Shaine Mata Blog: Springpad Is Finally a Viable Personal Organizer for Me

Monday, September 20, 2010

Springpad Is Finally a Viable Personal Organizer for Me

: Image via CrunchBase

Just today, I downloaded the Springpad app on my Android phone. I have been aware of Springpad for some time; but could never really take advantage of it without the option of going mobile. Although I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer, I find that the information I gather while at the computer is most often useful when I'm out and about in the world.

I rely heavily on Evernote because of its flexibility in storing information. I can send all manner of information to Evernote and access it on my mobile. The only downside to Evernote is that it is a blank slate, which also happens to be its strength.

Springpad is handy because it has templates for storing many kinds of information. The available categories make organizing your information that much easier. Evernote, on the other hand, is completely free form, leaving it up to you to create structure, or not. While I love the universality of Evernote, sometimes I need some structure. It also helps that Springpad has some social sharing goodness thrown in.

My favorite feature of Springpad will most likely be Lists. I don't mean so much to-do lists; I have those through Vitalist already. Rather, I will make use of lists of things I might do with my family, like watch a movie, go to the museum, play frisbee, go for a walk. Or, maybe I'll make lists of things I buy often, not the actual shopping list, just a reminder of stuff to put on the list.

Second to that, I think I'll enjoy the Recipes. I've found some good ones. Having recipes handy at the grocery store makes it easy to buy the necessary ingredients.

Some of the other categories really don't appeal much to me; but they must appeal to somebody. I don't foresee using the other categories so much for organizing information; but, I can see using them as another social medium.

I'll be experimenting with Springpad on my phone in the days ahead. I don't expect that it will be my workhorse for organizing myself; but, time will tell.