37Signals App Review: Logbook

My company recently started using the great suite of 37signals productivity apps and I'm in love. We're now using Basecamp for project management, Backpack for organization, and Highrise for CRM. I think using these apps will usher in a new year of collaboration and organization the likes of which we've never experienced.

One of the features I love about Backpack is the Journal feature. It allows you to set your current status and log entries when you've completed work. It is a great way to keep other people in the loop without having to specifically contact them. The problem is, opening up a webpage and navigating to the Journals page takes way too long to make using it very efficient. That's where Logbook saves the day.

Logbook is a great looking app that does one thing and does it extremely well. It allows you to quickly and easily post status updates and entries to your Journal without having to even open a browser window. The app sits quietly in your menu bar until called upon (either by clicking or, for the keyboard fanatic, you can set a custom keyboard shortcut to show and hide the app interface.) You can even set Logbook to remind you to post your status, which is does with one of the nicest reminder options ever, a simple color fade to red. No bouncing, no noises, no pop-up dialogs.

The app is a paltry $12.99 and, as soon as I have a little more cash to burn, I'll be buying this right away. I also have a dashboard widget installed (which was free) but Logbook is worth the cash IMHO. I do wonder if there are bulk licensing options since I run an all Mac shop with about 10 employees and, if we could afford it, I'd love everyone to have this app running all the time. I've had it installed and running since I downloaded the demo and love using it. Check it out now and let everyone know what you just did or what you're going to do.