I noticed in Ross' excellent How I use Billing tutorial that he used the abbreviation "TCF" to denote "telephone call from" when writing a detail note. I pretty much do the same thing, and over the years have come up with my own "standard" set of abbreviations. I use these abbreviations everywhere I need to keep track of something...tasks, appointments, notes, memos, etc. It definitely speeds data entry and the standardization means I'll still understand what I wrote 6 months from now. In my disorganized world that's no small thing.
CF - Call from
CT - Call to
VF - Voicemail from
VT - Voicemail to
EF - Email from
ET - Email to
FF - FAX from
FT - FAX to
TR - Travel (Typically fm/to as in "TR Office to XYZ Mfg. - 7 miles.")
OS - On-site
Below are a couple of examples of how I use the abbreviations. If I can handle the task "right now" (like the first example) , I'll generally write it up in the project log (task) instead of creating a separate, actionable task. If the task is more involved, or if I need to have it visible as a reminder, I'll create a separate task.
Example 1, a note in the project log.
#444 XYC Corp, Batter Beater - Log
6/8/2007 3:04 PM
...CF Bill @XYZ - Needs latest drawing set for stacker #1
...ET Bill - Drawings XYZ-K00104.dwg -XYZ-J00116.dwg.
...CT Bill - Drawings rec'd. Will start fabrication and assy tomorrow. Expect delivery 2 weeks.
Example 2, a separate task.
#444 XYZ Corp, Batter Beater - Machine Down!!!
6/8/2007 3:03 PM
...VF Frank @XYZ - Discovered faulty display unit during startup. Must be in production in 3 hours.
...We have stock. Deliver replacement and pickup bad for warranty eval.
...CT Frank - Says deliver to Buddy on line 15.
...TR Office to XYZ - 7.2 miles
...OS w/Buddy. Deliver replacement display and pick up bad unit.
...TR XYZ to office - 7.2 miles
...Gave bad unit to Eric for warranty processing.
...Hold replacement order open for warranty credit.
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