I don't know about you, but right around the middle of December someone reminds me about New Year's resolutions. Despite my better judgment and decades of personal experience, I still tend to make resolutions for the upcoming year. I bet if I went back over the last ten or even twenty years, I'd see the same resolutions, year in and year out!

Of course, one of my resolutions is to become more organized. I've given this one some serious thought, and with the help of my trusty Palm handheld and some software (and a bit of intestinal fortitude), I think I might actually pull this one off. What about you? Are you planning to start off the year 2003 as a more organized you?

As you make those New Year's resolutions to simplify and organize your life, remember that you, too, can take advantage of one of the most useful gadgets many of you already have--your handy-dandy Palm computer! It's almost like you just can't help but be on time and up-to-date when you rely on your handheld to carry the details of your life around so they're always available.

For those of you who could use some ideas on how your handheld can help you achieve this particular New Year's resolution, there are many, many tools available for your Palm device. Just go to our sister publication, PalmPower Magazine (at http://www.palmpower.com) and visit the back-issues to see the wealth of resources you can carry with you at all times.

But since this is OutlookPower, I'd like to tell you a bit more about how you can take your Microsoft Outlook information on the road and on your Palm, as well. A company called Chapura (at http://www.chapura.com) has a nifty product that lets you keep all your Outlook contacts on your Palm device. In fact, KeyContacts replaces the Palm Address Book and with it, you may never want for more of your detailed Outlook contact information on your handheld. Wherever you go, you have quick access to virtually any phone number a person could have, up to a whopping 19 of them per person -- now there's someone who really needs to get organized! There's no need to worry about the confusing folder-to-category mapping often found in Palm conduits because KeyContacts actually stores contact lists in folders on the handheld, just like in Outlook. Save your handheld categories for real categories--and in KeyContacts you can have over 250 of them!

Chapura also offers a way for Outlook Express users to get organized and to better stay in touch with family and friends (sounds like another familiar New Year's resolution, right?). Their wackily-named Jibe software product is for those of you who use Outlook Express for email, but the Palm Address Book and Palm Desktop for keeping track of names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Jibe synchronizes email address information between Outlook Express, the Palm Desktop, and the Palm OS handheld. There's no user interface to Jibe, which means there's nothing to learn. Just install it and go. This is great for those of us who don't have time to futz with yet more software installations. Once again, it's an easy way to help make 2003 "The Year of Efficiency."