Enabling Google Docs for Offline Use

One major frustration of working in the cloud is when it is a sunny day and there is no cloud available for you to work in.  Google has provided you with an opportunity to work with Google Docs, Slides (Presentations) and now the new Sheets while not connected to the internet.  To do this, you need to enable Offline Mode in Google Drive on each computer that you would like to use Offline.  To do this you need to first have the Drive Web App installed.  If you haven't, you will be prompted to do so when you attempt to enable this access.  First, click on More from your Google Drive left-hand menu, then click Offline.  If you haven't installed the Drive Chrome Web App, you will be prompted to do so at this time.  Once you have installed this, you will then be able to Enable Offline Access.  Check out the animated Gif below.

When you are working on a document while in offline mode, you will see a circle with a lightning bolt to the right of the name of the document indicating that You are Offline.  Once you are again connected, your changes will be synced to your drive

There are a few important caveats to using Google Drive offline

1. You will need to enable Offline Mode on every computer that you wish to use.  
2. Anyone using your computer will have access to your offline docs so only enable offline mode on a computer that only you use if you are worried about security of your documents
3. Only one Google account per Chrome profile can set up offline access to Drive. If you are unable to set up offline access because another user has already done so, you can create a new Chrome profile and then follow the above steps to add offline access for your account. Learn how to create a new Google Chrome profile.

Get Organized with 2 Great Chrome Extensions

Staying on top of your to do list is vital to staying organized and being effective.  There are some very comprehensive project management software with some helpful apps, plugins and chrome extensions, but for most people they are simply too complicated for our needs.  For some of you with only a few things on your to-do list and only one Gmail account, simply using Google Tasks will fill your needs.  But for those of us with multiple mail accounts and multiple devices, it is helpful to find something in between.   In our search for the best tools to get organized we have found two that work seamlessly with Gmail, are simple and easy to use, have both chrome extensions and mobile apps, and are robust enough for most any user.  The two that we found are Todoist and Any.do. There are others such as Toodledo, GQues, and Wanderlist, but today we am only focusing on the ones that have a chrome extension with the free version (GQues has one with their paid level).  Below I review each one with a comparison view between the two.

Any.Do is a simple tool with lots of free features.  The things I like most about Any.do is the ability to add any tasks from a webpage in Chrome.  With the chrome extension installed, simply right click on any text or hyperlink in a webpage and choose "Add To Any.Do" and select Today, Tomorrow or Someday.

The other great features of Any.Do is the integration with Gmail.  Embedded within the email is a Gmail Followup toolbar that allows you to add a task easily related to that email such as "follow up with Serena about...".  They also have a Gmail Button added to the email toolbar that allows you to quickly add a task with the subject of the email as the title of the task.  Either way you add it, there is a link to the email attached to the task in the chrome extension.

Any.do allows for adding notes and sharing tasks with others (only in the mobile app) and has a fairly straightforward way of adding folders and notes/sub-tasks.  You can also move tasks around both within a folder and between folders.  There is also reminders for your tasks that pop up on your desktop and on your mobile device.   It is easy with Any.Do to see all of your tasks across all folders or see what is due today, tomorrow, upcoming or someday.

Todoist is a slightly more robust program built on Projects rather than folders.  The interface on both the Chrome extension and the mobile app are simple and intuitive.  The one feature that we really like about Todoist is that in the Gmail integration, there is a popup that is similar to the Google Tasks window.  This makes it easily accessible and uses the same type of interaction that you are used to in Gmail while using tasks and chat windows.

While features such as adding documents and images, reminders, and adding labels is part of a paid premium account, there is a lot to like about using Todoist.  Tasks and projects are easily dragged and dropped and sub projects can be nested under main projects.  In the image above, Soccer and Groceries are projects that fall under the main project Home.  For adding a due date and time, or a recurring task, it is as easy as speech.  Just type when you want your task due - Every Monday at 10am; Friday at noon; or today.  Go to Todoist Help Center for more suggestions.  

The Gmail integration uses a button that adds the email to your popup task list where you can then add a time to follow up.  This task is also hyper-linked to take you to that email to follow up.  This link even works in the mobile version though it takes you to the browser gmail and not to the app...  

Another cool feature that helps with motivation is the Karma trend rating in Todoist.  This rating goes up (and down) based on how many of your tasks you complete.  If you like badges and rewards, this may be the app to boost your productivity.

Whatever you choose, both apps have great features for helping you get things done in your life. Check out the comparison chart I have put together to help you decide.