I can relax at last, now I have my life organized with tasks, events and workflow

Personal time management and organization has always been a big challenge for me. How to make efficient use of your most precious resource: time, has always been difficult and cumbersome. Up until recently I was disappointed by a variety of CRM systems, MS Outlook and various Smartphones and portable organizers. I really did feel stressed.

As a business owner I am always inundated with a combination of business and personal items and activities. Keeping track is a nightmare. I use a calendar to record events, but often I have two or three calendars depending on where I was when the appointment was made.

Business tasks have been a minefield: a legion and never ending whirl of information requests, invitations, preparation for meetings, follow up on meetings, consulting work commitments, project tasks and long-term planning initiatives.

I have had great difficulty remembering to do pre-planned quarterly, or even monthly recurring tasks like “review your business plan”, particularly if they were not immediately income generating.

I used to find myself waking up from a deep sleep with an awful premonition of a missed task, or something urgent that was due today.

My salvation has involved several key technical components plus a strategy.

The Components Include:

1. Always carrying a smartphone with the ability to create or review tasks and calendar events that automatically update my central CRM, making phone-created tasks and events available on my laptop or anywhere on the web
2. Having the ability to create tasks quickly and easily and associate them appropriately with projects, people, companies or sales
3. A task list that is prioritized and easy to work from – direct links to make calls or send emails to contacts, or review details of organizations and notes for example.

The Strategy is:

1. To do task management in “down times”: riding on a bus, waiting in a Doctor’s office
2. To make a task that recurs for monthly and quarterly commitments
3. To prioritize my tasks I use a star system:
   • 1 star = Not urgent and not important
   • 2 star =important but not urgent or urgent not important
   • 3 star =urgent and important
   • 4 star =top priority.
   That way when I review my list I do the 4 star first then the 3 star, etc.
4. To not be overly concerned if I do not get through to 2 star or 1 star tasks today, at least they are recorded and not forgotten. I may delegate these tasks if I get overloaded.
5. To have my task list available on my smartphone with full capability to complete the task – access to contacts, project details and emails
6. To have the tasks process open as I review my email tide. If I see a request in an email I create a task associated with that person.
7. To always have a next task set up for every target, prospect or customer so I don not lose touch. (More on this strategy in my next blog)
8. To automatically create a future task using workflow when I add a new contact. Typically when I add a contact I create an introductory email. The automated task reminds me 3 days later to follow up with a phone call.
9. To visually identify automatically generated proactive tasks and prioritize them appropriately

The system was recently put to the test. I had a trip to the UK and Europe that took me away from the office for 11 days. I took my smart phone and a palm-top computer. By analysis of my task list and calendar during the flight I was able to arrange my commitments and subsequently stay on top of business developments in just a few minutes each day.

I am sleeping better already and have a great sense of peace of mind. I know that I am operating an efficient, useable and helpful system and I don’t have to constantly worry “Have I missed something important”.

I use the Cloud-based ZOHO CRM system, which has friendly and useful Task and Event management, an Apple iPhone and the Zoho Mobile app.

Click here to learn more and watch a Video on ZOHO CRM for Smartphones.

Peter Coy | President | Prodigm Inc. | Toronto

“CRM that Fits”

Peter has a Masters Certificate in Project Management from Schulich School of Business and has managed hundreds of projects for large and small organizations in a long IT career in Development, Design, Sales and Marketing.

Contact: +1 416 564 1446 | petercoy@prodigm.ca | www.prodigm.ca