Set Reminders to Elevate Your Productivity

Sometimes, the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference in your career is the simplest. When I was starting my entrepreneurial journey, I dropped the ball a lot. There were tons of new tasks and appointments filling up my day but I wasn’t paying attention. My calendar went ignored. I would realize what I was missing at the 11^th hour—or worse, too late to meet the obligation.

Things had to change fast. I needed to be notified of what was going on and set follow-ups with myself and potential clients in order to make progress and stop the stress. And the easiest solution was right in front of me: set reminders.

Why Set Reminders?

Attention to detail and the ability to keep track of the little things is a key difference between those who succeed and those who struggle. But the big picture ideas are the reason you’re pursuing new ideas in the first place. You can’t just push the brainstorming and inspiration to the side because you have too many details to manage.

When you’re trying to grow a business, you need to be able to lighten your cognitive load. Set reminders so you don’t have to try and remember every little detail. You have an opportunity to manage communication in a way our predecessors didn’t. Focus on what really matters.

It helps you keep track of yourself and other people. You can keep your family on track or help your boss remember key points of a project. You might get them into too.

We all have to fight to overcome our challenges and really succeed. But you can’t expect yourself to be Superman all the time. There’s no reason not to take advantage of the opportunities we have to manage our lives.

Helpful Apps

Calendar App

Your phone came with a calendar–use it! Most smartphones will integrate email calendars with personal calendars fairly easily. If you always have your phone handy, this can be a critical tool in reminding. It’s a free, user-friendly app to manage your day to day but it doesn’t have much in the way of automation, which can get frustrating as your scheduling gets more complicated.

Plus, most calendars have the ability to set multiple reminders, so you can be sure you’re continually notified of the most critical events in your life.

FollowUpThen

This handy tool has seemingly infinite applications. FollowUpThen is just an email address that you send reminders to. The magic is that it sends you emails and notifications to track the notices you send it. You can add it to the Bcc of your emails to schedule follow-ups with potential clients. Taking advantage of this program’s features is as simple as sending an email.

IFTTT

I’ve talked before about IFTTT and that’s because of how useful it can be. This app keeps track of your social media network and creates alerts based on applets. It has the capability to send you notifications based on your location about things you need to do, the weather, or even the volume of your alerts. When you need something that will really do it all, look no further.

It’s especially useful for those who go blind to calendar notifications for routine events and appointments. A text message is usually much more powerful than a calendar notification and you’re much more likely to pay attention to it.

However you choose to do it, taking the time to set reminders is well worth it. You’re going to see an immediate change in what you can accomplish. The time is there—you just have to manage it.