Kyle J. Brazil

I have been working out since early in my junior year of high school, close to seven years now. It has become a part of my life that is irreplaceable and essential. Exercise and a healthy lifestyle are ingrained as a defined part of who I am. Since it is such a big part of my life it clearly takes up a lot of my time and there is one thing that has always driven me crazy about it. It’s not the dieting, the supplements, the soreness, or even the dedication it takes. No, it’s the record keeping. This is where my two of my favorite products come in: the iPhone and Google Docs.

Most people who try to keep track of their workouts often do so using a notebook, printed out Excel sheets, small scraps of paper, or simply by memory. The problem with all of these is that they make it dreadfully difficult monitor your progress. In order to simply my life and get rid of the dozens of scattered, wrinkled, and chicken scratched pieces of paper I had lying around I decided to turn to my trusty friend: Google Forms. I discovered this handy tool a few months back and ever since it has been my partner in crime. Google Forms is a feature of Google Docs that allows you to create a form that can be distributed to anyone and can collect a variety of responses including open-ended, multiple choice, and pull down. Once submitted the responses are deposited in real-time onto a Google Docs spreadsheet to which you can view at anytime from any web browser. Click here to see how it all works.

I created a separate Google Form form for each of the body parts that I work out. I took it one step further by simply typing the URL into my Safari browser on my iPhone and making homepage icons for each of them, as can be seen above. Once I am done with my workout I simply tap the icon and the browser opens with the form for me to input my weights (right). After I enter all of the data I simply hit submit and viola! Simple and easy. No more paper mess to keep track of and now I am able to instantly see my progress from any computer or mobile computing device. Along with that I can create charts and graphs of my progress over time.

This is just one of the few ways in which Google Docs has simplified my life. It has hundreds of practical applications in both a personal and business environment that leads to ease of work and increased productivity. I have used it for a wide range of reasons, like collecting information from group members to coordinate schedules to designing extensive surveys for market research. Everyday presents a new opportunity to discover a new use not only for Google Forms, but for the full Google Docs product line. I am always excited to discover what it can do next!