24 Tips for Getting Organized in January, Tip #23: Learn How to Use Your Phone
Tip #23: Learn How to Use Your Phone
People waste tons of time on the phone at the office. With a few tips, you can shave time off of your phone time and be more organized.
I don’t mean the basics - I mean the “extras.” Most phone plans - cell or landline - are bundled with extra services these days. Some of them are relatively useless (don’t get me started). But some of them are quite handy. Make sure that you understand:
1, Caller ID. I love Caller ID. I used to hate it. But that was before my office became the target for every marketer known to man. If I’m busy and I see “Generic Office Supply Company” here, I don’t pick up the phone, simple as that.
2, Call Forward. Now that I work from home more often, I need to be reachable. But I don’t want to give out my cell phone or home number to every person on the street - I did this once before and trust me, people will abuse it. Instead, for no charge, I can forward my office calls to my cell phone. I use this feature only occasionally, however, as I don’t want to be inundated with calls at all hours.
3, Voice mail. I have voice mail at the office and I love it. It’s a great time saver for the sales calls (see #1 above). Make sure that you are familiar with your voice mail - you can usually check messages remotely (including online!) and change your message as appropriate.
4, Mute. Learn to use your mute! For one, when on a long conference call or speakerphone, do your colleagues a favor and hit the mute button. We don’t need to hear you clear your throat, check your email (ping!) or type a letter. Along those lines, however, when you have a long call or a long wait time (as I do often with IRS), it’s handy to put the phone on speakerphone AND mute so that you can get work done while you wait.
5, Speed Dial and Programming. Self explanatory. Most of the people that I know don’t know how to program their speed dials. When you do it correctly, it can be a time saver. Some numbers, I know off the top of my head. But the Chinese Restaurant down the street? The copy guy? I must call those folks several times in a month - why look for the number each time?
6, International Calling Plans. We added our international plan to our cell phones because we travel for business. No more figuring out country codes, etc. When I’m abroad, I dial just like always. If you travel abroad, consider buying a phone that works in both countries.
7, IM and Text. omg. This isn’t just for teens anymore. It’s handy when you’re stuck on a subway, late for a meeting or need a quick answer from a colleague. Most text plans are included in your cell phone package. I use text messaging constantly. It can be quiet and unobtrusive - much nicer than making a call in the middle of a meeting to let someone know that you’re running late.
There are lots of other features like busy redial, distinctive rings and call block that can make your life easier. Many are already included on your phone or in your package. Check out your own phone as well as your provider - and see what’s there.
And for the fanciest among us, look out for phones that feature live person-to-person video calls, multimedia downloads and video messaging!
The photo above, by the way, is a NEC phone, very close to what we have at our office.
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POSTED IN: Communication, Productivity, Series
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