Read through these instructions and set up your iGoogle.

**If you already have a Google Account, skip to Step 2**

1. Set up a Google Account

Go to google.com and click on Sign In in the upper right-hand corner.
On the lower right-hand side, click on Create an Account Now.
Enter an Email Address. (This becomes your username, so be sure to use an email address you don't mind typing in every time you log in. If you want an email account from Gmail, skip down to the directions at the bottom of this page. If you decide to use a Gmail address for your Google Account username, you do not need to type the "@--------.com" part of the address when you log in.)
Choose a Password. Remember, you will have a lot of usernames and passwords in the web 2.0 world, so choose something that is easy to remember -- and write them down!
Fill out the rest of the required information and click I Accept. Create My Account.
You will get a page telling you to access your email in order to verfiy your account. You can do so now or click on the link Click Here to Continue. You may not have full access to everything in Google until you verify your account.

2. Set up your iGoogle.

In the upper right-hand corner of your Google page, click on iGoogle. Close (x-out of) the prompt box.
On the right-hand side of the page, click on Artist Themes or Select Theme and browse the themes. Note: On the left-hand side of the page you can search for themes by "Hottest," "Most Users," or "Newest." On the right-hand side of the page you can search for keywords in the "Search for Themes" box. Once you select a theme click Back to iGoogle page.
Click on Add Stuff. Begin to add the gadgets you want on your homepage. You can either browse the categories or look for keywords in the search box. For productivity, you may want to focus on News, Tools, Communication, and Technology for such things as calendars, to-do lists, reference tools, email, and news rather than cartoons, joke-of-the-day, and YouTube.
To reorganize your page, simply "click and drag" any box to a different location on the page. You may want to Add a Tab and categorize your gadgets on different pages. If you decide you don't want a gadget, click on the "x" to delete it.
Continue to play around with igoogle in order to customize it to your liking.

GOOD WIDGET SUGGESTIONS

Today list. This isn’t actually a specific gadget, but an idea for how to use one. Choose from among the many to-do list gadgets available (whichever works best for you) and call it your “Today list”. Now only write down the 3-4 most important things you need to do today.

iReminder. This is an insanely useful gadget from Todoist (maker of the useful to-do list service) that allows you to set reminders that can be sent to your email or mobile device.

Google Analytics. If you have a blog or website, you may want to keep track of your stats. Instead of opening Analytics every 5 minutes, just leave the gadget on your home page.

Google services. If you’re like me and use a lot of Google services, get their gadgets (or put them in the compound gadget): Gmail, Google Reader, GCal, Google Docs, Google Talk.

Compound gadget. Clean up your iGoogle page by combining several gadgets into one tabbed gadget. It makes things much more organized.

Document to PDF. Need to create PDFs often? Add the tool that makes this quick.

Web stickies. Add stickies to your home page for quick little notes on anything. Very useful.

Activity tracker. An extremely useful gadget that allows you to track how much time you spend on multiple activities.

Adapted from 15 iGoogle Gadgets for Web Worker Productivity by Leo Babauta

Full article at http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/09/05/top-igoogle-gadgets-for-web-worker-productivity/

Setting up an email account in Gmail

1. Go to google.com and click on Gmail -- this is located either in the upper left-hand corner of the page or in the drop-down box under More.

2. Click on Sign Up for Gmail on the lower right-hand side of the page.

3. Fill in your First Name, Last Name, and Desired Login Name. Be sure to click Check Availability to see if your Login Name is available.

4. Choose a Password. Remember, you will have a lot of usernames and passwords in the web 2.0 world, so choose a Login Name and Password that will be easy to remember -- and write them down!

5. Continue filling in the rest of the required information and click I Accept. Create my Account.

6. You will get a page explaining how to use Gmail. Click I'm Ready -- Show Me My Account on the upper right-hand side.

7. Now you are not only logged into Gmail, but also Google. For example, click on Sign Out in the upper right-hand corner. Then go to google.com. In the upper right-hand corner, click on Sign In. Enter your Gmail Login Name and Password (you do not need to type @gmail.com). Once you click Sign In you will have access to all Google products.

08-09 Using iGoogle