A Day in My Life with Google Keep…

A Day in My Life with Google Keep…

It’s Fall in Education.... How’s is your productivity and organization?  Are you feeling like a leaf in fall and blowing from one thing to the next? Are you sharing multiple docs with various “To Do” lists and can’t keep track of which is which?  Do you feel like you are spinning and just need a kickstand to ground you to catch up?  Well, do I have a deal for you…

Let’s pop out that kickstand and take a look at Google Keep.  Google Keep has become my Go to when it comes to notes, lists, audio recordings, and so much more.  Let me take you in on Day in My Life with Google Keep.

5:00: Alarm goes off…I push snooze but cannot stop thinking of today’s task list.  I grab my phone and open Google Keep.  I create a simple checkbox list of things I need to remember today. Now I can rest a bit more. Keep to the rescue!

6:00: Coffee time and I am out of creamer… lucky for me I have a Google Keep list going for groceries.  Keep to the rescue!

6:30: Kids up and dressed and one mentions she wants me to remember her math website Zearn.  I will never remember it, so I save a link to Google Keep for later reference.  Keep to the rescue!

7:00: Text comes in from teacher.  Question: Do you remember the random name picker mentioned by @John Unruh-Friessen at Google Summit in July? Noting this was a while ago, I know I took notes in Google Keep during the Summit.  I simply search the labels I have in Keep for Google Summit17 and find it instantly.  Even better I can simply share that Google Keep note to her via text!!  Keep to the rescue!

7:30: Preschool drop off.  Reminder appears saying I need to sign permission form. A simple location based reminder kept me on track even when dropping off at preschool.  Keep to the rescue!

8:00: School...  More Reminders popping up:  An important task list reminder is set to notify me at 8:00 daily.  Again, a nice feature of Google Keep to Keep me keeping on.  Keep to the rescue!

9:00: Photos for Science Lab:  Open Google Keep on my iPad, select the camera icon and take photos of Science lab in action. Photos populate in a Keep note that you can edit and add text to as you wish! Keep to the rescue!

10:00: Collaborative NETA Meeting.  Open meeting agenda Google Doc and View/Pull Keep notes into the Doc using Tools menu and  Keep Notepad.  This is handy because all the notes I’ve been taking on the go related to NETA can be accessed or reference or even added to the collaborative document.  This is my FAVORITE feature. Keep to the rescue!

Bonus: Have a photo in Keep that you want added to a document… simply drag it over from the Keep Notepad and you are set!! Keep to the rescue!

11:00:  Image Text:  Have you ever taken a photo of a poster, sign or something similar because you love the quote or saying and want to  have it for future reference?  Maybe you just want the text from the image… Well, check out ‘grab image text’ from the image menu in Keep.  Simply select your photo in Keep, choose the three dots in upper right and choose grab image text.... Prepare to be AmAzEd!  Keep to the rescue!

12:00: Doc Stickers:  Decided to spend some time over lunch providing feedback to student assignments.  As I open student assignment documents I again select tools, and keep notepad.  Using my label titled “stickers” I can easily add feedback via stickers  (my favorite is bitmojis.) This is a super fun and easy way to provide quick feedback and students love it!   Keep to the rescue!

2:00: Google Keep Chrome Extension: Have you ever received an email with an awesome resource link that you do not want to lose so you just kept the email?  With the Google Keep Chrome Extension, you can save that website link as a note, tag it, and easily find it later.  Keep to the rescue!

3:00: Category Tabs Chrome Extension:  No time to research Google Keep notes… with Category Tabs for Google Keep, I can sort your new and existing notes by category. Each category represents one color. Adding a note to a category is very easy, just change the color of the note. When you want to view the notes you have sorted by color, simply click on the note color you wish to view. Keep to the rescue!

4:00: Pin note: Ready to call it a day but want my “to do” list at the top of my notes… by simply “pinning” the list it will show up at the top of my Keep notes and greet me first thing when I open Keep the next time. Keep to the rescue!

5:00: Voice note:  Random thoughts sometimes require a note…. How about a voice note.  With the Google Keep app I can voice record a reminder or note for playback later.  Sometimes the voice recording is easier and a better resource than a typed note! Keep to the rescue!

6:30: Location Reminder:  Stopped at Hy-Vee for some groceries and before I could even open my Google Keep shopping list I received the list via location based reminder…  Keep to the rescue!

As you can see Google Keep has become my favorite Google tool both personally and professionally.  Whether I am making lists, providing feedback, collaborating, or simply taking notes, Google Keep has me covered.  Maybe Keep can rescue you too. Go ahead, put your kickstand back up, hit the ground running and take Google Keep along with you!   

Keep to the rescue!