In short, I had an overly complicated system for solving a simple problem! I had to reorganize my organization system.

So what finally happened?
What finally caused me to reevaluate my Palm handheld setup was my reading a message posted to the GtD_Palm Yahoo Group (at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GtD_Palm/) by Jacques Turbe. The GtD_Palm Group is devoted to discussing and supporting a time management system described in the book, Getting Things Done, by David Allen. It's a wonderful source of very practical information on improving personal time management and the general organization of one's life. I highly recommend that you take a visit to David Allen's Web site (at http://www.davidco.com) and check out all the resources it offers.

Anyway, Jacque described how he too had found himself with a very complex set of software on his Palm handheld for managing his own productivity. He ended up getting rid of all the software except for three key pieces of software: Datebk4, the built-in Memo application, and a little $5.00 piece of software called Memo Leaf. Using these three pieces of software, he was able to implement a sophisticated system for managing tasks, appointments, and reference material.

I was stunned by the simplicity of his approach and immediately started experimenting with using something similar to it for my own purposes. I modified some of his ideas and arrived at a set of software and a process that fully supports all my self-organization needs.

What is Memo Leaf?
Memo Leaf (at http://www.redwood-creative.com/softwar2.htm) is a classic Palm OS application: it's simple, easy to use, and does a straightforward and specific task extremely well.

Memo Leaf is a companion that works with the built-in Memo database. Memo Leaf provides a better way to organize and locate Memo information stored in your Palm handheld. It provides super-fast searching functions and allows group operations to be easily performed on the found Memos. It also provides an easy way to set up an unlimited number of virtual categories in which to organize Memos.

Two types of search operations are supported: Lookup, which searches just the Memo title line (the first line of the Memo) and Find, which searches the entire Memo. Searches can take place within categories, or across all categories. Once a search completes, all the resulting Memos can be reassigned to a new category, or even deleted in a single operation. The Memo Leaf application is shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Memo Leafsupports two types of search operation.

Exactly how do you use Memo Leaf?
By using Memo Leaf, my Palm handheld's Memo database has become a centralized repository for To Do items and copies of important email messages and other reference material. In fact, I no longer utilized the To Do database at all. Having one single place to put all my To Do items and reference material has greatly simplified my life.

I'm continuing to use Datebk4 for all time-based events and appointments. I could likely just use the built-in Date Book application, but I've gotten used to some of the niftier features of Datebk4, like color-coding, icons, and linking. All non-time-based tasks are stored in the Memo database.