Using Microsoft OneNote as a Family

I have been a longtime user of Microsoft OneNote since its early days with the very first version released in 2003. I have always found OneNote to be powerful and quite flexible but it's often highly misunderstood and somewhat overwhelming of an experience for new users. It's one of those productivity programs that Microsoft has had in their arsenal of tools that was created more for themselves and for fans. But this is a program that can revolutionize your life and your family's digital organization.

To be honest, Microsoft OneNote is not the only program of its kind but at the same time it's relatively unique. Its closest competitor would probably be Evernote, but Evernote was never created with as flexible nor as powerful of a framework nor is it as feature rich. Evernote was created and catered to a very specific need of writing and jotting down notes, ideas, lists and having it all accessible and searchable. It does a very admirable job. I have used it myself, until recently. (You can read about it here.)

I have found OneNote to be more than just a place to collect thoughts, notes and lists. Yes, it does all those things and does it pretty good. Especially considering that they allow for graphics, sounds and videos to be attached. Its power lies in its flexibility for the user to mold and create a system as they see fit. It's like a blank notebook or binder or even a scrapbook. It's a blank slate for which tools are provided to use as you will.

This idea of OneNote as a digital blank slate is what makes the learning curve so steep and so overwhelming for some users. But I'm here to guide you through some the ways that I have used it with my family to help us organize and be at the top of our communication and information game.

Recipes. Everyone probably has some way to keep family recipes together, recipes that you find off the internet, or recipes that you begged from your friends and associates. TheWife and I used to have a shoe box in which we kept our collection of recipes. It had no organization nor system of cataloging. It was just in the box. And it was hard to find what we needed. It took time, but we eventually digitized all these recipes and created a collection within OneNote that is indexed and searchable. This made it so much easier in finding that dessert or that roast that we want to make. Or even that bread recipe that we use regularly for our church ministry. Having it digitized in OneNote organized the collection of recipes and most importantly, made it digitally portable to all of our devices. We can simply pull up the recipe we need from anywhere that we have WiFi or data connection. We can email off these recipes to friends and families when they ask for it. It is just that simple. Cooking has never been more simplified. It's just so much easier to have a tablet like the iPad or Microsoft Surface on and opened to the recipe when you need it.

Lists. Man, this is one of the earliest functions that we used as a family and one of the ones that we showed off to families and friends most often. List making is nothing new or revolutionary. But OneNote's ability to sync between devices in real time makes this so much cooler. I can be at the grocery store and checking off the list (yes, it has actual checkable check boxes), and theWife can be at home adding to the list. It would just pop up for me and she will know what items I have already gotten. And to top it off, she can make notes on the page and I would be able to get it almost instantaneously. Additionally, sometimes certain things you are buying just can't be described in words. Things like these are perfect to have a picture attached as an item on the list. There is no error of grabbing the wrong thing, cause someone needed a particular brand and such. Lists are just this simple with OneNote and powerfully expanded. We use lists for shopping, trip packing, to do's, etc.

Projects and Thoughts. OneNote is a scrapbook at its heart. We have used OneNote as a place for collecting our research on parenting skills and techniques, especially in relation to our son's needs (read about it here). We have used it for building our home renovation, improvement and maintenance planning. We have used it for storing ideas, prices, needs and priorities. We have used it collecting and storing random information. It has been a place for general planning of life, events, trips, ideas, etc. Essentially, OneNote is a place where you can dump your family life.

OneNote has been indispensable for theWife and I in all these years of relationship. From our initial wedding planning, to when we moved several times, to learning to be parents, to our personal and family projects, and even to the most basic shopping list, it has been a place where we gather information that is important to us. It's a system that's always evolving. It's a notebook that's constantly being reorganized and restructured as the need of our family changes. It's also been a place to can look back and see how far we have come and some of the memories that were made.

I'm not sure what system or tools your family uses to organize life and to get all the information together. But I would recommend that you take a deep look at Microsoft OneNote as a starting point for organizing the crazy life any family may have. If we want the time to do what matters most, if we want to experience life to its fullest, we all need a system to help us get there. For my family, OneNote is one of those tools. And I hope it may be yours too.

 

Shared Calendar: Being on the same page

I'm not sure about you but for me, life is hectic. Living life as a single was bad enough. When you live life as a couple it gets even more complex. Then throw in the kids and it gets downright hectic. Life just never stops. There's always that next appointment or event that you are all trying to get to. And to make it more complex, sometimes events and appointments are for just one person or one kid, and sometimes everyone's individual schedules start conflicting with each other.

This is where having a shared calendar system comes in. I know many families already have some type of system. And many people have some form of system at work to keep track of things. But here is where the breakdown comes in to play, they are all different systems. And eventually something will fall through the cracks and an event or appointment gets double booked or forgotten. The shared calendar or "family calendar" is where it all comes together.

The shared calendar is something that I have used with my wife since we got married. At first it was not so much for avoiding scheduling conflicts or double bookings. I was a grad student at the time and she wanted to know when I get out of class and when my assignments are due. It was a system to keep me in check and to keep me accountable for what I was doing. However, as we started to add to the calendar, we started to add in particular work events that my wife had or nights out with the girls that she had.  It was essentially a heads up for me to know what is up in her life so I can react accordingly.

Eventually, this calendar of ours evolved to not only include all our events and work stuff but also chores that we have at home. Chores such as vacuuming and laundry that are done on a more scheduled basis. Then when the kids came along, it included the kids' events and play dates and such.

Having everything on the same page helps with planning and coordinating. It helps us know what we have agreed to with other people without necessarily needing to consult with each other first.  In a sense, it allows the freedom of knowing that we wouldn't be overfilling ourselves or creating conflict. The calendar system allows for us to note down what is happening and when. It becomes a good place to consult when we plan for family time and events. It allows for us to know who is able to pick up the kids when and if one of us will not be home for dinner or will be coming home late for any reason.

We execute this shared calendar system through Google Calendar. Using iCal or Microsoft's Outlook Calendar works too. The point is to have a place that all of you are able to access and edit with the devices that you own and use.

The beauty of Google Calendar is the ability to use it on essentially any mobile device and tablet, while being accessible on the website and also on most computers' default calendar program. As an added bonus, although I do not personally use this function, it also has the ability to allow for other family members to subscribe to it or to share it without editing capability.

Most of us have various digital devices ranging from smartphones to tablets to computers, and all these devices are connected. This connectedness allows for the ability to share and connect in a way that we weren't able to before. It's allowed my family to leverage technology to help simplify our life. It's allowed us to be on the same page on what is happening and when. It's allowed us to mitigate potential conflicts that may arise from miscommunication and poor planning. It's created a system of trust and accountability as both of us know what is happening in the other's life. And if something happened outside of the scheduled events, it promotes talking to grow closer together. The fact that we know what is happening in each other's life, we now can move on from asking what is happening to asking what happened during those said events in life.

I'm not sure about you, but having a shared calendar system is a life saver and a time saver for us. And I hope that this has been an inspiration for you to start something similar if you haven't already. And for those that have a system that works for them, I would love to hear about it.

Family camping, packing it right

Previously I wrote about some lessons learned and fun things to do while camping with the family (here). This time we are going to go over some tips on what to pack and how to pack. Sometimes how and what you pack or don't pack can make a great trip a less enjoyable one.

Personally, I have driven and camped with everything from a small '96 Mitsubishi Galant to a large '92 Dodge Caravan to my current '09 Subaru Forester. All of these vehicles allow for various amounts of stuff which heavily dictates where I am able to go. Most families I know generally have a mini-van or a SUV/crossover and this is where I will be making certain assumptions on what and how to pack.

What to bring (the essentials):

1. Food. Food is absolutely important. And making sure you have a cooler that is sufficient in keeping everything cold or frozen is essential. My family uses a Coleman cooler that is rated for 5 days. Take the rating with a grain of salt. But regardless, have a good cooler that fits your need.


2. Clothes. Dress for the weather. Summer tends to be pretty warm or down right hot in the day but come nightfall it can cool down pretty quickly, especially if you are in mountain country.


3. Sleeping bag and mattress. For mattress, we prefer air, they get the job done. It's relatively comfortable, compact to pack and provides sufficient insulation from the chill coming off the ground. As for sleeping bag, theWife and I prefer down. They pack small and provide lots of warmth. However, for the kids, we prefer to give them synthetics. That way, they are quick to dry in case there is an accident at night and also easily washable when we get home.


4. Tent. A shelter over your head is one of the most important things when camping. And having it appropriately weather-proof for your climate is an absolute. If you are in a dry and hot place, make sure it has sufficient air flow and circulation. If you are in a damp and humid place, make sure it has sufficient mesh for the moisture to exit and not create condensation within. And if you live in a wet and rainy climate like I do, get one that is going to keep you dry. Most of the time, you get what you pay for. And last thing, make sure it's big enough for your family to move and navigate and be comfortable in. Meaning, for my family of four, we have a six person tent.


5. Cooking things. This would include utensils to eat with, your plates and such. Bring what you need. Just make sure it isn't too easy to break. I generally prefer plastic or metal but that is a matter of preference. As for what to cook with, I highly recommend the Coleman combo unit. It has a BBQ to grill and also a stove to cook and boil your food. This saves you from needing to bring both a BBQ unit and a stove unit. Saving on space is always good. For fuel, I have done both the one-pound propane unit and also the regular 20lb propane tank. My preference is the 20lb. It's refillable, cheaper and you don't have to worry about running out.


6. Light. Gotta have light. For the kids, I give them the IKEA hand-crank unit, they are LED and sufficiently bright and battery-free. As for myself, I like to bring both a headlamp for the times you need hands-free lighting, a lamp to hang inside the tent and also a hand unit with a 100+ lumen rating to see with. I can't stress how important having a light is, especially if the kids need to make a trip for nature's call at night.


7. Power source. This is probably the most controversial one. I'm not saying power source in the sense to power your portable video gaming devices and media devices. I'm talking about a source of power to keep your cellphone running. Cellphone, especially smartphones, have come to replace our line of contact in case of emergency, it generally has a flashlight, and it's also a source of knowing where you are, AKA the GPS. I would say keeping that phone of yours powered is essential nowadays, not so you can play games or watch videos or listen to music but rather as a way to contact the world and get yourself out of a pickle when you are lost or in an emergency.

What to bring (the fun stuff):

1. Food! You can never have enough snacks and s'mores. Always bring more than you think you need. But try to keep it healthy too. Don't want the kids to start getting a bad habit with junk food.


2. Games. Board games and card games are a staple for camping. Bring what your family will like. Although, I would caution against anything with small pieces. Those buggers are hard to find when it gets dark.


3. Bikes. There is nothing like cruising through the woods and mountain on a bike. Or at least I can think of very little. The kids love it and they can spend all day on it.


4. Bring a soccer ball or football. Play a friendly match with your camping neighbors or just as a family. Nothing like sport and competition to bring the family together and to make some new friends.

Now comes the question of how do I get all my crap into the car. It is a common question many of us have. But I would say the answer is dependent on your car and what you are bringing aside from the essentials. It's very personal topic but I will try my best to give some pointers and tips on how I have done it. As a note, I am used to packing light due to my old backcountry backpacking days and from packing to hunt, which would be light, functional and minimalistic. Anyhow on to the tips and pointers.

How to pack it all:

1. The Primary: start with the big and heavy. The big and heavy forms the foundation of my packing. It stays on the bottom and near the back. I try to keep the weight as low to the bottom of the car as possible. In this case, for me, it would be the cooler with the bulk of the food, the tent and propane tank (if I opt for the large 20lb tank) and also anything that comes in a box.


2. The Secondary: These are things that are semi-stuffable and stuff that fit well around and between stuff. This would be the rest of my food and my duffle bag/packs for clothes along with the sleeping bag. The food will generally have their own small bags (I prefer the fabric type). However, a freebie tip here is that if you want snacks for the ride, stick them in the front with you, the kids will love you.


3. The Auxiliary: These are all the fun stuff or the non-essentials for camp. Place these wherever you have room in the car and trunk.

Tips on organization:

1. Place everything in bags or boxes. The last thing you want is to have things littered everywhere and you having no idea where it is. Also boxes and bags are easy to get in and out.


2. Be consistent. What I mean by this is to pack the same way you do all the time. Create a system for what you are doing and how you are doing it. A systems helps. It allows for you to focus on the trip and also on what you may be missing.

I hope this covers most of the fundamentals of camping and packing it right for the family. In essence, go have fun and spend some time together as a family outside. The take-away is to make a system that works for you with the things that you need to make it all fun.

What tips and systems do you and your family have? Would love to hear from you.

Project 333: 3 Months - End of Cycle Update

I have now completed a whole 3-month cycle with the Project 333 Challenge. It was an interesting journey of downsizing my wardrobe to only 33 pieces of clothes, notwithstanding underwear, socks, sleeping and sporting-only gear. You can follow along with my journey from these prior posts: The Beginning, Week 1 Update & Week 3 Update.

It has been an educational experience in that it shows me I don't actually need that many clothes. To be honest, I can't even remember most of my other clothes that I had put into storage. This brings to mind that often times we just end up getting more and more then hoarding it.

That isn't to say this wasn't also a challenging experience. With the premise of Project 333 as having only 33 pieces of clothes for 3 months, I learned that I need a bit more thoughtfulness on what those pieces should be. Running out of a certain type of clothes is a very real experience that has challenged me to be more forward thinking in terms of weather and activities throughout the week and taking stock of what I currently have.

Will I be continuing on this Project 333 challenge? Of course. I will be continuing on with the present set of clothes till the end of the summer season, then align my Project 333 closet with seasonal changes.

So the take-aways from this experience:

1. I don't need that many clothes in life and life is a lot more simple when you have fewer pieces to pick from in the morning.


2. In order for the simplicity of having less to pick from in the morning to work well, you need to plan ahead in life. Dressing becomes more of an intentional activity in life and less of a throw-it-on-and-go.


3. With less clothes comes the possibility of freeing up more space in the house and having less clutter.


4. Although having less is great, it means more frequent loads of laundry. But at least the folding part becomes a bit quicker and the machine is less likely to be overloaded.

Overall, I think Project 333 is a definite recommendation for anyone looking to simplify life and being more intentional in how they live.

I got the power! As in Powerline Network

Cables. I don't know about you but at one point in time I had them everywhere. This was in the days when WiFi was not as prominent and wired network was still the main way to get stuff done. I would have wires hanging on the edge of the wall and ceiling and over door frames. It was a mess. I remember when The Wife and I first got married, we had an ADSL modem from AT&T hanging on the wall along with a wireless router not too far off. It was all on the wall. I even had a friend come over and comment that I seemed to have a bomb mapped out on the wall. It was a mess.

The advent of WiFi saved the wires quite a bit and I was able to essentially get all my computers, phone and tablets connected. However, this all went out the window when I found that WiFi wasn't getting the speed I needed to stream media on the Roku media box. So a wired solution was needed again. But the problem is that I live in a two story house now, with the modem/router being upstairs and the TV/Roku being downstairs. There was no way I was going to have cables snaking through the house with two toddlers on the loose.

I needed another solution. Originally I started off with a more complex solution of using an extra wireless router that I had sitting around as a bridge point to bring the cable to the media room. But it wasn't elegant and I still encountered the WiFi issue. So on to looking for another solution. My in-laws of all people suggested that I should try out the powerline LAN adapters as a possible solution. And to get me on the right path, my over zealous father-in-law already bought four extra adapters that he wasn't using at home as he only needed two and found them good enough for him. So I now have four of these things to play with, from two different brands.

I'm not sure where everyone is with their network or wireless vs wired solutions either at home or in the office. But for me, I needed a consistent and stable speed for both the streaming media box and also our file and media server. And with the way the house is, these two things are not always able to be near the router/modem at the same time. For the rest of my devices, WiFi does fine enough. So for me, the powerline LAN adapter is fully for solving the issue of creating network without the need for wires galore and still maintain a faster speed and stable network than WiFi may provide otherwise.

So on to the solution. I was gifted by my father-in-law with a set of TrendNet 500Mbps Compact Powering AV Adapter Kit (TPL-406E2K) and also a Tenda 200Mbps Powering Mini Adapter kit (P200). Being the typical guy, I did not read instructions and decided to just do the plug and play pray option. Surprisingly, it worked right out of the box for me. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be this way or if my father-in-law already set it all up for me (but I doubt it, he is very tech illiterate). And surprisingly, despite the fact that the two sets were of different brands, they were able to work together. It just works.

But the question is, as always, how well does it work. I will say straight up, the speed on these things are good and consistent. However, the issue arises with heat.

The Tenda units tend to overheat easily and just stop working. A quick unplugging and replugging does the trick but can be annoying since it can happen anytime. I have gone for as short as 15 minutes to as long as two days. So it's not what I call a reliable source of plug-it-in and leave-it-be type of tech.

The TrendNet units functioned a lot better. It seemed to have been susceptible to heat only once when we experienced a heat wave and the room in which it was located rose to a blistering 29C/84F. Aside from that one fateful day, the units have been humming along great with no slowdown or hiccups.

Overall, the idea of running your network over your powerline is a pretty decent idea. It gets the job done. It minimizes the mess of wires in the house. It provides a more secure environment compared to WiFi. I would say it is a good mixture of helping to minimize and simplify your house and technology and also allow for better organization of your devices.

I would definitely recommend it to family and friends. However, I would also caution on buying too cheap of a unit as it seems like they are susceptible to heat failure.

What about you? How have you managed to organize the mess that comes with a more digital lifestyle that requires multiple devices? What is your experience with various solutions? Would love to hear about what you have been doing.

Project 333: Week 3 Update

It has now been three complete weeks since I started on this journey of Project 333. For those that aren't sure what I am talking about, you can catch up HERE for the original post and HERE for the Week 1 Update.


As noted during my Project 333 Week 1 Update, it seems to be easy-peasy and I noted that I may need to start planning ahead a bit so as to prevent running out of clothes when I need it. However, it seems like I did not take my own advice or more to the point I did not follow through on it. So to the point, this past weekend, I did run out of appropriate clothing.
So what happened? Well, apparently after Week 1, I had washed clothes and was able to essentially reset for the start of Week 2 however I ended up needing to do laundry a bit early during Week 2. Originally I thought this would be alright since it kind of reset the laundry schedule anyway but it was actually not the case. I actually ended up not doing laundry again until yesterday night which essentially meant I ran a few days longer than anticipated. And this was coupled with the fact that it was a relatively hot week and I had needed to change more often due to sweat and working on the yard. This seemed to deplete the clothing stock quite a bit. So by the time the weekend rolled around, all I had were collar shirts. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing except for that fact that the laundry basket last night when I had needed to wash it was actually only about 3/4 full. The only reason a wash was needed was because I had only one polo left for today and if I didn't wash last night or today then I would actually really run out of clean clothes.So now, looking back, the lesson is a need for more thoughtfulness of my schedule and also weather and potential activities for the week. In essence, I need to plan ahead a bit on my outfits and when I need to wash stuff. Which this kind of runs into the question of whether I should wash based on a weekly schedule (which is generally how long it takes to fill a basket) or more along the line of just whenever I seem to be running low on clothes (which could potentially mean more frequent washing). Anyhow, I will be seeing how this coming week goes as I will have three days in a row where I will be having different and more professional engagements that I haven't had in the past few weeks.

Project 333: Week 1 Update

So it has been a whole week since I started on this journey of Project 333. For those that aren't sure what I am talking about, you can catch up: HERE.

Anyhow, it has been an interesting start. For this first week, it started off with a Bang!, everything was easy-peasy. The first few days didn't really yield any need for decision making as I just threw on the first T-shirt and jeans in the drawer. However, I did notice that as the week went by, that I was starting to having a limited number of choices of what to wear. And then came the weekend, this was where it got interesting, I ran out of T-shirts. So my decision is now on whether I want a polo or button-down short sleeve. Either way, this was when I realized that I can't just start throwing clothes on each day without thinking ahead of the week to come. So now, as I enter into the 2nd week, I have a done laundry and have a fresh set of clothes again and I have come to the realization that I may need to start planning a bit based on my calendar and events so as to not end up using something that I may need later. Either way, this experiment has been interesting to say the less and I think as I get a better handle on it I may start lowering the limit.

So till next time. Enjoy.

Intro: Project 333

For those that didn't know, I am a stickler for optimization. I love to work with systems and try to improve upon them. And another thing that I have been known for is attempting to live a minimalist life style. I will admit that it has not always worked in all areas of my life as I am also a pack-rat and apparently having kids throw part of that lifestyle out the window. I am one of those individuals that have things still in boxes from grade-school. Not that I still have much sentimental value to it but rather I just don't like throwing away stuff. And clothes has been one of those areas of my life that I have been very bad with. I have lots of clothes but in the past couple years I have noticed that I am normally cycling through only a few things that I prefer or like or feel matched well together or with me. To be honest, I have clothes from my elementary and high school days. They may not all fit properly. They are rather snug and quite a bit worn over the years. But the fact is I don't throw much out or better yet donate them like I should to someone that needs it more than I do.

Anyhow, recently I run into a site that was promoting a Project 333 Challenge. The premise of the challenge is that over the course of 3 months, you are only allowed to have 33 pieces of clothing items excluding gym-wear, sleep-wear, house-wear and underwear. So essentially it is 33 piece of clothing or accessories that you would wear when you are out doing life, whether just out for chores, work or leisure. And at the end of 3 months (season), you switch it out for seasonal things. Anyhow, I decided to take the plunge. I took the effort with the help of my wife to par down my clothes to 33 items. These are items that will serve for me when I work either in a more formal setting as a clergy or in the more informal setting of leading, teaching and mentoring and it will also allow me to professionally meet with professionals, officials and representatives of other organizations, government and companies. Also, these will be pieces that will serve for more casual days out with the kids and family. So it needs to be pretty versatile set of 33 pieces. Anyhow, it took about an hours but I feel I have it down.

Here is the list of things I have choose:
2 Polo shirts
2 Long sleeves button down shirts
3 Short sleeves button down shirts
1 Blazer
1 Long sleeves t-shirt
6 T-shirts
2 Blue jeans
1 Dress pants
1 Khaki pants
1 Cargo shorts
4 Pairs of shoes
2 Jackets
1 Zip-up hoodie
2 Track jackets
2 Belts (dress & casual)
1 Pair of flipflop
1 Baseball cap

Anyhow, wish me luck. I will keep everyone posted on how it goes and if I need to make any switching out of items midway through the 3 months cycle. It is my hope that this will help me filter out the used from the unused so that I can give away the ones I don't use to someone that would use it.

If you want more info about the challenge you can google up Project 333 or go here to this site: http://bemorewithless.com/project-333/