As a home-based travel consultant, I’m sure that you suffer from some form of identity crises and have to figure out on a daily basis which hat you’re wearing to be most productive. I’m not a selling agent anymore, but I was back in the day, and do work with them on a daily basis so I can empathize with how hard the job is. And, while I can’t tell you exactly how to keep it all together, I can tell you that many of my technical red herrings and downright diversions have been minimized by doing the following:

1. Decide clearly what I want the technology to do and write it down.
I was hired to help choose a back office back office accounting system for an agency and I was starting to be overwhelmed by the choices out there – some were cheap, some were expensive, some were web-based and some were installed programs. As I learned more about each system I started thinking that one feature in one particular system was very, very cool. It became the focus of my comparisons because it was so forward-thinking and awesome. The problem was that the one feature, while cool, cutting edge and potentially cost-saving, was not necessary for the day-to-day activities of the agency. I was overthinking the solution and not focusing on the simple problem.

2. Consider How All The Technology Fits Together
Since I have two physical offices, plus a world of virtual ones, I had to consider all the needs I had (see step 1) and then figure out how to make all the technology fit together. Thinking this through before you buy anything will save hours of integration later.

Here’s my basic example when I was focusing on my cell phone model:

a. need to read email when away from office
b. need to be able to blog when away from office
c. need to be able to update task list without paper/real-time
d. want to be able to wear headphones while working out and take calls
e. need to use it as a modem for my laptop
f. need to be able to check on the server remotely

There were other criteria, but you get the idea. I then made a excel spreadsheet of phones with the criteria and put an “x” where the phone met the need. It helped me stay focused on my needs without going down a rabbit hole. The most “x’s” won – and it was the Palm Treo 650. Now I’m thinking of upgrading to the Centro and I’m pulling up that old spreadsheet so I don’t upgrade and miss a feature I still need.

They make insanely simple software programs that run on the web. If you’re geeky, you can peek under the hood for their Ruby on Rails platform. If you’re cheap, the price is right: lots of their stuff is free. Yes, I said Free.

I use all of their products in different ways. BaseCamp for example is where we collaborate when working on a client project. It keeps all their communication (including e-mails) in one place. For agencies, it could be where you keep all your “post-it” note stuff – confirmations, faxes, etc. I have a couple of clients testing this out on the agency side and I’ll post the results soon.

BackPack by far the best program for personal management. I subscribe to the $5 per month service and essentially it has become my online brain. I have a page with writing assignments, one with my daily to-do list, one with my “honey-do” list to outsource to separate honeys, I have grocery lists, pages of photos uploaded from my camera and phone, marketing ideas, a page with all my major user names/passwords, backup instructions in case I get hit by a bus, etc. You get the picture. Two cool features: You can e-mail stuff into a page so its fast to keep it updated, and you can share it with others. We have a page for each of our volleyball teams to keep all the parents connected without using an outside service.

So, here’s my Thankgiving gift to you. 37Signals. Enjoy over the Holiday Week.

One thing that I am constantly asked, however, is how they can better manage their time. My suggestion has always been to try and find a tool to help them work within their system, rather than try and change the way they do things. I’ve never been able to make even one keep their desk clean, and I think that’s really what started this whole “home-based” phenomena in the first place – great travel agents were tired of getting nagged for messy desks.

So, rather than try and re-wire the brains of great agents, here’s a great tool that I’ve found called Backpack. I use it every day to keep track of practically my whole life. I love the fact that its simple – no extra, unneeded bells and whistles. You create a page, and within that page you’ve got to-do lists, notes, attached files, pictures, a “writeboard” to collaborate with others, or your split personalities and links. You can even share it if you like. I use it for both business and personal, since in this day and age there really isn’t a boundary between the two, and I bet most people would say the same thing.

Here’s a couple of ways I use it. I have one page for each daughter’s volleyball team, and I share it with all the other parents. We keep track of practice changes, links to buy socks or other gear and general info. I have another page that has every software license and keys for everything I’ve purchased and could possibly need to reinstall. I’ve got another page with marketing ideas, article ideas, outlines for books, that day’s goals and my favorite page, “The Honey-Do”. I create checklists for the hubby, and he checks them off as he does them – no more, “You didn’t tell me!”

It essentially takes everything out of my head and gets it into a “bucket” which doesn’t have to be pretty or especially organized but I like the fact that it is web-based, so I can get to it from anywhere. I used to keep everything like that in a spreadsheet and when my laptop died, the spreadsheet was gone because on one of my bazillion paper to do lists was… you guessed it… backup my hard drive! I like the fact that it integrates with my Palm Treo 650 very seamlessly, sends reminders to my e-mail and as a text message to my phone and stays synchronized automatically with my Gmail calendar. I’m all about simplicity, and it doesn’t get much simpler than this. The best part? The basic plan is absolutely FREE!

And I can STILL have my insanely messy desk and feel good about it.

Spam Filtering Differences Between Gmail and Outlook and Webmail
For starters, Gmail has a spam filter built in, so there is really nothing to do except to start using it. I go through my spam folder a couple times a day and keep it cleaned out, but so far I’ve only seen two or three e-mails that should have come through and didn’t. It also automatically deletes the Spam older than 30 days, and it has plenty of storage, so you don’t have to look at it or worry about it crashing anything, but I like to be sure I’m not missing anything, so I look every day. With Outlook, I had to look at my MxLogic or Gateway Defender Folder (separate login) and with Webmail, I had to configure a ton of rules to catch the e-mail.

Separate Account Management- No New Addresses for Your Contacts
Since I have more than 10 separate e-mail accounts, I wanted to be able to easily consolidate them into one place. With Gmail, I went to the settings, added each of the existing accounts and selected the “use original e-mail when replying” feature – which means that no one needs to know that I’m using gmail, or have to change the address they have for me. Its seamless. I can also choose which account to send from if I want to, so when sending to a gemtravelsites.com client, I use that account, and a travelwebmarketing.com client sees e-mail from that address and it is as easy as a drop down box on the compose message screen.

Conversations versus Separate E-mails
This was the real mind-blower for me. In Outlook, I had more than 400 folders to keep everything “organized” – and I use that term loosely. The ongoing challenge was that if I wanted to see something I sent, and a reply from someone, they were separate e-mails, in separate folders. With Gmail, they are one threaded conversation, and I can assign labels and archive the e-mail. This keeps the e-mail within my reach, with just a simple Google-style search to find anything I need, whenever I need it.

Web-Based
Yes, Gmail is web based, which I’ve never been a fan of, but with the optional google desktop program, I can still search through e-mail when I’m offline (am I EVER offline?) and still remain comfortably “connected”. Since Gmail is also by invitation, or connected to a mobile phone number, it is much more secure than hotmail or other free e-mail programs. There is much more accountability from the user network.

Labels instead of Folders
My Outlook personal storage file (.pst) grew over the years to more than 2GB. It was HUGE, slow and cumbersome, despite my best efforts to stay organized with folders. With GMail, rather than a folder, I can assign a label to each e-mail. I use the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology which means I assign a project for each item, which for me is a client or a Reference like “accounts receivable” or “software licenses”. I can then assign an action label for things I need to do, like “waiting on” for items that need some response from someone, or “need blog post” for something that I want to share. This way they’re all in one place and I can do multiple similar things at once by clicking on a link in the navigation bar that has a pre-defined search. I use a free software plugin called gtdgmail.com for a really powerful and easy way to integrate this – more on this tomorrow.

Filters and the Wonderful little + sign
I stumbled across a neat little cheat early on that helped my conversion from outlook tremendously. Since you can’t import messages (you can import contacts, however) I was really stressed about trying to find messages I needed. I didn’t want to have to go back and forth between Outlook for old e-mail and Gmail for new e-mail. The cheat that saved me is the + sign. Here’s how it works. My gmail address is chelleyarbrough@gmail.com. However, I can also use chelleyarbrough+ebay@gmail.com and its still me! Notice the +ebay? Nothing to configure in gmail, just use the address. With that, I created filters with all the different projects in gmail which ended up being the folder names in outlook. Then I went through the outlook folders and sent myself the emails I wanted to save using the +whatever@ gmail.com address and they were automatically archived and labeled! It took me the better part of a day, but since I usually clean out my e-mail folders at the end of each year and use the Outlook Archive option, this was far easier, quicker and got me organized and up to speed. Everything’s at my fingertips, in Gmail and ready to go. Speaking of go….

Seamless Integration with my Palm Treo 650
My biggest movitvation for the change is the fact that I wanted to be much more mobile. With the purchase of my Palm Treo 650 almost a year ago, my goal was to get to the place where I could leave my laptop at home and still be productive at the beach, the YWCA or the coffeehouse. That never really materialized until I made a HUGE effort to find, test and refine the tools I now use. Over the next few days, I’ll give an in-depth overview of each, but right now I’ll tell you that I use:
Verizon Wireless Unlimited Data Plan – a MUST HAVE

The Gmail Mobile Application to manage Gmail – always synchronized, no download delays or overlaps

Google Maps – free application similar to a GPS, with driving directions, real-time traffic and satellite images

GooSync – to keep my Google Calendar and Palm Calendar synchronized

DragonEdit – website editor for SmartPhones, for quick website edits

MobiTV – Several live TV channels including NBC, MSNBC, ABCNews and Discovery Channels (No more airport boredom)

PTunes – With Rhapsody-To-Go Account, turns my phone into an MP3 player, so I can walk and workout and not miss a call

Quick-IM – Since I use MSN Messenger, I can chat with my clients and contacts

Jabra BT800 Bluetooth Headset

Palm Keyboard – a full size pop-out keyboard with real sized keys. Makes e-mails and blogs a snap.

On the PC Side, I changed to Mozilla Firefox from Internet Explorer because of the tools and extensions (which I’ll also explain in subsequent articles) and now I use Google Calendar which sends a message to my phone to remind me of appointments or deadlines, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, so my library of documents is secure and web-based. BaseCamp for project management, Backpack for personal to-do lists and sharing with others, and Blogger to post to this website.

Overall, Gmail was quick to setup. It took about a week to get really used to the “conversation” style of messages, but the built in tools made exploration fun, too. For home-based, small and medium sized travel agencies looking for a way to telecommute more effectively, this might be a good option. Feel free to post questions and comments!