How to Stay in Touch... When you’re Crazy Busy

Prioritise, prioritise!
“Not everyone needs your attention everyday,” says life coach and author of The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment, Elizabeth Grace Saunders. “Sort the important people in your life into who you need to touch base with every day, week, month, and so on. It helps you avoid feeling like you’re not in touch with the people who count,” she adds. Try making a list with people’s names under categories of importance.

Work That Social Media
“You’re almost always on Facebook or Twitter at work anyway—use it to shout out to the people you love,” says entrepreneur Stever Robbins of getitdoneguy.com. Instagram a picture of yourself at your desk and tag your mum who’s always asking how work is going. Send your bestie in the US a link to a song on Facebook, because you know she’s going to love it. “Everyone’s always got some social media they gravitate towards in the day, and reaching out through it takes very little time and leaves a thought that counts,” says Robbins.

Fix A Time To Touch Base
Some people in your life need you every single day—but you can’t always take their calls. “Consider setting up a recurring weekly phone call or lunch meeting so that spending time with them is naturally built into your schedule,” Saunders advocates. “If not, decide on the ‘when’ and ‘where’ at the end of each meeting,” she says.

Sort Your Friends Geographically
“Make a note of people relocating, and where they live, so you can plan to meet when you travel for work,” Robbins advises. A good idea is to add the city they live in to the contact
description on your phone—for instance, ‘Priya Rao (Mumbai)’.

INSTA TIPS

•  Make a WhatsApp group for family, and another for close friends. Jot down any updates from the day—good, bad, whatever—and keep them in the loop.
•  Make a Facebook page for a group. Plan events, put birthday reminders, help everyone keep in touch without all the hassle of coordinating individually.
•  Stick a Post-it to remind you of important calls to make, like ‘Call dad at six’.