Jott: no keyboard required

I want to take a short break from the TV for free series and talk about something that has been very important to me these past few days. I’ve been very busy lately (which you might have noticed from the lack of recent posts), and this handy web app has helped keep my life organized and intact.

Allow me to introduce Jott . Jott is a multi-faceted tool that I could only describe as the sticky note of the future.

Jott provides a number of ways for you to simplify your busy life. Have you ever called your answering machine to leave yourself a reminder? What about plastering your desk with post-it notes to remember everything that you need to do?

If you’ve ever been away from home and had something you needed to remember for later, there’s a good chance you’ve used your cell phone to leave a voice mail for yourself before. While this is good enough to get the job done, it’s so time consuming both to leave a message and to listen to it later. Instead, call Jott and your voice is changed into a Jott (message) that you can read on your computer later. You even save time by not being forced to listen to the “leave your name and number” spiel every time.

Now what if you are the person with the desk plastered with sticky notes? Well Jott can help you out too. Jott lets you create lists of tasks (such as Home and Work) where you add items and check them off as you complete them. You can add tasks to a list on the go with either a phone call or a text message to Jott.

You can access all of your Jotts and lists from the Jott website. They’re all organized nice and neat for you. Having your notes digital also means you can take advantage of productivity enhancers such as reminders and list check-offs. You don’t even need to pick up the phone to write a Jott. Just type it in from your computer.

Some of you are probably saying by this point, “this all sounds great, but my current setup works just fine.” Well here are some things that are unique to Jott and really increase its cool factor.

With Jott you can use your phone to send emails and text messages on the go using only your voice. You do have to add the contacts to Jott beforehand, but this is much easier to use than trying to type a message on the phone. Plus, you don’t have to pay data costs. Jott will send an email, text, or both (depending on what contact information you have provided) with your transcribed message and a link to the original audio recording. I wouldn’t recommend it for long or important messages, but how many of those do you send anyway?

Another unique feature of Jott is that it allows you to use Jott Links to interact with other web apps. Now you can make a phone call, and Jott will transcribe your message and use it to update an internet service that you use. For example, I use this feature a lot to update my Google Calendar. The supported web apps include: twitter, Blogger, WordPress, and Google Calendar, among many others.

I found Jott to be easy to use with good voice transcription. My advice would be to speak slowly and clearly, and spell out words that Jott may not know (such as names). Soft background noise didn’t seem to have much effect on Jott, but once, when a strong wind was blowing outside, Jott had difficulty understanding me.

I have no problem recommending this to anyone who is busy and is looking for a better way to keep everything organized. Not only will you be free from your clutter of notes, but Jott has the advantage of being able to follow you around everywhere since it’s a web application that also works with your phone. Jott is free, so give it a try, and see if it can make a difference in your busy life.