I’ve been searching for a ‘weekly calendar template’ out there and haven’t found one that suits my needs. I ended up making this template in MS Excel. This calendar template features 30 minute increments from 6am until midnight. 6am to midnight is my general awake time.

I would like to make a 24 hour calendar but those don’t fit neatly on paper.

Here’s the calendar: Weekly Calendar (XLSX)

Enjoy!

I’m in the process of making a new binder/planner system for me. It was missing a task list to help me manage tasks.

For a little history, I have been shopping around for the ultimate planner. I realized that I’m too picky and could not conform to another person’s standards. The other part was that I couldn’t justify getting a planner that contained a blank calendar and pages for contact information.

It’s almost set. I’ll release it to you once it’s all done. For now, you can have the task list. Here’s my logic behind my system. The first column is the status–in progress, delegated, canceled, etc… Pick your symbols and roll with it. The second column with the triangle is my priority system…triangle, delta, change. Or something like that because you have to constantly prioritize and juggle things around. In this box, you can put numbers or letters.

The rest is self explanatory. Oh, I forgot about the main box at the top labeled Category. I use category for things like home, work, school, shopping, or other.

Enjoy! Comment on what you like or don’t like. I’m constantly changing these to fit my needs. I’m interested to see what you’re lists look like.

Task List – Made with Excel 2010

I’m behind in starting off my blog in 2011. I thought I was going to give myself a new resolution that I’ll blog everyday. Obviously that didn’t happen.

Here’s a calendar I made to look at the year in a glance. I like this look especially since I like to plan out my weekends.

It’s here for you to download. Enjoy.

Excel 2011 Vertical Calendar (Made with Excel 2010).

Updated: I added more raw data on the second sheet for vertical calendars for 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

I needed to make an invoice. I searched Microsoft’s Template Gallery and found a couple of invoices but none of them worked out for me. A lot of them had password protection so you are not able to perform certain functions like print or change things around.

I decided to make my own. This template was made in Excel 2010 and should be compatible with previous versions.

Let’s walk through it. The first thing you’ll notice is the logo. Guess what, you can change it. Add your own logo. Also at the top, you’ll see a place for address. This address information will repeat itself at the bottom of the page.

Now for the important stuff. The description, rate, quantity, total. The total is already has the calculation to multiply the rate and the quantity. Oh, I forgot to mention that you can change the headings to whatever suits your business. I usually have description, rate, hours, and total. Bottom line, you don’t have to change the calculations.

Moving downward to subtotal and taxes. If you don’t add tax, just delete the tax line.

For notes, I was trying to look for some kind of guarantee or service level agreement but I didn’t find one worthy for the kind of work that I do. Plus, I charge for interesting things out there. I hope you enjoy using this form.

Please send me an email letting me know if I should change things or if you generally like the form.

Download: Invoice Template – Excel 2010

Here’s a system to help create a streamlined process to organize a weekly menu in your household. This menu planner is broken down into breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. The other part of this system is the grocery list. The grocery list is also broken down into days of the week.

I’m not sure about you but I like my ingredients fresh. The consequence is that I have to go grocery shopping mid-week (sometimes 3 times a week) to gain a certain level of freshness. Also, I rarely buy frozen foods.

I tried to categorize the grocery list but ran out of room. That’s why I have “other” at the bottom.

Give it a try. Let me know if this works for you.

Enjoy!

Downloads:
Weekly Menu and Grocery List – PDF
Weekly Menu and Grocery List – Excel 2010

College students are spoiled with awesome technology. Every kid has a laptop, cell phone, PDAs…and I’ll stop before I show my age. Back to the point; I was browsing iTunes store and stumbled upon a really cool app–Eidetiq. Eidetiq is a phone app created by Chubby Weasel Technologies. At first glance this app records the class lectures (sound only). What good is that? There’s the voice recorder already in the iPhone. Eidetiq steps it up a notch by adding the ability to take photo snapshots of whiteboards and maybe your classmates’ notes while recording sound.

I’m sure Eidetiq comes from Eidetic. “Eidetic or photographic memory is popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in abundant volume.” –Wikipedia

Replaying the lecture is easy. Select the lecture, press play. When you first replay the lecture, you’ll see the first picture taken as you start to hear the lecture. Then as the lecture progresses you’ll see the next picture at the point where you took the picture and so on. I wish I had this when I was in school…I might have gotten better grades.

The app is really easy to use and the desktop client to replay the lecture makes playback easy. The icons are a cool addition too.

While the main purpose of this app is to take notes for students, teachers and professors, I’ll use it in my daily work life where I need to take notes and take pictures of those whiteboards of some office meetings. No more inaccuracies in meeting minutes! Yes, I’m just a little bit excited.

I don’t normally give ratings but this app is definitely 4 out of 5 stars.

Here’s a description from Chubby Weasel:

Students, teachers and professors use Eidetiq to take notes, to remember facts and to catch missing points from lectures where audio recording is approved. With Eidetiq, you log your notes automatically so that you can concentrate on listening and interacting with your professor and class in order to retain what’s really important. You can use Eidetiq to record approved lectures, simultaneously capturing the audio and clicking pictures of important events. The pictures are synchronized to the audio, so that you can easily replay what was said during the time where you photographed the event. Professors and teachers use Eidetiq to capture what works in their lecture for future reuse, as well as to record photos of white board and overhead in-class work.

Using free software that you download on your laptop, the Eidetiq app automatically syncs to your Mac or Windows machine. On your computer, you can review your recorded lecture including photos timetagged to audio for better retention and clarification of important points. Collaboration and improved learning and study techniques will result.

Here are some features I’d like to see in next versions:

• Highlight the picture or mark it up
• Bookmarks in the lecture
• A way to search for lectures

References:
http://eidetiq.com

I was so frustrated one day while using prepackaged note templates that I decided to create my own. My frustration was built from not having the right fields of the things I needed to take down to follow up with later.

Plus, I really like personalized stationery. Let’s go over the template I have. I created it in Microsoft Word and used a bunch of tables and lines to draw out the boxes. The only reason why I did this in Word was freedom from Illustrator, Pagemaker, and Photoshop on my machines that don’t have the software. The top line is basic: Topic and Date. The second line can be customized for your liking. When I created this, I was in school, part of a couple of organizations and working all at the same time. The Other field was saved for things like home stuff or conferences.

Notes and Questions are the main part of this template. Take notes on the left and write down questions that you have on the right. After doing some research, I guess this looks like the Cornell Note-Taking Format or Column Format except they put questions on the left and notes on the right. Whatever the case, this format works for me. I guess mainly because I’m taking notes while at work or doing something for an organization. I also use the box on the right to doodle and as a task list.

The bottom of the template helps me organize what I should do next or who to call.

I added a PDF version for you to print out but also the original version for you to personalize. Enjoy!

References:
Meeting Notes (PDF)
Meeting Notes (MS Word)

I included an Xpad in Christmas List for 2009 and opened it on Christmas day. What a difference! Normally, after hours of playing, I semi-burn myself on my MacBook Pro. Not anymore. This geeky gadget provides a great shield against the heat and also helps cool down my system for better performance.

Out of the box I noticed that my laptop is running cooler…about 20 degrees cooler.  Normally, my laptop runs past 170 degrees.  With the Xpad, I’m running around 150 or less.  This all depends on what I’m doing at the time.

What do I like about the Xpad? I like that it doesn’t require USB power or external power. I’ve purchased some laptop coolers for friends but they all require some kind of external power like a battery or USB.  This laptop cooler uses passive technology (no batteries needed). The second thing I like about it is that it’s light. I mean really light.

I recommend this cooler for anyone who needs a simple passive cooling system for their laptop.

References:

http://www.xpad4laptop.com

I’ve had a similar measuring cup like this for a couple years now. My mother-in-law gave it to me about 6-7 years ago.  However, mine is pure plastic and the edges show their age through the wear and tear.

I decided to get the Wonder Plunger Measuring Cup listed on Think Geek. The feel of the plastic feels like silicon. I think this one will definitely last longer than my yellow one.

Here are some features (from the Think Geek website):

Plunger-style measuring cup
Best for wet and sticky ingredients
Pushes all ingredients out without losing any
Holds 1 cup, but measures in fluid ounces, milliliters, teaspoons, tablespoons and cups
Dishwasher safe

This is one of those necessary tools for the kitchen. If you are having a hard time finding a gift for your personal chef, I recommend this tool.

References:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/b78b/

Somtimes my life gets a little hectic especially around the holidays. I needed a way to organize my “to do” lists.  I created this one for you to download.  What I’ve been doing is using the boxes to the left as a check box to see if the things have been done.  The box can be used to prioritize your days.

I have another one just like it with my different organizations I’m involved with.

Download:
Edel Alon Task List Sheet