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It's okay to Jott down a reminder while driving.

How many times do you find yourself on the road and all of a sudden you remember something you have to do later? Do you pull over to write it down? Can you even pull over safely somewhere? Do you call your home phone to leave a message for yourself? Do you call your spouse to remind you?

As an appraiser, I'm on the road quite a bit and have been in this situation many times, and I've used all those techniques, including others that probably weren't so safe. So what do you do to safely write down a note for a great blog idea or a to do or whatever else? The other day I was reading a blog by Charles McDonald about Blog Ideas and he had a great way to take notes using the recorder on your cell, but what intrigued me were some of the comments.

Many comments mentioned Jott. That got me curious so I looked it up. Jott is this very interesting web tool that lets you call an 800 number to send reminders and notes to yourself or others by recording your voice and transcribing it to text. The text message is then sent to your email or cell phone or both. I've tried this out over the past couple of days and am fairly impressed with it. Does it make mistakes? Sure, but not so bad as you can't figure it out. I've sent text messages to myself to make notes after a phone call, I've sent text messages to my wife, and I've even set up reminders that send a text message at a specified time and day.

You can even browse to some websites and blog via your cell phone. You can add Zillow as a link to get a zestimate for instance (not that I endorse zillow as an appraiser mind you).

Right now, the system is in beta, so it's free! If you want a quick way to Jott down a note while driving, take a look at this system. They even have some desktop tools and a plug-in for your google home page to read your jotts.

Posted by John Fariss - Appraiser Bakersfield, CA on 11/16/2007 01:01 PM

Comments (16)

productivity, software, tool, cell phone, message

16 Comments on It's okay to Jott down a reminder while driving.

NOV

2007

I joined Jott a while ago but have yet to utilize it. I'm a bit overwhelmed already with all the technology that I find out here on AR. It's on my list of things to learn to use, though. Thanks for the post, John.

I love Jott. It's really easy to use. I used to leave voicemail messages on my home phone for reminders but I like this better!

I always keep a small yellow pad in my car and a pen. This way I can jot down pertinant notes about things that need to be done later.

NOV

2007

This is a great idea and I learned something. I am not sure though as I carry a small recorder and it is oh-so easy to simply push the button and talk into the recorder. Thanks though for the great idea about JOTT. I love new ideas. Jerry

NOV

2007

Nancy - you are right on the spot...there is a ton of technology out there and some of the websites people find are amazing. They're all meant to increase productivity or make our lives easier, but sometimes just keeping up with it all is more time consuming than anything else. I like this one though and will keep testing it for a couple of weeks.

Rita - I'm glad to see you like this service as much as I do.

Donald - I carry a pad with me too, but while driving it's just too cumbersome and risky to use.

Michael - I was shocked by the accuracy of the system as well. I like that it ends up in my email so I can copy and past it right into my calendar if necessary without making too many corrections.

Kai - I've used the voice recorder on my phone in a similar way, but those tend to stay there. I like Jott because it ends up in a written format that you can print out or transfer to a calendar program. Plus, you can have the system set a reminder, and it will send the note again at the specified reminder time.

NOV

2007

I have a pad of paper in the car and a pen at the ready. I use the same pad so I can go back and review previous days.

Jott is a cool tool but just another thing to keep track of.

During the 'hey days' I had other agents leaving 3x8 notepads on my front porch or in my driveway probably about once a week. I saved them all and now keep a couple in my car at all times to jot down things while I'm out and about. I get a certain amount of satisfaction from knowing that I'm being supported by other agents who are mostly now out of the market. ;-)

NOV

2007

Adam - I always keep my olio with me for extensive notes, but for quick notes about a phone call or to set a reminder, Jott comes in very handy. And, there's not much to track. Set the Jott 800 number as a quick number on your cell, it uses caller id to identify your phone and asks who you want to jott. You can send a text message to anyone you set up, or just say "self" to have a reminder or note sent to your email. When you get back to the office, just print it out. It's a great system to use while driving...there's no trying to write and drive.

Michael - I've got several of those too. Those usually sit on my desk for quick phone call notes or shopping lists.

Yes Jott seems to be the way to go if you safety is a top priority.

good post!

NOV

2007

Armando - that's precisely why I like it for the car. In most other situations, I stick to my folio pad.

NOV

2007

John, You are correct! It's always hard to find time to get into the recorder and sometimes things slip thru the crack --- important things! I tried Jott and it works great. It will take some getting used to, but I like it. Thanks for the idea.

DEC

2007

It doesn't quite transcribe everything perfectly, but it does a good enough job to jog your memory at the very least. I like it over a recorder, because you now have a "written" record of the note and the ability to add a reminder. It does take some time to get used to though. I'm still finding some features, and I still haven't tried out the zillow plug-in.

John, Thanks again -- I am now getting a bit more used to using it and it works great for me. You can be my mentor! Jerry

Jerry, have you tried out any of the plug-ins for it? If you have, you may need to be my mentor.

John, I have not. I am such a neophyte with JOGG that I still have a way to go, But, I will get there. I really like the system. Thanks, Jerry

DEC

2007

If you use iGoogle as your homepage, you can add a Jott plug-in to it. You can read your Jotts right there on your home page or click on it to load Jott and listen to the message. It's an easy addition and a nice feature.

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