Why I Will Never Again Misplace My iPad!

It was the last leg of my trip as I flew from Detroit to Ft. Wayne. Sixteen hours earlier I had boarded a plane in Berlin to fly back home. I was exhausted! My goal on this short flight (29 min.) was to stay awake so that I could sleep that night. So as soon as I boarded the plane I got my iPad out to read until we were ready for takeoff. I was able to read for a few minutes before I had to put it in the seat pocket. (You cannot have electronic devices on during takeoff and landing.) My intentions were to take it back out and start reading again when we had reached a high enough altitude. I laid my head back and "rested" my eyes for takeoff. The next thing I know we are landing at the airport in Ft. Wayne. I had slept the entire flight! 

As we taxied to the gate I was still coming out of a deep sleep as my body thought we were still on European time. My mind wasn't entirely clear. As we got to the gate I looked at my backpack under the seat and semi-remember putting my iPad in there before I fell asleep. I didn't even glance in the seat pocket! As soon as  I got home I went to sleep and didn't realize what I had done until the next morning. I was in disbelief as to why I didn't check the seat pocket! Well, long story short, I contacted the Ft. Wayne airport and they had my iPad safe and secure. What a relief! 

I have had my iPad for almost a year now and it didn't occur to me, until I lost the thing, how much I use and rely on this device. I practically take it with me everywhere I go. Most of what I do in terms of work or personal time is on the iPad. I continue to see and hear more people using an iPad, or some kind of tablet device (my wife has a Kindle Fire). So, how do I use my iPad? Below is a list of the most frequent ways I use the iPad.

1. Reading: I read a lot of material. If you are a leader, then you have to be a reader. A reader will usually indicate a self-learner that wants to grow. 
• Book Apps. I use iBooks (Apple), nook (Barnes & Noble), and Kindle (Amazon). I will typically put a book that I want to buy on my wish list with my Amazon account. In reality this is my "To Read" list. When I am ready to purchase a book I will check all three of these stores to see who is selling it the cheapest. 
• Google Reader. This is how I read blogs. I like to read what other leaders and people are saying. I will write another post on which blogs I read. 
• Glo Bible. I have made the transition from using a regular Bible to using Glo Bible on my iPad. I wasn't sure if lightning would strike me dead at first, but so far God doesn't seem to mind if His Word is in paper or digital form!
• KPCNews.com. I have shortcut on my home screen to our local newspaper's website so that I can read it on my iPad. 
2. Work Tools: I use my iPad a lot for work. I have a lot of ongoing projects that need my attention. The great thing about most of these Apps is that they are web-based, so I can work on the same content on my computer in my office or on my iPad at a coffee shop (Jeremiah's Brewed Awakening).
• Evernote. By far, this is the App I use the most. I use Evernote to write blog posts, take meeting notes, write down sermon ideas, make packing list, and just about anything else that I need to write down. Evernote syncs to a cloud, so as soon as I make an entry it will also show up on my other devices such as my desktop computer and my iPhone. 
• Mail. Along with my iPhone, the iPad is where I check my emails the most. 
• Smartytask. This is the program I use to keep my projects and to-do list organized. It allows me to list all of the steps I need to do in order to complete a project. I can set reminders and prioritize my list. If you use GTD then consider using Smartytask.
• Preaching/Speaking. I am just beginning to learn how to use my iPad for preaching and speaking. I have already used it in classes where I used Keynote, but I have yet to preach/speak from it. In fact I am performing a wedding and preaching this weekend and planning to use the iPad. Since this is my first time and not sure how it will go I am planning to print out my notes as a back up!
3. Personal Time: There are many other things I do on my iPad as I am becoming more comfortable with it. 
• Paying the Bills. About a year ago I transitioned to paying all of my bills online through my bank and keep an online checkbook using clearcheckbook.com. This has cut my time in half when it comes to paying the bills. I have also used TurboTax the last two years which makes doing the taxes easy and even fun!
• Sports. I listen frequently to my ESPN Radio App  as well as have multiple shortcuts to my favorites sports sites on the internet. 
• Social. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube are the social networking tools I use to stay up to date with family, friends, and other people. 
• Shopping. As with paying the bills, I have grown more accustomed to shopping on the internet as well. While most of my online purchases have been books I have also bought clothes, shoes, and backpacking equipment as well. Quite often when shopping at a brick and mortar store, I use either my Shopsavvy or Amazon Apps to scan the bar code and see if there are better deals online. Nine times out of Ten I can buy the same product online for 30-40% cheaper than in the store. If I don't need the item right away I will make the purchase online.
• Netflix. We don't have cable at home, so Netflix is used frequently. We watch it through our Wii, or the kids will watch their favorite episodes or movies on their iPods. My favorite way to watch Netflix is to connect my iPad to our TV with an HDMI cable. 

It seems that almost every week I hear about new Apps or various ways people are adapting the iPad to use in their craft. You can pretty much adapt it to what you need.  It is certainly a handy tool that has made it convenient, easy, and fun to work and play! Which is why I will never again (with fingers crossed) misplace my iPad!