What do you do to keep "organized"?

[mrbigstuff]

I mean this in the literal sense - what applications, either end-user based or online, what types of physical calendars, books, etc. What works for you and why?

I'm really in need of starting a new slate come 2008.

[SDGuy]

Used to use Outlook calendar synced to my Treo - but now that I can't (no personal devices allowed on the work computer), I'm back to my old method:

Month at a time calendar @ work with written in appointments (kept pinned to the cubicle wall right in front of me, so I can't miss it).

Week at a time booklet type calendar @ home, also with written in appointments (I make it a habit to consult it each evening and morning to see what I have coming up).

I also enter important work appointments into Outlook on the work computer with a "remind" alarm, to hopefully prevent me from missing things like meeting with the boss, attending a teleconference, etc.

[clay]

The Getting Things Done (GTD) method is something that I've really gotten into recently. It's helped me organize lots of stuff in my life, and I feel a lot more efficient both in my job and at home.

Here's a program that has really helped me kick-start these efforts:

http://bargiel.home.pl/iGTD/

[will2000]

Not enough!

[cbelt3]

Ancient Palm Pilot (IIIxe) keeps all my appointments, phone numbers, notes, passwords, things I need to remember (but can't because of my lil 'ol brain injury). It replaced an ancient Daytimer that did much the same thing (with paper) since I was in High School.

Appointments at work are in the work email / workgroup management system (Lotus Notes, which I love), and are synched with the Palm when I need to.

I dread losing the ability to synch my Palm due to some new security rule. I'd have to get a doctor's note or something.

[ka jowct]

I use a yearly planner with plenty of writing space as well as a calendar. I will probably have to set up a little database eventually.

[Dennis S]

I have a calendar on the wall and use Post-It-Notes to write my appointments. If I travel, I write the destination, purpose and people concerned on that square for the IRS. For monthly appointments or payments, I just move the sticky to the next month when the date passes. You just have to keep an eye on the floor in case something falls off, which has never happened.

I then transfer the information, like mileage, to Excel.

[Harbourmaster]

...

[Zoidberg]

For starters, buy a shredder and go through your mail as soon as it's in your hands. If you're able, pay the bills you receive right then and there. That cuts down on most of what usually kipplefies my desk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipple

I have a link to a database I set up in Filemaker for receipts. I can quickly generate totals in January to prep my taxes. I used to just throw all my receipts in a box and fret over said box until the middle of March. Haven't done that since my Katrina year.

[wurm]

This thread reminded me of another program and while searching for it, I learned about this http://www.bigreminder.com/index.html. It looked interesting enough that I just signed up for it (free registration). The concept seems fairly sound. Might be worth looking into.