My iPad has become my best friend – I take it everywhere I go (although I am a bit leery of the grocery store – afraid I might leave it in the cart). And since I was an "early adopter," there weren't millions of apps available when I received my iPad via FedEx back in May. That meant I could actually sort through the ones I'd like to try.

"Taska" is one of my favorites – it's a To Do list and project management app that has a simple, beautiful interface that I actually USE. Based on "Getting Things Done" or GTD principles, it has  "Inbox," "Action List,"  "Next," "Someday," and "Projects" lists. But it also has a Shopping List (sorely missing from apps like THINGS for Mac), which I love.

Even better, using my iPad's GPS (I have the 3G version which lets me roam and use the internet), it uses "Context" to show me where I am located in relation to the errands I am running. For instance, if I am supposed to go to the bank which is across town and to Lowe's (I spend a lot of time at Lowe's) which is two blocks away, Taska will tell me that, so I can be more efficient with time and gas. Cool, huh?

It syncs with the popular Toodledo app when you use it on the iPhone. But for me, the iPhone is just too darned small to be practical. I can't see it well, my big fingers always hit the wrong keys on the keyboard and it's not as pretty (granted, I have an ancient iPhone…shockingly it's two years old!!!).

Anyway, wanted to let you know about Taska. I do a lot of research about this stuff and might as well pass along my findings to you, too!

Hugs

LInda

The iMaxi (with wings) for the new iPad:

Ok, proof positive that my procrastination has cost me yet another post:

What I wrote in November, 2009 (but failed to post):

"As a self-professed (but absolutely legitimate) techno-gadget-creative aficionado I am constantly distracted by tantalizing online reports of new inventions that will make my life (and yours) easier, simpler and less chaotic.

My experience over the years is that not all neat-o new products actually ACHIEVE that goal. Sometimes (OK, often) the new gadgets take more time to learn and use than the original task they were designed to "improve." 

I have an electronic graveyard of those useless products (sigh). Wish I hadn’t wasted the money … But when I hear renewed rumors of an Apple notebook (code name: Slate) that will likely be released in January 2010, my little kid excitement kicks in again.

Think about it: a smaller computer with a touch screen that goes with you everywhere (yes put a FOFA on it so you don’t lose it!), that has all your phone numbers and addresses, all your important documents, has internet access…. Oh. That’s already been done. The iPhone, Blackberry, et al have changed the way we handle data. But there’s a price.

Do you really LIKE using a keyboard that’s half the size of a Post-It? Maybe your fingers are skinnier than mine but I keep making typos, even in text messages (which I rarely use….waaay too much traffic for me, ala Twitter).

The new Slate will have a screen that is 7 times larger than my current (and lovely) iPhone. It will have built in wireless access and perhaps a Kindle-like bookshelf….."

Update on March 12, 2010

The Slate has morphed into the iPad. The iPad has been released for pre-order (yes, I did order one…my birthday present to me). And now the iMaxi with wings has been created to protect the iPad like, well, a soft pad.

This one is kinda gross, kinda funny. The alternate one (with a blood red lining) is just plain gross. I am torn. Is this cute or insulting? Would I put an iPad in an iMaxi with wings? Uh, I’m not sure. I have several weeks to figure it out.

But in case you’re ready, check out Hip Handmaid on Etsy.

This article first appeared in ADDitude Magazine online.

I have a trunk full of reusable grocery bags. They make me feel so environmentally conscious. Until I get to the check out line and remember that they are … still in the trunk of my car.

Why can’t I remember to bring them IN to the store? (Oh yeah. ADD). Once, when there was no one in line behind me, I actually excused myself and ran outside to get them. Of course, by the time I returned, six people were glaring at me, waiting impatiently to check out. Won’t do that again.

But what’s the point of having reusable bags if I don’t, eh, USE them?

A good friend of mine unwittingly solved my ADD-ish problem with her Christmas gift last year. She gave me a ChicoBag. I love these little critters!

ChicoBags are fat little bundles that expand to full size grocery bags. Made of polyester, these mighty little sacks can hold up to 25 pounds of groceries (the larger size holds 40 pounds!).

Each one has a self-fabric storage sack sewn into the bottom seam (so ADD folks like me never lose it). And best of all, the ChicoBag has a carabiner (hook) so it attaches to your purse, belt loop, notebook, shopping list, you name it! I love the bright colors, too. Some of the newest ChicoBags are made of 99% recycled materials – even better for the environment!

I bought several more at the ChicoBag website for $5 each. What a bargain! And if you buy five, the company throws in the sixth one for free.

I attached three ChicoBags to my purse on an unused key ring. I know I look a bit like a pack animal with my pink, purple and green bags, but hey – I’m using them! Sometimes, I even use them at the hardware store or department store, too.

 It’s a perfect ADD tool:

A.  There are no parts to lose
B.  The little hook lets me take it with me everywhere
C.  Comes in bright colors so it doesn’t get lost in my piles
D.  It’s cheap and good quality

I just love it when something works for me and my ADD.

I love it even more when it also helps the environment.

Viva Green ADDiva!

This article first appeared in ADDitude Magazine online.

I can see clearly now — but only when I can find my glasses. So, I have discovered the best invention ever for attention deficit adults.

For the most part, I don’t mind getting older (quite possibly because I am in denial).  “Age spots” don’t send shudders down my spine – they look like freckles to me. I’ve never had freckles; they seem kinda friendly, like Pippi Longstocking.

And I’ve never been obsessed about the differential between the year I was born and the year displayed on my cell phone. Birthdays, schmirthdays. Who cares? I admit, however, I’m a bit shocked that 60 is coming at me like a freight train. Oh how my attitude changes with perspective! As an adolescent, my matter-of-fact view was that by 60 you were on death’s doorstep; today, I’m convinced that 60 really IS the new 40; or 35.

But when I have to squint to read the instructions on the back of the pizza box (they made the print smaller, I swear), I’m ready to turn back the clock. Reading glasses, of course, make all the difference in my reading comprehension.  Sadly, my glasses are rarely within an arm’s reach, my first criterion for actually plopping them on my face.

I thought I’d solve the problem by stashing multiple pairs of inexpensive readers all over the house (Costco kindly sells them in the convenient three-pack). But somehow the glasses migrate to my computer or bedside, under papers, stuck in drawers, tangled into a magnifying heap.

So imagine my delight when I discovered that the FOFA folks (that’s Find One Find All, the best invention ever for ADDivas) had unveiled a new locator device for glasses. Woo hoo!

A word of explanation: a couple of years ago I found a fabulous key locator in, of all places, Radio Shack (yes, yes, I “located” a key locator!). The package contained two devices, one for a key ring, the other for a wallet. Each had six buttons with numbers. I learned how to set up the locator so that when I lost the car keys, for instance, I could press “1” on the wallet device and the key ring would beep. If I lost my wallet, I could press “2” on the key ring and the wallet device would beep. Great idea, great execution. I only needed to find one thing with the beeper and I could find up to six other missing objects that were attached to a FOFA. I wanted more of them, but Radio Shack stopped selling them.

I delved into the Internet to track down the manufacturer (“made in China” was my only clue). Finally I found it, a small company in Texas owned by the “Find One, Find All” inventor.

I ordered several sets of their ‘new and improved’ FOFA model, attaching one to my camera, my van keys, my purse, my cell phone. They worked! What a miracle; I wanted to buy stock in the company. I eagerly ordered the new glasses locator.

It was, well, a disappointment. I’m sure it’s my ADD sensitivities, but I can’t stand even a tiny bit of weight around my neck. The little button panel, even shrunk down to less than half its original size, proved far too distracting for me.

So, I’m heading back to Costco today. A few more three-packs and I’ll have so many pairs of readers, they’ll always be within an arms reach. And perhaps I won’t burn the pizza next time.

A friend of mine sent me a link to "Despair, Inc." which is the pessimist’s dream come true (if pessimists believed in dreams…). Tons of anti-inspirational posters and other stuff that is so, so true on occasion.

New item releasing in about two weeks? A social media T-shirt that’s a Venn diagram that intersects ADHD, Stalking and Narcissism. Not a nice combo but it’s pretty funny (although this was the first I’d heard of Twitterstalk.com)

I might have to own one of these actually….

If you want one, visit Despair, Inc.

And if you want an ADDiva T-shirt (instead or in addition to…) they are on SALE this month through the 4th of July!  Regular $20, now just $16 plus shipping (and tax if you live in NC).

Click here and enter Tee20 for the coupon code! Good only through midnight July 4th 2009!

Hugs and love
Linda

Now I walk while I work…on my own treadmill that has it’s own desk!

I got the idea from the Good Morning America show that aired a few months ago. A doctor at the Mayo Clinic created the treadmill desk for people who are on the computer a lot (like me) or on the phone (like me) or who write (like me). Problem was the darned thing cost $6000—whoa!

I knew I could do better than that, especially when I already have a little-used treadmill.

After a lot (a LOT) of research, I found a desk that works for me — the Walk N Work — and a flat screen monitor stand that goes in front of the treadmill so I can see it (laptop was too low) and a bookcase to hold all the rest of the stuff…and I am golden!

I just shot some video of this solution and will post it soon…but know that I am quite proud of the whole thing and more importantly, I am using it!!! Too many of my good ideas go to waste because they aren’t really practical…just cool. So, watch out. I am planning to be a lot more fit, thin and healthy this time next year!

Walking and working is a GOOD thing for ADDivas!

Well, I’m always on the lookout for possible ADHD "solutions" — or more accurately, products and ideas that will support ADHD in a positive and encouraging light. So, I was de-LIGHTed to find a product that blocks the blue LIGHT waves that can suppress melatonin production, which in turn can make it difficult to go to sleep at night.

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