Set reminders a notch less often than you think you should. They won't notice monthly versus every two months, and you just halved the work.
The idea
The number one reason relationship marketing fails is willpower: people just stop doing it. Number two is setting up a structure in the beginning that you can't sustain. Ambitious cadences cause both. So whatever schedule you come up with, back it off a step or two. Unless something is on fire, the other person won't feel the difference between monthly and every other month. You will.
How to do it
Plan the cadence you think is right.
Set the reminder one or two steps less often: every 30 days becomes every 45, or monthly becomes every two months.
Keep the tight rhythm only when something is on the horizon, like a client weighing your proposal or someone actively in-market.
In an extra busy stretch, stretch the intervals further.
Example
The math is the argument. Moving a group from every 30 days to every 45 cuts your workload by a third, and they probably won't notice. Moving monthly to bimonthly cuts it in half. The chance of missing an opportunity that way is small compared with getting buried in tasks and dropping the ball altogether.
Watch out for
Undershooting into silence. This is about setting a rhythm you'll keep, so the floor still has to exist.
Relatable: It's the same advice I put in Relatable's cadence guide: pick a notch less often than you think, because a rhythm you keep beats one you ignore. How-to: Set how often you want to stay in touch.
Related frameworks
The Capacity Formula: People times touches per year is the minimum number of outreaches you just signed up for. Do the math before committing.
The 90-Day Baseline: Set cadence once per group: start everyone at every 90 days, then dial each group up or down by priority.
Do Less of the Task: If you resist a relationship task, shrink it instead of skipping it. The easier the work, the more likely you'll repeat it.
Sustainable Pace: Commit to a level you can keep in your craziest weeks, like one email and one call a day, instead of a heroic plan that collapses.