keep it in the cloud

From checklists to calendars: Resolve to stay on task with these easy onlinetools

Remember the Milk
Evernote

Ever make an extensive to-do list, only to lose the scrap of paper you scrawled it on? Probably more times than you can count. Luckily, there are plenty of online tools to help you keep your lists and calendars in order, many of which sync with your phone and help you keep it together no matter where you are.

If your wall calendars and planners aren’t cutting it, here are a few apps to help you stick to those “get more organized” resolutions:

Evernote — One of most powerful and full-featured apps out there, Evernote’s got you set no matter what you need.

The original Evernote lets you save lists, links, notes, documents and files to access from your laptop or phone; Evernote Hello lets you save social info to help you remember contacts, and Evernote Food saves recipes, restaurant experiences and more culinary notes. (Evernote also operates screencap app Skitch, online reading tool Clearly and learning assistant Peek.)

Remember The Milk — If your biggest problem is that you’re overwhelmed with lists, RTM is for you. Its simple design and one-click list management makes it easy to save and organize your to-dos, to-buys, to-calls and whatever else you need to remember.

RTM syncs with iPhone, Andriod, Blackberry, iPad, Google, Twitter and Outlook, so no matter what you use, it’s easy to keep your lists at your fingertips. You can even sign in with your existing Google account.

Todo.ly — This app is similar to RTM, with a slightly different design, letting you organize tasks by project and boasting a design reminiscent of Gmail’s nested threads. With lots of brightly colored can’t-miss cues, one quick scan shows you what you’ve got coming up, when it’s due and which project it’s associated with.

Google — If you’re already a devoted Google addict, their built-in Calendar and Task apps are your best bet. Synced with your existing account with customizable features, they’re as intuitive as the rest of Google’s offerings. And if you already spend all day sitting on Gmail (admit it: you do), the ever-present Tasks tab is a good visual prompt to review your lists.

30 Boxes — A striking, simple design sets 30 Boxes apart from other online calendars. You can view in fullscreen, timeline mode, on your phone or by tag, and share your schedule with contacts. There’s also an integrated tasks list, and you can set SMS reminders for any item.

What are your favorite get-organized apps?

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”