The Importance of Following Up

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I have a rule that if I need something to continue doing my work, deliver a project on time on behalf of a client, or simply get something that I want, it is my responsibility to follow-up. I do not consider myself innocent for receiving something late unless I have followed up multiple times. 

I do appreciate that sometimes you may have the urge to NOT follow-up so you can say something like "well, you did not get us the information in time so we are delaying the launch of a project" in order to buy yourself more time for reasons that have nothing to do with the item you are following up about. There are circumstances when that tactic is helpful (I've certainly done it) but I consider that the exception and not the rule. And it is also not the best approach to buying yourself more time because it backfires easily. If you need to buy more time, the safer approach is to manage expectations early and often. 

Below are some 5 tips for following up. Note that these rules may sound like they only apply to project managers but I wholeheartedly believe that every person/role/discipline should utilize these tips. Organizations run much more smoothly when everyone takes responsibility for their own follow-up.

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To-Do List Tips

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There are many to-do list approaches. There are websites, mobile apps, notebooks, backs of junk mail that can be used to help keep track of everything that needs to be done. I am very supportive of any system that works for the person using it. 

I personally use Toodledo as my to-do list manager. It does everything I want from a to-do list; it sorts by due date and allows for task categories and notes. It also has a mobile app that syncs with the web-based list so when you bolt awake at 2AM remembering something you need to do, it is simple to add the task and then go back to non-stressed sleep. Based on how I organize my to-do list, the free version of Toodledo does everything I need. 

Regardless of what tool I am using, I have tricks for making my to-do list easily digestible at a glance and for keeping track of next steps.

Below are 5 key tricks that I use for my to-do list management.

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