March 2009, Issue 17

Stay in Touch

Happy Winter Wonderland to those of you in the Northeast! Today, while so many of you may be enjoying your day off from school or work, I started to think about staying connected, and how even a March blizzard can'y easily cut off the lines of communication.

In the spirit of staying connected, come rain or shine - or snow - I ask you: how do you stay in touch with your friends, family, distant cousins? How many of you struggle to keep all of those numbers and addresses all in one place? Enter the contact database. Call it an address book, a collection of post-its with scribbles of people's names and numbers, or your amazing memory. However you choose to store and gather people's contact information, here are some simple tips to organize your list of contacts or revise whatever system you may already have.

This month, connect yourself.

1. Calling all contacts. Gather all scattered numbers, email addresses, zip codes, area codes - you get the picture. Then, choose your system - are you a paper person or do you prefer working online? For those who prefer paper, I suggest exploring FlexAddress Systems (see "love it" for more details), and for those who are more technologically inclined, Google is always a great choice.
   
   
2. Do you still know them? Review the information that is in front of you. Are you still in touch with your eighth grade lab partner? Do you want to be? Think about which contacts are worth preserving, and which ones no longer have a place in your life.
   
   
3. Update current information. Verify if the information you choose to keep is current. Have you switched jobs and your old co-worker's email is no longer relevant? Has your aunt moved in the last year? Is your best friend from college still using her AOL account? Ask around and do some research to make sure that the information you have is accurate.
   
   
4. Create a system for incoming contacts. Okay, so your newly fabulous address book is finally filled. Hooray! Time to create a maintenance plan. When will you enter in new contacts? Commit to once a week, once a month - depends how often you're meeting new people - to update your list.
   
   
5. Reach out and say hi! Now that you have gathered everyone's updated information, call them up and say hello. Who doesn't like a surprise phone call or email? Tell them that you have been meaning to call and just re-located their number. They'll be so happy to hear from you - and may even be inspired to organize their contacts too.