I’m not a Getting Things Done (GTD) power user. But I’ve got a functionally simple system using Remember The Milk, Evernote, two Macs and an iPhone.
What I’m really bad at is maintaining social contacts. As an INTP I’m far more likely to spend my time chasing butterflies, moonbeams and zebras than initiating contacts with human beings. I need some very easy way to track my contacts and see which contacts are providing fruitful opportunities.Â
There are a boodle of CRM solutions in the universe. My hands-down favorite is Daylite from Marketcircle. But for my needs Daylite is like shooting horseflies with a three gauge shotgun. I just need something that will say “it’s been a long time since you’ve talked with MacTavish, maybe you should give him a tinkle.”
Now because Jason was so nice as to send me an opt-in bulkmail just as I was thinking about this topic, I’m going to give Highrise another look-see. Maybe it will live up to its reputation as a “Rolodex on steroids.”
But I think an even simpler solution might be lurking in my Apple Mail address book, based on something Merlin posted at 43 Folders. If I create two Smart Groups, one that includes the word “contacted” in the Notes field and one that excludes the word “contacted,” and then I make sure that I jot a “contacted” note with everyone whom I have a significant interaction (defined in my case as a phone call or face-to-face that I initiate) then I can get a quick scan of who my real friends are. Down the road I may need to find a way to put a date stamp into the thing, but we’ll see how it goes.
Nice. Simple and stupid. The way I like it.
