Yes, I am one of those guys. I am an Apple Fanboy, for sure, but I will not apologize for it – their stuff just works. I have not owned a Windows PC for many, many years and I will never go back unless Apple goes out of business. I also got my mom to switch, which was no small feat, but she is mad at me for not making her do it earlier. But I digress…the reason for this post is not to extol virtue on the entire Apple line, but rather to talk about my favorite organizing/simple living tool of all – my 1st generation iPhone that I have had for years now.
I can see why some might say you cannot depend on a mobile phone to live a simple life, but I disagree. First and foremost, my iPhone is my main phone. While I have home phone service (through Vonage, a VOIP service that costs $25 for unlimited everything, as sometimes AT&T is spotty inside my house), I mostly answer all my calls through my iPhone. All calls to my home number ring simultaneously on my mobile phone, so I can pick up either home or cell calls while I am away from the house. This is important because of my “schedule” – as in, I don’t have one. If someone (family or colleague) needs to get a hold of me, they have nowhere specific to call. I don’t go to the office and I don’t have set home office hours. I work when I want and when I need to, so having a phone that rings anywhere I am is key. That frees me up to do whatever I want during the day.
Another thing that having the iPhone as my partner in crime is that I don’t need to carry a camera with me. I like taking a lot pictures of places I go and things I do, and having the camera in the phone sure helps. And while I have a professional-grade Canon I use on photography outings, I don’t like to carry it with me everywhere. Also, I use the phone to take pictures of things like book covers I see that are of interest, furniture I think I would like to try to build at home, or the outside of restaurants I want to keep on file. It comes in very handy. I can also upload photos directly into Evernote from the phone, which has saved me many a times from forgetting things I needed to remember!
A few other things that it does to keep me organized and clutter-free? I can access recipes, so I don’t need to keep tons of cookbooks in the house. I listen to music through Pandora, which saves me from buying songs I would only listen to a few times. Instead of buying and carrying guide books to places I visit, I can just download Lonely Planet guides instead – no paper! I can use Google maps to find my way to said places, and I can look up phone numbers in case I still get lost. The list goes on and on…
While using a $200 gadget to live simply and get organized may sound counter-intuitive, I think it does exactly what I need it to do. It reduces the amount of paper in my life, it keeps all my documents and blog access within reach 24/7, and it eliminates my need for a spiral bound planner or notebook. I really couldn’t ask for more. And while the new version of the phone comes out next week, I am not sure if I will be upgrading anytime soon – right now, this one works perfectly fine for what I need a mobile phone to do, and I hope it continues to do so.
So what about you? Are you a pen and paper person, or a gadget person? How do you keep your day to day life organized and clutter free? Let me know in the comments!
I am looking forward to the new iphone coming out this week. My Verizon contract is up and just in time. I am hoping I get good service with AT&T but I have heard many bad stories.
The one thing I am looking forward to is being able to send images and notes to my Evernote account as well. This tool has come in mighty handy. I agree trying to carry around to many gadgets (like cell phone, ipod etc) is to much. I want one thing. I still use pencil and pad though. I do use a Moleskin, but only the calendar. They are to expensive when a stack of Steno pads for 5 bucks in Sams Club is good enough for me. As a web developer its really hard to be paper free totally.
Great post!
I think the key here is that the iPhone works for you. You make use of its many, many functions, so it’s worth it. And not only that, but you seem content with the fact that it’s a first generation phone. This seems to be an instance of cheap vs. frugal. It would be cheap not to use the iPhone because it’s an expensive piece of equipment, but it’s frugal to use it because it saves you lots of time and energy, so you get your money’s worth. Does that make sense?
Yep. If you buy a phone that expensive and only use it as a phone, you are wasting money 🙂
I say whatever simplifies YOUR life is the right way to go. I don’t use a smartphone (but if I did you know it would be an iPhone!) but more power to ya for putting one to good use. I use a combination of notebook (I modified a standard Moleskine to a hybrid calendar/notebook) and my Macbook w/evernote and Google Docs to stay on top of things.
Makes a fine bedside alarm clock too!
I have a G1 (the t-mobile equivalent of the iphone) and I absolutely love it. I also love the fact that almost all the applications are FREE including ringtones!! No more spending money on those little things that I enjoy attaching to each person but that could cost upwards of $4. I too use evernote.com and I love it for when I do grocery shopping because I can snap a picture of the price and how many ounces so when I go somewhere else and find it on “sale” I can see how much it cost me at my normal store.
I also love google docs because it’s super easy to manage and by far more user friendly than excel on my phone and I can send the information to my husband with 2 clicks of the button.
One app I’m totally enjoying right now is mileage calculator. Especially with gas prices going up it’s nice to track how much I’m going through, spending monthly, etc.
I have a first gen iPhone, too, and in addition to using most of the apps you mention in your post, I also use the timer feature on the clock to keep me “on task” at home and at work, particularly when I’m feeling procrastinate-y.
I’m considering spending the money on the iPhone 3G S that Apple just rolled out. The fabulous increase in speed (yes, that’s what the “S” stands for) might make it worth it.