Jooners

Like a lot of people, I have a habit of overextending myself in an effort to be everything to everyone. After having to get the crappy slot at the OB/Gyn for the umpteenth time because I didn't have my schedule on-hand, I requested a Palm Pilot for Mother's Day this year just to start being a little more organized. I got the most basic model, as I wasn't sure how much I'd use it, and found that I use it all of the time!

I participate in a lot of activities, and coordinate a number of events, so am faced with the constant struggle of not only keeping myself straightened out but ensuring that others are right in line with me as well.

Enter Jooners. I was asked to check out the Jooners website by my friend Alex at Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting. I had been talking about how busy my life is, and was excited to hear about something for free that will keep my life in order. That's right, I said free.

One great thing about Jooners is that it's not just another on-line calender. It's got an evite-esque function, organizers for snack duty, carpool, volunteer coordinators, event planners, a place to make lists...and the list goes on and on. Not only can you create all these calenders and planners and lists, but they can be shared with a group (family, sports team, class parents, etc).

I get really tired of being in on the planning stages of something and sifting through email after email, hoping that I have the most current copy so that I know what's happening when. This function would hopefully eliminate that annoyance.

There is really a lot to the site, and I haven't yet been able to explore all that it offers, but I'm excited to incorporate it into my life.

Now the next time someone requests a sit through my baby-sitting co-op, I can jump on those waiting tokens because my schedule and computer will be in the same place! Yes, I know that I can sync my palm to my computer, but I don't really do it that often. I'm not sure yet if there is a way to sync my Palm with the Jooners calendar, but I'm emailing them with that question, so if it's not a feature now, maybe it will be in the future?

I recently became chair of a committee that organizes meals and services for members who need them, and I really hope to find this an invaluable tool. If I set up a meal service and need 6 people to make meals on different nights, they'll just respond by clicking on the link in an email sent to them and signing up for what works. If you open up a free account, you don't even have to do the double work of writing what you signed up for in your own calender because Jooners will automatically add it for you, and then it sends reminders for that specific event in addition to a weekly calendar sent each Sunday for the following Monday through Saturday.

Lastly, there is a resources section so that people can add people, places and services that make life easier, and then people can review those resources. So if you are looking for a caterer in your area, you can search them and read reviews in one spot. Resources cannot be deleted, which can be good and bad, but hopefully there would be enough balanced reviews to make an informed decision.

From what I've done with the program thus far, I've been really pleased. The best part? If you don't like it, you didn't waste hundreds of dollars (or even one) on software that doesn't fit in with your lifestyle. You literally have nothing to lose.