Five Ways to Use Tech to Get Organized This Year

It's up there with exercise, better diet, and travel. Even if you don't publicly proclaim a list of new year's resolutions to the world, most of us take stock this time of year, even if we make silent goals. And for the less orderly among us, chances are good that "get organized" is somewhere on the list.

Tech can help.  

Every year, there are more tech gadgets, online tools, and software to help you organize your personal and work lives. Here are five ways you can use tech to help organize every aspect of your life.

1. Use an online calendar: Moving your calendar online can help you share dates with family members and coworkers, and often sync calendars with phones. Yes, I use Yahoo! Calendar (login required). I used it before I started writing for Yahoo! Tech, and while it's not one of the newest web calendars, it just plain works for me and my family. I like that when a date or time appears in an email, I can click on it to make a quick calendar entry. Google Calendar has a clean, spare look and color coding for multiperson calendars—yep, good for families. AirSet is another good calendar system for families and for work projects. You can set up several group calendars, as well as share contacts, lists, files, messaging, photo albums, playlists, blogs, and links. Another calendar app with lots of fans: 30 Boxes, which has a simple interface, drag-and-drop editing, and fun features for social networkers, such as feeds from Facebook and Twitter.

2. Organize your finances online. If you've been leery of pulling all of your financial account info together online, this is the year to reconsider. I've been impressed with the My Portolio feature on the Bank of America banking web site. It allows me to pull together our investment, credit card accounts, and mortage loans to see our entire financial picture—the reassuring and the ugly. The company that provides the secure technology and tools to do this is Yodlee, which is also behind Mint, a free service that organizes your accounts with simple-to-use tools and an easy-on-the-eye design. Wesabe has similar tools with the added feature of a community where members help each other reach their financial goals. Read each of the site's privacy statements to find the one you are most comfortable with.

3. Get a smarter phone. Smartphones that combine the organizational tools of a PDA, reliable calling service, and 24/7 access to email used to be the sole province of the business set. No more. The iPhone has proven that. But if $400 is a bit stiff for your budget, consider the BlackBerry Curve if you want to mix business with style. Or the Helio Ocean if you just want style. For the cost-conscious who are making the jump to a smartphone, Palm is offering the Centro for $100 through Sprint. You get the reliable, if dated, Palm operating system and full QWERTY keyboard in a slimmer handset.

4. Make lists. Every day. One trademark of organized types is that they make lists, all the time. You don't need a desktop filled with colorful Post-It notes to jot down your to-do's. Instead, use Ta-Da Lists to make and update lists. Listography is another place to make lists to help you keep track of your resolutions and any other life lists. Try CircleUp to organize group to-dos, like soccer team carpools and snack lists and work project tasks.

5. Find the web app that's right for you. Chris Null likes Mozy for backing up files online. It makes Lifehacker's "2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps." You're sure to find something here, including password managers such as BugMeNot and Firefox's built-in feature, to help stay organized until 2009.

Let's help each other get organized in the new year. What are your favorite organizational tech tools?