The @phone tag for both text and calls

[leslieking]

Hello, can the @phone tag be used for both text and calls? or should I have separate @text and @calls tags instead?
By text I mean SMS or a message sent on WhatsApp. It may be a voice memo as well.

 

[mcogilvie]

Up to you completely. It might depend on whether you need or want to track/document whether an email or text was sent. “Reply call” and “Reply text” are clear, but “Reply” is ambiguous.

 

[Oogiem]

can the @phone tag be used for both text and calls?

I use my @phone tag to be things that can only be done on my phone so both voice cals and text messages would go there. Yes, I can do text messages on other devices but in practice I separate tasks to specific hardware for I never us that capability of my main computers.

 

[cfoley]

They're totally different for me. I have

@Calls for phone calls I have to make.

@Messaging for any quick digital messages like texts, Slack and even quick emails.

@Writing for all my writing tasks which includes the writing part for any longer or difficult emails.

Separating the writing and sending of longer emails was a game changer for me.

 

[OliverG]

This depends

a) Is your phone-list so long that you lose motivation (to use is) or control ("this is very long, I have no idea what is all in here")? Split it.
If it is short, don't bother.

Except:
b) IN a situation, where you'd write a text/Whatsapp could you AS WELL call or send a voice message? Most probably not (like: waiting at the doc or so ...), so you MIGHT have @phone_voice (calls and voicemessages) @phone_txt (SMS & Whatsapp)
I personally mostly dictate my Whatsapp-messages, so I would most use that in a public situation anyways.

What I also do is (mainly in WAITING): I make a note what channel the last interaction was:
M mail
W whatsapp
X XING
L Linkedin
F facebook
S signal
That mainly covers it.
I now know where to look and I can check what the person reacts best to.

I only call if people don't react to messages. I might note "call next" in a waiting, so I know, "when I stop waiting", I wanna call.
Lastly I use the context "@mobile" instead of @call (as I almost never call) as I also add Apps to install/check if they are out etc.

 

[dtj]

I don't really use tags for @calls, largely because it seems too fine grained for me. Perhaps if I was a more telephone oriented, i'd think differently. Something like "Talk to Bob about new widgets" might be any of several paths to Bob.

 

[Murray]

I have a "calls" list, which is usually very short. I glance at it when I have 5 minutes available during business hours and am not feeling frazzled. One thing to keep in mind with calls is that I might have a particular enquiry or request in mind, but once I'm on the call I might receive unexpected information or get involved in something I hadn't anticipated. So for me it requires a certain level of confidence and inner resourcing, not just a phone in my hand.

I also have a separate "anywhere" list although for some years I have simply called it "actions". Generally these are actions that can be performed using *either* smartphone or computer. These days instant messaging can fall into this category as most services offer a desktop app allowing you to type your message on a keyboard and drag images and files easily into a chat.

Sometimes there will be an item that can *only* be performed using smartphone (such as changing something in the settings, or deleting unused apps.)

An action will also appear on this "anywhere" list if all it requires is a pen and paper, or a document I've stashed in my blue "pending" folder that usually goes everywhere with me alongside my red "IN" folder.

So yeah, for me "calls" is just calls and everything else is kept separate.

 

[krdook9]

If there is a great candidate that I want to reach, I call and leave a voicemail. Then I also send a text. It’s been working out well, people seem to really like getting basic info via text before they commit to a phone call. Lol. It is so funny because 7 or 8 years ago, people definitely were picking up the phone more than they do now

 

[James M]

I have a "calls" list, which is usually very short. I glance at it when I have 5 minutes available during business hours and am not feeling frazzled. One thing to keep in mind with calls is that I might have a particular enquiry or request in mind, but once I'm on the call I might receive unexpected information or get involved in something I hadn't anticipated. So for me it requires a certain level of confidence and inner resourcing, not just a phone in my hand.

Same here.

I'm also not always in a quiet or private environment when a call would be appropriate, but I could send a message or email on my phone.

I think this highlights the flexibility of the context for your personal use case. Someone who feels very comfortable making phone calls in any environment probably wouldn't need or benefit from the distinction, but might want instead an @email context when needing to focus and be quiet.