By Lynn Walsh, RTDNA Blogger

Like most people, I am always wishing for a few more minutes or an extra hour in each work day. In my experience it seems reporters may ask for that more often than people in other professions. And, like most reporters, it seems there are always countless thoughts, story ideas or questions to be asking (normally, too many to keep straight!)

While I am not sure anyone can ever have all of it "under control" there are some ways to make small tasks like phone calls more manageable. This is the first of a series of tips I use to help keep my life a little more orderly and less overwhelming. First up, phone calls. You make them every day, some are story specific and need immediate answers while others might be routine beat calls to chat with sources and get story ideas.

Breaking news/deadline situations: These are times you are hanging up the phone as soon as you are picking it making it hard to remember who you called and what happened after the phone began to ring.

Keep notes while on the phone. Whether it is an open Google doc. (or just a paper and pen) I write the person or agencies' name, date and time I called and what the outcome was: did I talk to someone? did I leave a message? did I talk to a secretary? etc. This helps when you have to report back to editors or producers but also helps you know who to keep trying.

Set an alarm. Sometimes you call someone and they might ask you to try them back in five or 10 minutes, set an alarm on your phone or watch so you remember to do just that, you do not want to forget to call back and miss talking to them. 
Search for other options. Sometimes it seems like no one is in the office when you need them. Think outside the box and search for other options of who to talk to. Consider organizations outside your state too; with technology you can Skype with them if you need to.

Record the conversation. I always make sure I have a recorder on before picking up the phone, something I have learned is invaluable at my current job. Even if it just recording you leaving a message, if that person ends up not talking to you or returning calls down the line, you can use that audio in the story later. Also, you never know what someones initial reaction is going to be and by the time you meet them for an on-camera interview they may have calmed down or had a professional help them with that to say. (Note: some states may require you to inform the person that the conversation is being recorded.)

Non-breaking news situations:

Lists. I generally fine lists helpful but even if you don't I think it can make phone calls a lot easier. I make them on my phone so it is with me wherever I am. I even keep a separate note page for them on my note app. It saves me a few seconds and I know that anything on that page will result in a phone call whether it is a name or a company.

Use your calendar. A mentor of mine once told me that every reporter should be making two to three phone calls to sources each day that they do not immediately need for a story that day. That may sound overwhelming but an easy way to do this is to keep a "phone call" calendar. You can organize it by people or areas of interest, etc. The great thing about a calendar is that it is easy to make re-occurring (once a month, every two months, etc.) and if you get to busy you can always move it to the next day or week with a quick click and drag on the computer. A calendar also allows you to keep of track of who you called and can act as a great log for notes, etc. If I add someone to my "phone call" calendar I try to take the time to include the best phone number for them and their title and organization information in the calendar entry so it is readily available.

Create and maintain a contact database. I personally love business cards and keep all of the ones I receive in a binder at my office. But, every time I call someone or receive a business card I enter their information into a Google spreadsheet called "Media Contacts." I include all of the information I have on them and also have columns for "industry/field" so they can be sorted that way for a story (ethics is one examples) and "notes," where I can put keywords, adjectives, or information about which story I contacted them about. That makes the database easily searchable, because let's face it, remembering every one's name you have called for a story is near-impossible.

Anything I missed? I love to new tips and ideas on making reporting more manageable -- send them my way. Lynn.K.Walsh@gmail.com or on Twitter @LWalsh.