Hertzler’s Outpost

If your brain is like mine it remembers things at all the wrong times.

For example, I remember it’s time for an oil change when I start driving somewhere instead of when I can change the oil or plan to change the oil. By the time I am at a place to schedule time to change the oil I have forgotten about it (again).

A PDA (handheld computer) helped me solve some of this problem, but it didn’t allow fast enough input to solve the whole problem. And it’s hard to type while driving.

Jott.com changed all this. (I mentioned this earlier.) With this free transcription service you can dial a number and speak a short message that will be delivered to your mailbox (or anyone else’s mailbox or phone) as a text message. This allows you to take care of the detail later when your brain is ready to take care of it.

(Actual human beings do the transcription. I have never had a personal assistant before, so the thought of someone helping me is really cool.)

Ok, after you get the hang of using Jott.com, try adding Xpenser.com for keeping track of expenses and mileage. You can set up Jott to send information to Xpenser and automatically build a file of expenses that you can access from the web anytime.

Cash is the easiest thing to lose track of, but with Xpenser.com it is now a little easier.

For example, Audrey asks me to give her last week’s allowance, but she asks while we’re going somewhere. I hand her the cash, then I speed-dial Jott on my cell phone. Jott asks me who I want to “jott”. I say “expenser” and then say, “$5 to Audrey for allowance.” About 5 minutes later my expense sheet on Xpenser includes this transaction.

This is a great service for anyone who would rather use a simple cell phone (rather than a “smartphone“) and their home computer to keep track of life’s details.