Introduction: Hello, I’m Tony Holowitz, and in this tutorial, I will guide you on how to effectively deal with alarms in Act. Act offers a convenient way to schedule important activities like phone calls, meetings, and to-dos, and alarms play a crucial role in notifying you when these tasks need attention. Let’s dive into the process of managing alarms and optimizing your workflow in Act.

1. Understanding Alarms in Act:

   • Alarms in Act serve as timely reminders for scheduled activities, ensuring you never miss an important task.
   • These alarms pop up on your screen, providing details about the activity, such as the contact’s name, phone number, and scheduled time.

2. Dealing with Alarms:

   • When an alarm pops up, you have several options to manage it efficiently:
     • Minimize: Click on the minimize icon to temporarily move the alarm to the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
     • Restore: Double-click on the icon with two boxes to bring the alarm back to its original size and position.
     • Select All: If multiple alarms are popping up, you can apply the same action to all of them simultaneously.
     • Snooze: Click on the snooze option to delay the alarm for a specific number of minutes, providing you with a short break before attending to the task.
     • Clear Alarm: Use this option carefully as it dismisses the alarm, and the pop-up won’t appear again. Clearing alarms without completing the activity might lead to oversight.
     • Clear Activity: If you’ve completed the scheduled activity, clearing the activity records it in the history, creating a comprehensive record of interactions with the contact.

3. Utilizing Additional Options:

   • More Details: Click on the drop-down arrow on the alarm pop-up to view additional information about the activity, offering a quick overview without navigating to the contact’s record.
   • Go To: To gain more context about the activity or the contact, click on “Go To.” This option takes you directly to the contact’s record, allowing you to review relevant information.

4. Ensuring Productive Workflow:

   • Be cautious with clearing alarms without addressing the activity, as it may lead to overlooked tasks.
   • Make use of snooze when you need a short break before handling the task, but remember to return to it promptly.
   • Clear activities after completing them to maintain an organized history of interactions with contacts.
   • Utilize “Go To” to access the contact’s record and review important details before attending to the scheduled activity.

Conclusion: Working with alarms in Act is essential for efficiently managing your scheduled activities. By understanding how to deal with alarms effectively, you can ensure that you never miss important tasks and maintain a productive workflow. Remember to use “Snooze” when needed and “Clear Activity” after completing tasks to keep a comprehensive record in the history. Utilize the “Go To” option to quickly access relevant contact information before handling the scheduled activity. With these tips, you can make the most of Act’s alarm feature and stay on top of your tasks.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with Act, feel free to reach out to me. As an Act certified consultant, I’m here to support and guide you on optimizing your Act experience.