How I use reQall to get through the holidays

Despite my best intentions to slow down and enjoy the holidays, I always seem to find myself rushing around, with too much to do and not enough time to do it. I’m determined to make this year different—with reQall’s help.    

One of my biggest holiday challenges is that although I have great gift ideas throughout the year, I simply can’t remember them when it’s time to shop. This year, I created a “Gifts” Place in reQall. Any time I think of an idea for someone, I simply add it to “Gifts.” Now, I can pull up that list and remember that my daughter mentioned 2 months ago that she didn’t have room on her iPod for all her songs. Please don’t tell her that she might get a new iPod!

I usually forget to mail gifts to my extended family in Kansas and Kentucky before the normal postage deadlines, and then I have to pay the 2-day or overnight shipping rates. This year, I’ve made a plan based on the dates on the U.S. Postal Service web site. I have items in reQall to remind me BEFORE those dates to buy, pack and mail each item. Since my tradition is to give each child a book, I also have reminders for Amazon’s dates.

Unlike my husband, who buys the first thing he sees, I do an infinite amount of comparison-shopping to get just the right item at the best price. Often, I forget whether the best price was at Costco, Target or Amazon, so I do a second round of shopping once I’ve decided on an item. By then, the product is usually sold out and I have to start all over! This year, I’m using the combo of reQall and Evernote to help me make quicker and less-expensive decisions. Whenever I see a possible item, I either add a note to reQall or take a picture using Evernote. I tag the Evernote item with the name of the person or say his/her name in the reQall item. When I select “Buy gift for Alan” in reQall, I see all the possibilities that I’ve put into reQall and Evernote.

Each day, I think of new ways to use reQall. When I was shopping for Thanksgiving dinner today, I was so proud of myself because I had my list in reQall, linked to the web recipes that I clipped into Evernote. But as I entered the store, I realized that I didn’t remember if I normally double the stock recipe for the gravy that my family loves. I checked reQall to see if I had noted anything last Thanksgiving. Nope. If I don’t do anything, I thought, I’ll have the same problem next year. Instead, I created an item to have reQall remind me on Thursday night to make a note about the recipe. Next year I'll remember!

By the way, the folks at BlackBerry have the same idea about using reQall as a holiday survival tool.

Do you have other suggestions on how to use reQall to relax during the holidays? Share your best tips in the comments here, on our Facebook fan page or via Twitter (we're @reQall). Let us know which tips you think are the best. The holiday maven who helps the most will receive a $20 Amazon gift certificate!

WIshing you a relaxing and joyful holiday season,

Deb

Comments

[Mark Holmes]

How did you create the category "Gifts?"

[Deb Miller]

I created a Place without a location and named it "Gifts". You can use Places without locations to group items. Hope this helps.

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