Trade business owners typically fall into forgetful traps because the only moments they have time to think is out on the road in between jobs. By the time they get back to their office/home, they’ve forgotten everything they needed to do. Having a memory like a goldfish sound familiar?
If you fall into forgetful on-the-road traps or if you simply just have a gold-fish memory, have no fear! Technology is on your side. We’ve put together a list of our favourite technologies to help you remember both the important and not-so-important things, and beat your blocked brain blues.
Remember random things
Personally, I remember to do things at the most inconvenient times. To beat this inconvenience I’ve made friends with an application called Voxer.
Voxer is a voice and text messaging mobile app. We use Voxer to communicate with our staff when we’re out of the office. It’s equally as brilliant for the purpose of remembering your own things.
There is a function on Voxer called “My Notes”. You can use My Notes to voice and text message yourself just as you would any of your staff or Voxer contacts. We love the voice messaging function. It’s quick and easy to use – just hold down a button and talk. Release the button and your audio message sends automatically!
If Voxer isn’t for you, we know many tradies that simply set reminders/alarms in their phone, or text/email themselves. These are all awesome ideas. Just make sure you choose one option and stick to it! Setting reminders in all different applications/locations will result in total confusion.
Remember daily tasks
Let’s say you’ve sent yourself several audio reminders on Voxer and now you’re back at our home/office. Some of the reminders were to be completed now (so you’ve completed them) and some need to be actioned later.
What do you do with the tasks to action later?
We’d suggest throwing away paper to-do lists (if you haven’t already) and consolidate your tasks on a Task Management app compatible across computer, tablet and phone devices.
Task Management apps allow you to;
- Choose deadlines for tasks
- Set tasks to repeat automatically from week to week (or fortnight, month, year etc.)
- Assign particular/multiple employees to tasks
- Check completed tasks
- View a full months calendar will the tasks you need to do
When you think of something that needs doing, add it to your task management app and it will automatically come up on the day you need to complete it. Simply tick it off the task when it’s done. It’s basically an online to-do list.
Our current favourite is Asana, but with other companies like TeamWork and Trello, you can’t go wrong.
Remembering job schedules/customers details
Job Management software is necessary to a streamlined trade business. However, it also serves a number of benefits for your job/customer memory.
This software enables you to not only schedule/view your jobs for each day/week/month, but also allows you to store vital customer details.
Forget remembering contact details, job history and any extra notes about customers. Using an iPad like our tradesmen, you can add all this information and even upload photos of the job site to the customers profile whilst on the job. This means you won’t forget them (or their dog Rover) and the important information you need to know about them should they require a call-back or require repeat service.
The daily grind of work and personal life can seriously take its toll on your mental capacity. However, learning to leverage the technology available to you can make a huge difference not only to relieving your mind of “things” but also in saving you time and money that could be lost from forgetfulness.
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
