I think an important element of taking surveys is learning to prioritize. By that I mean, take the following scenario -

You have looked at my (little!!) list of 100 survey panels and decided you want to be a member of all of them, OK, off you go and join up and discover HELP!! you have an inundated inbox...what do you do?

Well, if you have been reading these articles, you will first of all have discovered that it is a good idea to keep notes, keep filing cabinet folders in your inbox, if you have that facility (I know AOL has, because I use them to great effect) and then to organize yourself accordingly. You can also, however, prioritize, using these same methods.

You have 49 points with Newvistalive and only need 50 to cash out, so you are eagerly looking out for that 1 point (or more) survey to come into your inbox so you can do it and redeem your £50 reward.....but you have so many things in your inbox you can't find anything you want....do this -

Open inbox folders as follows -

Survey Invitations
Awaiting Action Pay
Newsletters
Priorities

and of course, this final folder called "priorities" has your important surveys in it. But this is important, though, look out for the relevant survey panel's invitations and then pop them straight in as soon as they come into your inbox. Do not delay, and don't even waste time over others, just get on with the important ones. You might find later on you have some spare time and can get on with others, but it is most important to get where you are going with the important ones as other panelists will feel as you do and want to reach that magical redemption figure too, and if it is a company who do not normally send you many invitations, then it makes sense to get the survey done straight away and earn your reward before the blasted thing closes and you have no chance, and have to wait another month for your next invitation.....every second counts!!

Of course, your other folders can be used for other invitations which are not so important for example your Survey Invitations folder. Your Awaiting Action Pay folder can be used for those surveys you have completed but not yet been rewarded for and another important thing to remember is to go through this regularly and make sure you have been paid, and if not, you have the original invitation and hopefully your handwritten notes will tell you when you have taken the survey and anything else of relevance, like the subject matter or any technical difficulties you might have had...i.e. stopped 75% of the way through....and you can send an email to the panel's customer services and ask why you have not been paid, always taking into account that the survey invitation usually says something like "your account will be updated with your reward within 14 days of your completion" or "at the close of the survey when all information is in" - this second option is trickier because who knows how long it takes for all information to be in and collated, but I would generally say allow about a month and if you still see no payment, then you have every right to enquire politely where your rewards are. Of course, not every company has good customer services departments like YSP has!! You may never hear a peep from them again, but then again, they may say very sorry for the delay and pay you some compensation for the inconvenience - if you don't ask, you never know!!

Also, don't forget, you are a member of a panel and as such an important part of a community. Always try to keep up the community spirit. You can do that with ease here at YSP because the forum helps everyone to mix nicely and be a part of something good, and there are other sites that allow this too like Spidermetrix, and Toluna but it is important to remember that a community/panel is a way for people to mix, compare notes and enjoy each others companies and have a bit of fun, not a place to bash out vendettas, and be rude to others and generally be sarcastic. Keep up the community spirit and you will enjoy being a part of a panel and having fun completing surveys and finding the whole experience really rewarding. How about that then?? Getting rewarded for having fun! Not many people can say that happens on a regular basis, can they?!