley's List."  I worked very hard to get things done on this list.  But Jason never let me cross anything off! He would always do it himself.  He said that it was his list, so he got to get the joy of a job completed.  I don't really know what is fair about this, but lets just say it forced me to work with the intrinsic motivation I already had instead of for the extrinsic reward of crossing things off a list. Or maybe I am just being a little dramatic.  He still rewarded me with Sonic.

 

Anyway, this list maker is awesome and super easy to use! When you check something off, it is checked AND the words get crossed out! Amazing! Your tasks also show up on the calendar if you give them a due date.

 

3. I can share my calendars with anyone. 

 

 

Nick and I can both have our calendars in the same place.  This is definitely one thing we can't really do with iCal.  I like it because we can see what we have going on, and it helps avoid conflicting schedules.  

That is all. If you don't already use Google Reader, you should look into that now. And I would suggest checking out the Calendar feature while you are at it.