Cheap & Effective Personal Assistant: Google Calendar Text Reminders
I've been using Google Calendar for a couple of months now for both my personal and work scheduling. I started using it because it was a free and robust calendar application I could access from both home and work.
Google Calendar has one killer feature that has improved the 'Getting Things Done' aspect of my life significantly: Once you add an event to the calendar, Google allows you to specify when you want it to automatically send a text message reminder to your cell phone.
Most of my day job has me at work on the computer so I have ample opportunity to add tasks & events to Google Calendar as they occur to me. For example, I've been carrying a library book around in my bag for a week now with the intention of dropping it off at the library on my way home from work. However, due to the fact that driving to the library is not a part of my normal routine, I've driven right on past it for the past five work days.
Today, however, will be different. I added "Library" to today's date on Google Calendar and scheduled a text message to hit my cell phone at 5:05pm - approximately the time I'll be preparing to head out of the office this evening. Hopefully it will be the mental nudge I need to change my routine and take the drive home off autopilot.
If you can't afford to pay a conscientious human to follow you around with a Franklin Planner, Google Calendar and a text-enabled cell phone are the next best thing.