Getting more organized

Or maybe the title of this post should be "remembering appointments."
But the two likely go hand in hand.

For years, my scheduling has consisted of one of those big calendars that sit flat on top of the desk and post-its or other random bits of paper with times, dates and names scribbled on them.
Well, my new Mac at work now has enough horsepower that I can run all my needed applications and Entourage, the Outlook replacement found in Microsoft Office for the mac. I've only scratched the surface of what it can do, but I'm making good use of the scheduling calendar and the project center to keep on top of my appointments and our week to week publishing.

I noticed today that I haven't forgotten about an appointment since I've started making use of Entourage. My desk is also more clutter-free, since any note I get about an appointment or call-back is put into the system and the slip of paper goes bye-bye. No more big desk calendar that just gets covered up. I doubt I'll ever be a slave to organization, but this system seems to be helping me bridge my desire for a minimalist aesthetic and my competing drive to produce clutter on an almost hourly basis. Productivity and organization can be good things. It was certainly nice to notice that I'm getting more done during the work day - a good thing if you will.