Self Improvement

A Quote a Day

 A quote can be a kernel of knowledge that illuminates and uplifts. A great way to take advantage of the wisdom contained in the words of great (or ordinary) people is by starting each day of the year with a wonderful new quote.

The first thing you have to do is come up with the quotes. The library is full of great quotes books. In addition, you run into good quotes daily, as you read books and listen to people. Keep track of them in a Memo file, or create a custom database to track them.

 ON THE PALMTOP

Once you have your quotes, create a new Appointment Book file and enter them into it, on a day. Later you'll merge this file with your current Appointment Book file.
 
 

  1. 1. In Appointment Book, press (MENU) File New. At the Create New File screen, name your file quotes, and press (F10) (OK).
  2. 2. Enter your quotes as appointments or events, one a day for the entire year. Events are associated with a day, but not a time. Appointments are associated with both day and time, and can have an alarm notify you when they come due.

    3.  

     

Go to January 1 and start by typing the word Quote. The word is automatically entered in the Description field of the Appointment/Event screen. You'll put the actual quote in the Notes field.

Tab to Start Time and enter a time (or press (DEL) if you want the quote to appear as an event). If you set the quote up as an appointment, set the start time (without alarm) for before you wake up. The appointment will have come due and will be the first thing you see when you start your day. If you set the quote up as an Event, it will be displayed at the top of the screen all day.
 
 

  1. 3. Set the Repeat option if you want the quote to appear in future years. If you choose to repeat the quote, press (F8) (Repeat), select the Yearly option and fill in Frequency, Duration, and Yearly Repeat Type (See appointments, repeat options in the index of the User's Guide if you need help with this.)
  2. 4. Enter the quote in the Notes field. Press (F3) (Note) and key in your quote. When you are done, press (F10) (OK) (F10) (Done).

    3.  

     

Merging Appointment Book files

Once you have created your QUOTES.ADB file, merge it with your everyday Appointment file.
 
 

  1. 1. First open your regular Appointment Book file by pressing (MENU) File Open, tab to the Files field, highlight the file your .ADB file and press (F10) (OK).
  2. 2. Next, merge the files. Press (MENU) File Merge, tab to the Files section and highlight your QUOTES.ADB file. Press (F10) (OK).

    3.  

     

Since merging one file into another does not erase either file, you can return to your QUOTES.ADB file at any time to make corrections or additions. You can also give copies of it to friends with Palmtops.

 Other uses for this technique You can use this same technique to create and merge a list of birthdays and anniversaries, legal holidays, holidays from around the world, or other events and celebrations.

 Expanding Your Vocabulary Can be Fun and Easy

 A large vocabulary allows us to communicate more clearly and with more subtlety. It also allows us to appreciate the depth of expression in works of literature and, in some cases, may even influence a promotion at work.

 ON THE PALMTOP

Set up a NoteTaker file to track new vocabulary words
 
 

  1. 1. In NoteTaker, press (MENU) File New. At the Create New File screen, type words and press (ENTER).
  2. 2. Press (F2) (Add) and enter your new word in the Title field, then press (F3) (Note) and enter the definition. If you have difficulty remembering a word's pronunciation, write the pronunciation, after the word (e.g. aplomb {uh-plom}).
  3. 3. To aid yourself in learning the words, hide all columns except the Title column. To do this, press (F8) (Columns), use the Arrow Keys to select the column you want to hide and press (F3) (Delete). If your Title field is not displayed, press (F2) (Add), Arrow to the Title field and press (F10) (OK). When you are finished, press (F10) (Done).
  4. 4. Sort your Words file by the Note field so that the words appear on the screen randomly, not in alphabetical order. This makes it harder to memorize the order of the words you're learning (i.e., cheat).

    5.  

     

To sort on the Note field, press (F7) (Sort), and use the Arrow Keys to select Note in the 1st Sort Field. Use the (Spacebar) to select the Ascending check box to the right of the field, and press (F10) (OK).

New words that you have entered but are not yet defined will show up at the top of the list because there is no information in the Note field to sort on.

 Bringing up a definition

When you want to review your list of words, read down the list until you come to a word you are not sure of. Guess the meaning of the word, then press (F3) (Note) and read the definition. (On the 200LX, you can also press (CTRL) (D).) Next, try every way possible to use the word in the next conversation you have. (You may find yourself getting very creative in your conversations.) Other uses for this technique You can also use this technique to learn foreign language vocabulary, to memorize people's names or answers to test questions.