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#ProdChat – 01/14/15 – Circling Back: The Art of Following Up
On January 14, 2015, #ProdChat, the weekly #productivity chat on Twitter, discussed, “Circling Back: The Art of Following Up.” Such a great group attended and insights shared in the chat! Watch the slideshow to see what the productivity enthusiasts on #ProdChat had to say about Circling Back: The Art of Following Up. Enjoy!
Questions:
- Q1: Why is following up important in personal and professional life? In what circumstances?
- Q2: How do you manage your follow-up’s?
- Q3: How do you follow up without micromanaging peers/employees/family?
- Q4: When asking (eg, in sales or a community group), how (and how often) do you follow up without annoying them?
- Q5: What to do when following up gets no action someone previously committed to making?
- Q6: Email responses are their own animal, so it would seem. How do you follow up to get responses to your emails?
Picture tweets:
Raw transcript:
(#ProdChat begins at 8pm ET/5pm PT, so please note that whatever timezone the Twitter API is on, it’s off by seven hours to ET as far as we can tell.)
| from_user | text | created_at |
| rsidneysmith | Welcome to #ProdChat, the weekly chat for productivity enthusiasts! http://t.co/C40vBbbqPN | Thu Jan 15 00:59:02 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | Expect a higher volume of tweets from me as I join in on #prodchat for the next hour tonight. Feel free to join me 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 00:59:11 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @pal4life26 Hey, Nadir! How’re you today? Ready for some #prodchat? 😉 | Thu Jan 15 00:59:26 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @lewisjasona Hey, Jason! Welcome to #prodchat, as always! Looking forward to our conversation today! | Thu Jan 15 00:59:52 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Hey, Ben! What’s happening today? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:00:05 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | What makes one a productivity enthusiast exactly? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:00:18 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @cooperjohnj Hi, John! How’re you? Good to have you back on #prodchat! 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 01:00:27 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | Today on #ProdChat we’re discussing Circling Back: The Art of Following Up! Join us! #productivity #gtd http://t.co/7qWnc4t5Wj | Thu Jan 15 01:00:30 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor someone who is enthused with productivity #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:00:45 +0000 2015 |
| lewisjasona | Good evening #prodchat friends! | Thu Jan 15 01:00:55 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | So, let’s start! In a tweet, intro. yourself. What’s a productivity success or challenge this week? #prodchat http://t.co/KmdaTLWuUj | Thu Jan 15 01:01:08 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor The fact that you’re here. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:13 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @rsidneysmith I am good, busy with podcast and new website launching next month #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:15 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @rsidneysmith hey Ray. Super busy, Wednesdays are shaping up to be my craziest days #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:16 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | Good evening everyone! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:31 +0000 2015 |
| lewisjasona | @rsidneysmith I’m looking forward to it too! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:41 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @cooperjohnj I know the feeling of being active with many projects! New video podcast show launching in a few weeks. Eek! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:45 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | RT @rsidneysmith: @cooperjohnj I know the feeling of being active with many projects! New video podcast show launching in a few weeks. Eek!… | Thu Jan 15 01:01:55 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @cooperjohnj that is what is known as a circular definition #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:01:55 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | Hey @rsidneysmith !! Happy to be here tonight 🙂 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:02:04 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | Please add #prodchat to tweets. Questions will come as Q1, Q2, Q3. Answer A1, A2, A3, for readability! | Thu Jan 15 01:02:11 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Well, I’m glad you can round out your crazy days with a relaxing, stimulating conversation about productivity! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:02:14 +0000 2015 |
| pal4life26 | @rsidneysmith Yes Super excited for #prodchat to share the following up tips and to learn a lot in an hour for the whole week | Thu Jan 15 01:02:16 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @IsaPinaud hey Isabel, looks like a good portion of the gang made it #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:02:25 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @IsaPinaud Hey, Isabel! Great to see you on the #prodchat stream tonight! Exciting topic! | Thu Jan 15 01:02:34 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @halduauthor You are one. Join the club. @cooperjohnj #prodchat Hey guys 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 01:02:38 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @Christine_Chen6 Heya, Christine! Good day! How’re you? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:02:48 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | @rsidneysmith all good here. Super busy so I’m glad to unwind for the night. How are YOU? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:03:19 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @rsidneysmith so prodchat is for productivity enthusiasts, which by definition is people who participate in #prodchat? | Thu Jan 15 01:03:22 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @cooperjohnj @rsidneysmith new website? Tell me more #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:03:45 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @Christine_Chen6 good to see you again christine #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:03:47 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @Christine_Chen6 So glad to hear that you’re good! I’m doing well! Thanks for asking. Geared up for this #prodchat discussion! | Thu Jan 15 01:03:57 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | I’m Isabel: 20 year old design student, minimalist and productivity enthusiast 😛 #prodchat Also @halduauthor says I’m super woman haha |
Thu Jan 15 01:04:04 +0000 2015 |
| KSimoneZebley | Hey guys. Good evening. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:08 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Yup. 😉 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:09 +0000 2015 |
| ncbluegrass | Hello all #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:18 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor wife and I are combining for a parenting/family/ and productivity blog #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:21 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor I mean, why else would you be here, Ben? Lol. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:28 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | My biggest productivity challenge this week was focusing. I have been so distracted lately #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:42 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | @cooperjohnj same here. Hope all is well on your end. Looking forward to chatting. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:43 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | RT @rsidneysmith: @cooperjohnj I know the feeling of being active with many projects! New video podcast show launching in a few weeks. Eek!… | Thu Jan 15 01:04:50 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | I’m Ben, I love productivity and edtech and social media. Challenge is how to juggle three jobs, school and internship #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:04:53 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @KSimoneZebley Hi, Khyhisha! Great to have you join us on the #prodchat! You’ll find everyone warm and welcoming! 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 01:04:54 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | @rsidneysmith yay! Me too. Excited to be here. Let’s rock it ! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:00 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @ncbluegrass Hey, Tim! How’re you this fine Wednesday? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:08 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @rsidneysmith It sure is!! How are you? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:09 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @rsidneysmith me too! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:09 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | Q1: Why is following up important in personal and professional life? In what circumstances? #prodchat http://t.co/K8pZKMS4HI | Thu Jan 15 01:05:12 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @cooperjohnj Yep! I missed this gang! @halduauthor #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:22 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @IsaPinaud @halduauthor states fact #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:24 +0000 2015 |
| KSimoneZebley | Thanks for the reminder @rsidneysmith #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:41 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @cooperjohnj @halduauthor We not only made it, all three of us were on time hahaha #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:05:46 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @KSimoneZebley Hey, I try to help where I can! 🙂 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:00 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @IsaPinaud tru dat. I take it you didn’t make it out of the country? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:08 +0000 2015 |
| pal4life26 | @rsidneysmith #ProdChat Since I have family overseas,for me it was managing different timezones, work out stuff on phone,keep progressing. | Thu Jan 15 01:06:18 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | A1: Following up creates accountability for others and shows accountability in you. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:22 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @IsaPinaud @cooperjohnj @halduauthor We’ve got a full #prodchat cafe today! It’s going to be great chat! 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 01:06:27 +0000 2015 |
| ncbluegrass | @rsidneysmith recovering from the flu but getting better every hour #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:39 +0000 2015 |
| macbikegeek | Circling back to finish dinner and then back to real keyboard #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:50 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | RT @IsaPinaud: @cooperjohnj @halduauthor We not only made it, all three of us were on time hahaha #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:51 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | RT @cooperjohnj: @IsaPinaud @halduauthor states fact #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:51 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @rsidneysmith hmmm… my logic teacher would have something to say about that one #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:55 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @ncbluegrass Well, sorry to hear you were under the weather, but glad to hear you’re on the mend! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:06:57 +0000 2015 |
| profkrg | Hi, #prodchat! How is everyone? | Thu Jan 15 01:06:58 +0000 2015 |
| profkrg | RT @cooperjohnj: A1: Following up creates accountability for others and shows accountability in you. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:07:18 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Thankfully, your logic teacher isn’t here. 😉 I’m actually a master of logical fallacies…use them! Lol. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:07:22 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @cooperjohnj sweet! Are you dissolving the old one? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:07:26 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @halduauthor I did not 🙁 But everything happens for a reason, bigger opportunities will come #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:07:28 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | A1 It a way to become accountable and make sure the people you are working with are accountable to you 🙂 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:07:52 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | RT @rsidneysmith: @IsaPinaud @cooperjohnj @halduauthor We’ve got a full #prodchat cafe today! It’s going to be great chat! 🙂 | Thu Jan 15 01:07:58 +0000 2015 |
| KSimoneZebley | A1 Simply, following up shows that you give a damn #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:08:10 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | A1: Following up shows in a professional environment that you can be trusted, and are worthy of hiring, buying from or promoting. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:08:16 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @profkrg Hey Kenna 🙂 How are you? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:08:29 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | A1: how else will I know if all the stuff I tell people to do gets done? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:08:36 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor No, but kind of becoming a little less focused more like ramblings that I feel like sharing #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:08:47 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | A1: In personal life, following up is important because family/friends depend on you, and it erodes relationships if you don’t. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:08 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | RT @KSimoneZebley: A1 Simply, following up shows that you give a damn #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:13 +0000 2015 |
| ArtGelwicks | Evening folks. How goes the new year? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:25 +0000 2015 |
| ncbluegrass | A1: follow up in both personal and business allows for a chance to insure everyone is on the same page or expectations #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:26 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | A1 it’s important to follow up with your network both professionally+personally. Key to developing authentic relationships #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:36 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @profkrg hey Professor, glad to see you #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:39 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @macbikegeek Glad you could make it…when you get circle! 😉 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:09:46 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | Q2: How do you manage your follow-up’s? #prodchat http://t.co/TEyQwwly8p | Thu Jan 15 01:10:05 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @profkrg Hey, Kenna! Happy Wednesday! How’re you today? I’m doing well. 🙂 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:10:10 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @IsaPinaud #goodattitude #dreambig #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:10:17 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @rsidneysmith I put reminders to follow up when it is for me, I am bad about tracking others who need to follow up #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:10:59 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @ArtGelwicks hey Art. Pretty good so far. How about you? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:10 +0000 2015 |
| profkrg | @halduauthor You too! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:14 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @rsidneysmith I do have a waiting for list that is stuff that has been delegated though #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:15 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @IsaPinaud I’ll throw that in the hopper for a topic of productivity challenges in two weeks! 🙂 We’ll tackle distraction! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:21 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | @jasonrleduc same here. 2015 is starting out wonderfully for me with a new gig, yourself? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:28 +0000 2015 |
| profkrg | @rsidneysmith I’m doing well, thanks. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:37 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | A2: todoist! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:40 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | A2 Follow-up list for work, volunteering and college #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:40 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @cooperjohnj Well, we’re definitely going to talk about that shortly, so hopefully folks have some good advice. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:47 +0000 2015 |
| ArtGelwicks | A1: following up is about accountability and credibility. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:57 +0000 2015 |
| ncbluegrass | A2: I have to set calendar reminders and make a scheduled effort to follow through with follow up #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:11:59 +0000 2015 |
| macbikegeek | @rsidneysmith #prodchat A2 Todoist including reminders and due dates | Thu Jan 15 01:12:15 +0000 2015 |
| Christine_Chen6 | A2. Excel is my best friend. I create a list and keep a close track of it. Organization is everything. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:15 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor i love todoist, i didn’t know you used it 🙂 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:17 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @halduauthor That should be #prodchat ‘s motto. Read it in a deep manly voice: “Dream Big. Prodchat.” | Thu Jan 15 01:12:23 +0000 2015 |
| KSimoneZebley | RT @ArtGelwicks: A1: following up is about accountability and credibility. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:27 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Juggling multiple roles and responsibilities is always a #productivity challenge. Thanks for sharing! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:28 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @ArtGelwicks hey Art! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:33 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @rsidneysmith @IsaPinaud are distraction and focus really the same problem though? #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:48 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor Quite the delegation expert, eh? 😉 #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:12:58 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @halduauthor @IsaPinaud They are two sides of the same coin, IMHO. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:13:31 +0000 2015 |
| KSimoneZebley | A2) Excel is a godsend. I need visual reminders. #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:13:45 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @ArtGelwicks Hey, Art! Great to see you, mate! Hope your new year is off to a great start! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:13:48 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @cooperjohnj oh yeah, after much searching I have been settled on it for at least a semester #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:13:52 +0000 2015 |
| halduauthor | @IsaPinaud yeah let’s have @cooperjohnj do it #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:14:15 +0000 2015 |
| lewisjasona | A1: I use a waiting for context in omnifocus, but they all end up jumbled together. #prodchat # | Thu Jan 15 01:14:18 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor we will have to chat about it sometime I am always looking for new ways to use it #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:14:21 +0000 2015 |
| rsidneysmith | @Christine_Chen6 That’s really important…authenticity I think is something people clue into very easily. Great point! #prodchat | Thu Jan 15 01:14:22 +0000 2015 |
| IsaPinaud | @rsidneysmith I love this! I hope I don’t get distracted and miss #prodchat that week lol | Thu Jan 15 01:14:25 +0000 2015 |
| cooperjohnj | @halduauthor @IsaPinaud I thought she said deep manly voice |