Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Reader Poll: How do you keep track of your schedule?

Dear Readers,

I desperately need your help!

At the right-hand side of the page, you will see my new poll: "How do you keep track of your schedule?" Please take a second to respond!

This is something I ask all of my interviewees. The answers so far have ranged from:

  • "Pen and paper. We didn't even have an answering machine for a long time!"  (Chris Schmidt, oboist/librarian who retired from a forty-plus year playing career in 2010)
  • "My wife plays in the same orchestra and keeps tracks of rehearsals."  (Bassoonist/Software developer Luke Bakken)
  • "Multiple calendars melded together on my iPhone through Google apps"  (Bassoonist/Tech guru Jacob Smith)
For me, pen and paper worked for a long time to keep track of playing jobs. Then when I started working for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and now for Curtis, I needed to keep track not only of my own concerts, but concerts and other events for work.

Now it's not really doing the trick. I used to be good about putting things on both Outlook (work calendar) and in my date book (gig calendar), but this system is no longer working. I will put something on Outlook and not in my datebook and vice-versa. Verizon wants to charge me full-price for an iPhone because I recently re-upped my contract and "upgraded" my phone and did not choose a smartphone. I do have an iPod touch but there are many reasons why this is not a good option for me.

What tools do you use to keep track of your schedule?  Please let me know in the poll and in the comments!  Thank you!

2 comments:

  1. My wife and I use shared Google Calendars. After I moved our domain to Google's servers, I set up a calendar for her and gigs, then granted us both full permissions so we could not only see the events, but also edit or add them if necessary. It's proved to be very valuable -- now when I'm in a sextet or something, I can just pull out my phone and see what each of us is doing on any given day, and add the event to my calendar so she knows I've booked something.

    You might look into an Android device or get something off eBay. Just make sure it's compatible with Verizon's network. You'll need to call them and read some numbers off the back of the phone, usually under the battery.

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    1. Hi Tim! Thanks for reading, commenting, and the suggestion of an Android or used device. Definitely looking into it! Good luck with your busy schedule! -Amy

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