I figured since I’ve shared this with two people in the last week that someone else I know might benefit from this info. This quickie will show you how to email or print {if you have a printer setup} multiple photos at once from your iPhone or other iOS device {iPad, iPod touch}

First, tap to open your Photo Album.

2. Tap on the Sharing button {rectangle with curved-right arrow} in the top-right.

3. Tap each photo you’d like to share. You’ll see the blue-circle-check mark on the corner of each selected photo. Then, tap the Share button in the top-left corner and select Email.  If the Email button is grayed out you will need to deselect some photos {I have been able to send 6 screen grabs or 5 photos taken with iPad, # of photos taken with another device vary}

4. Compose your message and hit send. Voila!

One of the reasons you feel the need to check email email every 20 seconds is the fear that there might be something urgent sitting in your inbox. If you are serious about being more productive with email, you’ll need to eliminate the urgency from your inbox. If you’re not sure where or how to begin, AwayFind provides the means.

Once you create an account at AwayFind.com, they’ll place a link to your AwayFind contact form in your email signature or auto response message. When someone completes the contact form, you’ll receive a text message or you can elect to route messages for delegating to others based on the category selected.

Read about some of the common and creative uses for AwayFind here & here. If that’s not enough, at the end of the process you also get a few helpful bonuses in the form of video tips, a downloadable “Guide to NOT Checking Email” and specific instructions for how to turn off notifications within YOUR email application.

I met Jared Goralnick, the creator of AwayFind, at a local DC event and he invited me to try out the next version, AwayFind 2.0- Orchant, currently in beta, by invite.  He was also kind enough to provide a link good for 10 invites . You should definitely check out Jared’s blog at http://www.technotheory.com/- he definitely GETS how to be productive using technology.

The article features lots of pretty images, as you may have guessed, and it highlights  four “brilliantly organized spaces”.  It’s nothing that Real Simple or Nicole said specifically that offends me, it’s just that the message the media sends time and time again about ‘organized = perfection’ that is so bothersome to me.

When I started out as an organizer 6 years ago, I definitely bought into the pretty pictures, colorful bins and perfectly ordered supplies but I knew then (and feel even more strongly now) that living organized is about so much more.

Many of the solutions featured are achievable to some degree, depending on your budget.  But what the article doesn’t highlight is what ‘real-life systems’ are about it.  Living organized is not about having your bookshelves sorted by color;  it’s not about having your system be so pristine that no one else is allowed (or wants) to use it; and it’s certainly not primarily about purchasing a product or hiring a contractor to automagically create the perfect system for you…which is really all you’ll read in magazines & see on TV.

You can create your own definition of what living organized is about! In general, I think you would agree that it should:

• Allow you to find what you need when you need it & have the ability to store it quickly and easily without frustrating you.
• Work for everyone who needs to use it.
• Ease your stress.
• Free up time for the things & people you love.
• Keep things simple…

And, finally, what it doesn’t have to be is PERFECT!

What do you think?

Recently, I received an inquiry from another experienced professional organizer.  She was partially playing devil’s advocate but also wanted a measurable answer to the question:  “How do you know when something will take 2 minutes or less?”  So, I set off on a quest to find a clear, defined response.  While I’m not there yet, I did come across a fabulous and thorough post exploring frequently asked questions about the 2-minute rule from Tools-for-Thought.com.  Andre Kibbe begins with a little bit of history behind the “2-minute rule”:

“The two-minute rule was originated by business consultant Dean Acheson (no relation to the former Secretary of State), then incorporated into the Time/Design (Time/system in the US) methodology and later picked up by David Allen for GTD.

Acheson, who also coined the Next Action technique, would guide his clients through an in-basket processing session by having them ask of a next action, “Is it a short action?” If the answer was yes, the rule was to do it immediately rather than write it down for later review or action. Later, as Acheson came to realize that “short” was overly subjective, he changed the framing question to, “Can this be done in less than two minutes?”

Read the rest of the article here.

Who: Free Online OCR

What: Online conversion service from image or pdf to text

Where: http://NewOCR.com/

How Much: Currently free

Why: I serve on the chapter board of my professional association and had a PDF that required updating but did not have a copy of the text version of the file…and I will do just about anything to avoid retyping a document.  Of course, I only support using this tool for good and not evil- it should be used on documents that you own the copyright to.  It’s quick and easy to convert a document:

1. Browse to attach file

2. Select the language

3. Select whether to rotate the document

4. Click ‘send file’

Viola! Within seconds, you’ll have access to download the file as a text file or Word document!

For converting other types of document check out this Tech Toolkit tip.

David Allen, Quote from WIRED Magazine- Be creative amid chaos By David Allen|11 May 2009

Read the full article here.

There are quite a few paid survey services available like Survey Monkey, Online Survey from Constant Contact and Zoomerang, some of which even provide limited free access. I’ve used several of them and keep coming back to Google Forms. The paid survey services are pricey if running surveys isn’t your primary business and the data analysis process can be unnecessarily cumbersome and limiting.

Assuming you have a Google account, you are just a few steps away from a finished survey. First, go to the ‘Create New’ button in Google Docs and select the ‘Form’ option.

Begin by entering the ‘Question Title’ (i.e. question), any help text and selecting the desired ‘Question Type’, as follows:

• Text- allows your user to enter free-text in short form. While the ‘Text’ option doesn’t limit entry, it does limit the response viewing space
• Paragraph Text- choose this option for comments and long text responses
• Multiple Choice- displays all options defined by you, user selects one via radio button
• Choose from a list- displays drop-down box of a list defined by you, user selects one item
• Checkboxes- choose this option to allow for more than one selection from a list you define
• Scale- allows users to rate on a scale from 0 up to 10, you have the ability to choose the numbers (i.e. 0-10, 1-5, etc.) and the labels for the scale
• Grid- useful for rating multiple items on a scale up to 5 (in a row & column format) without the need to create an individual question for each.

Quick Tip: When typing the ‘Question Title’ you may also want to preface it with a number (eg. 1., 2., etc.) If you’ll be re-ordering your questions you may find it easier to add the number when you’re done.  Question numbering appears to be one of the only basic features Google overlooked, in my opinion.

Some additional features include the ability to:

• Make a question required
• Easily reorder questions by clicking and dragging
• Add section headers or page breaks
• Send user to a specific page based on the answer (multiple choice only)
• Select one of the 71 themes (I prefer ‘Clean & Simple’)
• Edit the survey confirmation message

Now you are ready to send your survey out- almost!  I highly recommend testing the survey and sending to a few friends for feedback first.  Then, you’re ready to email the survey link, embed it on your website, or share it on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, etc.

Finally, sit back and wait for the responses to come in…Whether sent in bulk or to just one, over a week or months, one-time or ongoing, responses are collected on your behalf into a spreadsheet.  I LOVE this part!! (yes, I’m flying my geek flag) You can sort, filter and analyze the data.  If you want to see the age of all survey respondents who live in a specific city, simply filter your spreadsheet by ‘city’ (assuming you include these questions in your survey). You are only limited by your spreadsheet skills…or lack thereof.  This is where Google Forms excels- no pun intended- really! And you can’t beat the price.

What do you plan to create a survey for? Please share in the comments.

Feel free to share a comment about what you love (or don’t) about Readability…

A while back, I shared a video and screen capture service called Jing- check out the post here.  Today, I received an update from Jing on their brand new feature that allows you to send output directly to Twitter.

So, if you’re looking to share video or images that already exist on the web, then definitely check out the Flyte Blog here and if you’d like to share video or screenshots right from the point of creation, Jing is a no-brainer.

Here’s a quick video (36 seconds) showing how easy it is to share your Jing videos and images on Twitter.

Do you have a way to share videos or images through twitter that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment.

Here are the three keys to creating a system that works. My three-pronged approach may seem quite obvious on the surface. However, when I work with clients who are struggling with their system they’re always missing one of these key components.  The ideal digital organization system requires software solutions for your desktop, the internet, and a mobile device.

Desktop software on a laptop or desktop computer will allow you to store, retrieve and work with information quickly (generally speaking, netbooks don’t currently provide enough processing power) and without access to the internet.

Recommended Solution: Microsoft Outlook (yes, currently only for PC users but Microsoft is releasing MS Outlook 2010 for the Mac) or Apple Mail for Mac; Evernote Desktop for Notes

Internet solutions or Software as a service (SaaS) will allow you to access your information if you don’t have access to your desktop in an emergency or if you are a frequent traveler.

Recommended Solution: Google Apps including Gmail (I recommend using IMAP to send and receive email), Calendar and Contacts; Google Sync for synchronization with Outlook; ToodleDo for tasks plus ToodleDo Sync to sync with Outlook or iCal subscription for the Mac; Evernote for Notes

A mobile device is the third prong and often where most systems fall apart.  The ideal handheld mobile device will allow you to quickly and easily capture information. If you’re serious about using technology to keep you organized it’s necessary to invest in a tool that you WILL use to enter information into when you are away from your computer. If you aren’t disciplined enough or hate your device, you simply won’t do it and your system will fall apart.

Recommended Solution: iPhone or iPodTouch using native functionality to sync email, contacts and calendar with Google; ToodleDo App for tasks; Evernote App for Notes. Please Note: The iPodTouch will not allow you full time connectivity, however, it provides the ability for you to enter information when you are on the go.

Finally, if you aren’t willing or are unable to implement this 3-pronged approach, I recommend establishing a hybrid paper/digital information organization system, which can work but requires some discipline…and that’s a topic for another day.  As I always say, if your system is working for you then don’t change it. But most likely you’re reading this because you have some questions about how to use technology to manage your day-to-day information. I invite you to ask your questions in the comments section.