iPod Touch

Photo Courtesy Apple.com

I love my iPod Touch. It has certainly increased my productivity. Here are some of the ways I use my iPod Touch…

Calendar

I’ve created calendars for each person in the house, each with a different colour. It is now very easy to plan appointments because I have everyone’s schedules in one place and I can quickly see who is doing what and when.

Photos

I’ve scanned the instructions for my fitness routines and added them as photos to my Touch. Since I workout with music from my Touch I anyway, I don’t have to carry a bunch of papers around with me, I just look at the picture on the Touch! Of course I also have brag photos of my kids on the Touch too. It’s made my wallet lighter as I can carry a lot more photos on the Touch!

Wallpaper

I uploaded a photo to my Touch that is plain red. I use that for my Wallpaper. If I’m at a hotel and I need to get up in the night, I use my Touch as a flashlight. By having red on the screen, I can keep my night vision.

As with an iPhone, you can also buy applications for the iPod Touch. Here is a list of my favourite applications and how they help me be more productive:

Grocery Gadget Lite (Free)

This lovely application allows me to prepare a running grocery list, track stuff that’s on sale and compare prices between grocery stores. This app will also learn the order of items at the store! No more zigzagging up and down the aisles!
Grocery Gadget Lite is limited to only 20 items on a shopping list but it is still better than having little bits of paper with scribbles on them! Also, I frequently forget or lose my little paper list but I’m not going to forget (or lose) my Touch!

Files Lite (Free)

This application lets me transfer files (using my home Wifi) from my computer to my Touch. I can carry .pdf, Word and Excel documents around with me. This is handy when I need to show a client a sample spreadsheet or if I need to keep a copy of a receipt with me. I can’t edit any of the documents using Files Lite, it is just for viewing and the free version has only 200MB of storage. However, now I don’t have to print as many documents (hooray for saving paper & ink!) and it has made my briefcase lighter (hooray for my shoulder muscles).

Units (Free)

It is so nice to be able to convert all sorts of measurements quickly and easily. Trying to convert miles to kilometres in my head was very fatiguing, not to mention converting Fahrenheit to Celsius! Now I can do it all (and more) at the touch of a button.

Antidote ($19.99)

When you’re an anglophone with kids going to French school, you NEED a portable French dictionary. Antidote is more than that, it has a thesaurus, it shows verb conjugation, gives co-occurrences and citations. The accompanying guide give syntax information, style and punctuation rules. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to do translations anywhere – AND I’ll be able to understand what my kids are talking about!

Games – Hangman (Free), Battleship ($2.99)

I know you’re thinking, “How do games help you be more productive?” and my answer is, “If the kids are busy playing these games, I can get something done!”
At least Hangman improves their English spelling and Battleship is a two-player game that teaches strategic thinking skills.

Do you have favourite productivity apps? Share them in the comments section!