A compendium of original and borrowed content regarding Tablet PCs and fun Technologies

Monday, November 3, 2008

Business as Usual with My Tablet PC

Because I use my white Sahara Tablet PC as my primary work computer, I've been trying to pay more attention to how I work differently than my friends who use traditional desktops or laptops.  Here is a brief recap of some of the ways that I take advantage of the tablet functionality everyday. 

When I get into the office, I place my tablet into its docking cradle.  I always have my external mouse, monitor and keyboard hooked up to the back of the cradle so that the tablet becomes a full-featured desktop solution.

I usually use the fingerprint reader to log-on.  If for some reason, the fingerprint reader is temperamental (maybe I used too much hand cream that day), I'll log in on the keyboard or touch the on-screen EyesBoard virtual keyboard to log-on.

Once my computer is fully booted, the first thing that I do is start downloading emails.  I'm a multi-tasker, so while the messages are downloading, I listen to my phone messages and type the caller information directly into OneNote.  I have to admit that it took a long time for me to wean myself off of yellow stickies and scrap paper for phone messages.   To do this, I set up a tab in OneNote to use as my dedicated phone log and have been adamant about typing or writing all phone messages into the log.  On a few occasions, I have misplaced a phone number and have been able to easily retrieve the info by searing through the log electronically. 

As I read through my emails, I make sure to send all sales lead messages directly to OneNote so that I can keep an accurate communication log of the opportunity. These leads come through our website "sales inquiry" form, so when I get these leads, I have the full contact information which I can then include as a page in OneNote.

When I attend meetings, I take the Sahara out of its docking station and use it for taking handwriting notes.  If it is a group meeting where we share notes or drawings on a White Board, I hook my tablet up to the projector and take notes directly on screen to project them on the wall.  This way, I don't have to retype my meeting notes at a later date.  **Note to self, make sure you turn off new message notifications in Outlook when doing this...

Interesting to note that I almost always use my tablet in landscape mode though I'm not sure why...

As you can see, I try to incorporate using my tablet for as many tasks as possible and go out of my way to find new ways to use it.  So now the question is, how do you use your tablet?

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Favorites

No comments: