In the course there was a question on how I managed my study time, and it made me really stop and think about the tools I used, so that I could share my tips and tricks with the group.
I use a combo of new tech and old tech.
Mostly I use Outlook, loading regular reminders into either calendar or tasks (PC/phone sync using IQTell), with links to any relevant documents that relate to each. I use Evernote for projects like semester planning, study and voluntary work which I can also access on PC, laptop or phone.
For daily detail planning I recycle the back of old lecture ppt note pages, printed with a "to do" list outline, which I keep on my desk and fill in for those things that crop up during particularly busy days, and take great delight in crossing them off, then binning when their job is done.
I also have just added two new tools: Quoll Writer and Qiqqa.
Qiqqa (pron: quicker) was developed by James Jardine in 2009 while doing his PhD at Cambridge because there wasn't a piece of referencing software that met his requirements. I am trialing the freeware version of this instead of Mendeley to see how it works.
I have just started experimenting with Quoll Writer, to see if it will work with mapping out the range of materials and so forth that I will need for planning and writing my PhD. Not quite sure yet, but it is fun to play with :-)
Sam
