Getting / keeping organised on a day to day basis

[jamescodriver]

My normal day involves quite a few emails, quite a few telephone calls, quite a few off the cuff meetings and quite a few out and about pre-booked appointments..

I also have regular tasks to do and on going tasks.

All of these things lead to lots of interuptions during the day and i wondered what people do or use to keep on top of these things or situations?

I have a paper diary and note books and an on-line to-do list and post-it notes and scaps of paper / envelopes etc all over my desk. My inbox has been used as a sort of todo list as well but i'm starting to forget / miss things and would like to know if i'm missing a trick somewhere!

Thanks..

[Simpo Two]

The info you need is scattered in too many places. Bring them together - a piece of A4 will do, and cross them as you've done them. The answer is not technology but mental approach IMHO.

[Bikerjon]

A decent calendar application should help. I use a Mac and have all my work and personal stuff in separate calendars. To Do's are integrated into the calendar too so I can see everything on one screen. For email I archive anything that needs to be saved and delete anything that doesn't. I put red labels on emails than need action, yellow for anything that's pending a response. All emails are grouped by conversation and I rarely have more than 20 messages in my inbox. Everything syncs to my phone and laptop so I never need to worry what machine/device I pickup to use.

[Newstuart]

My business is completely mobile and involves a number of pre- booked appointments as well as lots of last minute meetings needing to be arranged at short notice. It also involves a number of daily random requests from clients and regular daily tasks that need to be completed.

I work completley paperless and rely heavily on Wunderlist for task managment which syncs to my ipad, laptop and phone so I can easilly add tasks to it from any device and also see my re-occurring tasks easily. I also use the stock IOS calendar app for planning meetings which Syncs in the same way.

Emails that need a response get sent to wunderlist as a task if I can not clear them the same day and all other emails get filed or deleted as appropriate with the inbox being empty by the end of the day, in my mind this way I know if something needs to be done its in Wunderlis and if I need to see someone its in my calendar..

I find that often meetings can change at short notice leaving me with random free time slots during the day and being able to quickly start knocking off my out standing tasks when I have spurts of unexpected free time and being able to use any device I have to hand makes things so much easoer (for examplw no need to find somewhere to boot my laptop up find wifi etc if I can just sit in the car or work on the train). I also keep all my files on Dropbox so dont ever have an issue where I need access to some paperwork but its not to hand.

I usually spend 10-15 minutes at the end of each day going through outstanding items and reprioritise them depending on how my following day looks (adding un dealt with emails to Wunderlist also)

I basically run my entire life on the basis that if it needs to be done at a pre-determined time it goes in the callender app, if it just needs to be done on, or by, a specofic day it goes in Wunderlist and find it massively helps with stress and knowing I wont miss anything and I can stop trying to remember everything going on in my head.

Soulds like a lost of work when Inwrite it down but actually feels like second nature now im used to it.

Edited by Newstuart on Wednesday 29th March 20:31

[Splats]

I use a cloud based CRM ("Base" fwiw) to manage my clients, diary, meetings, appointments, etc. In fact, I just used it to tally up all the business miles I've done in 2016/17 as I very diligently put all meetings, etc down and where I'm going.

I also use OneNote (again, syncs to cloud) to keep track of other little titbits, things for the future, daily todo lists, short and medium todo, mustdo and wanttodo type lists. When I come across useful websites or resources, I dump the URL into a OneNote page with relevant short description. I have stuff in there that isn't useful to me right now but will possibly prove very useful in 3, 6 or 12 months time as I hit certain milestones in my business.

In general, this approach keeps me very organised and on top of things and - crucially - I can access nearly all my notes, scribbles, appointments, etc from anywhere I can get 3G/4G/Wi-fi.

[Crippo]

No Paper for anything

Buy Office 365 - £80 per year

Outlook for all your appointments, Contacts list and emails. You can manage several email accounts through Outlook and several Contacts list to separate out work from non work.
Also you can run several Calender's so that you can view simultaneously or very specific calender's.
So for example I see many clients in a day and I have a Work Calendar, a Prospective Calander a Private Calendar and a Family Calendar. I move prospective appointments from this Calendar to my Work Calendar when they get firmed up. My Wife drops into eth Family Calander events that I need to do, like get dinner, collect kids etc.

All my Documents are kept on ONe Drive which bolts onto Office 365. Again this ensures Im always using the latest version of whichever file I need.
I run a Windows Laptop an iPhone6 and an iPad Pro this lot all syncs perfectly and I have no issues organizing myself despite being ridiculously busy.

[Wacky Racer]

I must be a luddite then.

No computer or mobile anywhere to be seen, everything either in my head or written down on paper or on my forearm...never been late for an appointment in forty odd years.

[dfen5]

Quite a few people I know insist on 'quality time' - normally before the normal working day to get a plan for the coming day/days and review previous days. Literally do not disturb, post questions on a board outside, no I don't want a coffee sort of time.

A day per page Filofax is still the best business tool I've yet to find. Not reliant on signal, battery or anything else. Always have it as a back up to the plethora of electronic cloud storage appointments, outlook calendar, notes etc.. Still use it in meetings,

[Shrimper]

outlook calender that syncs to phone/ipad/laptop for meetings/really important reminders.

Everything else in a day-to-day diary that very rarely leaves my desk unless I'm away for a few days working. At the end of each working day I make a list for the following day, usually grouped in smaller lists for the various businesses I run. I also add stuff to days later in the week or following week if its not important, or needs to be done on a particular day.

It generally means I sit down at a desk and feel productive by crossing stuff off!

[jamescodriver]

Thanks for the replies so far, I have a seprate CRM system that i (am supposed to) use for the business but its about to get ditched for another system.

I've used wunderlist but probably not as well as i should have. Going to update my methods with it and see how I get on.

Happy to look at more ideas though!