Are you falling behind on your follow-ups? Do you want to improve the efficiency of following up with clients?

I sometimes get caught up with work overload at times and don't realize that I forgot to follow up with staff or clients' needs. I try my best at times to do this, but things get pushed back - I'm sure you know the drill.

One of the things that I do on a daily basis (well, try to anyways), is to take a look at my to-do list. I create reminders on Outlook for each task, so that when I do forget, a message will pop up on my screen to remind me of the task. If it's urgent, I will get to it right away. If not, I will click on the "Snooze" button and set it to whatever period of time I feel I can get it done in.

There will be days where you can't get to these tasks at all and others where you can just whiz through them. Try to complete tasks that need your attention within 2 - 3 business days. Otherwise you will start to fall behind and clients/staff members will start asking what's going on.

If you use a filing system for your to-do's, create folders numbered from 1 - 31. Then place each task into the corresponding day that you need to complete the task by. I used to use this at one of my old jobs. It was a life saver! If you can't complete the task that day, move it into the next day. Be weary though, you don't want it to pile up, so remember the 2 - 3 business day rule.

You can read more about using Outlook for tasks in this article. Also, here's a great article about time management.

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Until next time,

Take care - of your clutter!