I read a round-up article that summed up what some young entrepreneurs do to start their day. Each has a different routine.

Some said they make a plan for the day. Some said they check their plan (and calendar) for the day.

Some read, some write. Some exercise, some check the news. Some check their email, some check their stats.

One interesting response: “I start every workday by writing three thank you notes.” Color me impressed.

I liked the one who said she follows the same checklist every day. She checks her calendar, reviews her project list, answers email, answers voicemail and texts, and clears her paper file. She says this allows her to process her inboxes and makes starting the day effortless.

One said she tackles her biggest priority first, “the one thing on my list that contributes the most to the bottom line.”

Similar to the previous response, one entrepreneur recommended the “Eat That Frog” approach: “Do whatever it is that you don’t want to do, but need to do most first thing in the morning”.

Another writer disagreed: “I’m not really a fan of the whole “Eat That Frog” concept. I start my day with three of the easiest tasks on my to-do list. This makes a little dent in my list right away, which makes me feel as though I’m on a roll. I always find that when this is the case, I burn through more tasks than I would when focusing on my biggest list items first”.

Me? I’m with the last guy. I don’t do my most important tasks first thing, I clear up a few easier tasks first, as a warm up for the day. Typically, that means checking email, calendar, and task list, to get a feel for what’s on tap for the day.

Once that’s out of the way, I sit down and do my MITs (Most Important Tasks).

But I don’t do any of that until I’ve had some coffee, do some light reading, and send articles and ideas to my Evernote inbox.

How about you? What do you do first?

Evernote for Lawyers ebook

You probably have a long list of things you do to manage your time and increase your productivity. No doubt you also collect articles and ideas you’d like to try.

But, do you have a centralized place to record these things? A book of rules you follow or would like to follow?

Having a “rule book” will make it more likely that you’ll follow those rules.

You might have a set of rules for how you start your day, how you do a weekly review, and how and where you record and back up client information.

You might have a set of rules for doing research: where you begin, how you record citations, how you organize (tag, label, file) the information.

Your rules don’t have to be complex or overly detailed. One sentence for each rule will often be enough.

It also helps to record the rationale behind each rule.

Here’s an example of some rules you might adopt regarding email:

• Turn off notifications and keep Outlook/browser tab closed (so you’ll check email less often)
• Schedule (times) on calendar for checking email (so you’re not tempted to check it constantly)
• No email before (time). So you can get important things done first.
• Use templates to respond to FAQs, provide links, share bio, deliver work product, etc.
• Reply with statements: Don’t answer a question with a question [Not easy for lawyers, is it?] Example: When someone asks, “When do you want to talk?” you tell them, eg., “10:15 Tuesday. I’ll call you.”
• Short answers. Five lines max. (Don’t write ten lines when two will do.)
• Delay response. Many “urgent” issues often solve themselves.

And so on.

Over time, add new rules to your book, refine existing rules, and remove rules you no longer follow.

Keep your rule book close by and check it often. In fact, make that a rule.

Speaking of email, here’s how to use email to get more clients

How often do you clean up your task and project lists? If you’re like me, not as often as you should.

I’ve had a “clean up/organize my lists” project starting at me for far too long so, this morning, I had a go at it.

I have four task lists:

• Today
• Next (this week/soon)
• Backlog (Later)
• Someday/Maybe

I could have gone through each list and removed tasks one-by-one, but that sounded like work and is probably why I’ve been avoiding it. So, instead, the first thing I did was empty all of my list, to prepare for rebuilding them.

There’s something about looking an empty list that is refreshing. The list calls to you, asking to be filled.

Anyway, here’s what I did:

Step One: Move all “Backlog” tasks to Someday/Maybe.

I tagged these tasks so I could identify where they came from, which will be helpful when I move (some of) them back.

(Backlog is empty)

Step Two: Move all “Next” tasks to Backlog.

I tagged these, too.

(Next is empty)

Step Three: Move “Today” tasks to “Next”. (Optional)

If your Today list only has a handful of tasks on it, as mine does, you can leave them where they sit.

Step Four: Begin moving tasks from Backlog back into Next.

Let the rebuilding begin.

This will be done slowly, thoughtfully, to keep me from overloading Next.

So far, I added only four tasks back into Next. Later, I’ll add back some of the others I previously removed, making sure not to add more than 20 tasks to Next, enough for a week or so.

The rest will stay in Backlog, along with other tasks there, until I’ve emptied my Next list or I’m otherwise ready to elevate something.

Step Five: Clean up Someday/Maybe.

This is a big list and not very inviting, so my plan is to spend not more than 15 minutes at a time going through this list and paring it down.

I’m sure I’ll trash a lot of ideas but some may get my attention and deserve a coveted spot in Backlog (or Next).

But there’s no hurry and no need to feel anxious about it because Today, Next, and Backlog are clean and ready for me to get to work.

Speaking of work, I’m off to crush my Today list.

Marketing legal services is easy when you know what to do

No doubt you understand the value of planning your day before it begins. You sit down at your workspace or pick up your phone, check your calendar, check your lists, and decide what you’re going to do that day.

You make a short list for the day and work from that list. Planning in advance frees up the rest of your day to focus on doing the work.

When I do this I get a lot more done, but more importantly, I get the most important work done because I am much less likely to get distracted by the multitude of tasks that are less important.

If something urgent comes up that needs my attention, I can do it and immediately return to my list. I may lose time doing the urgent task but I don’t lose additional time figuring out what to do next.

It’s on my list.

Keeping that list in front of me, which I do, also keeps me on task.

Planning my day before it begins has helped me and many others. If you’re not doing it, give it a try.

But that’s not the “small habit that yields big results” I promised.

The small habit is this: “plan your day the night before“.

Before you end your day, take a few minutes to create your list for the following day.

That small change can make a big difference because when tomorrow arrives you can get right to work. Most people have more energy early in the day so the work you do early is likely to be better and go more quickly.

The rest of your day may not be as productive, but your day is a success because you got your most important work done early.

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I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite productivity apps is brain.fm. I use it almost every day to block out distractions and improve my focus.

I just found out that they’re giving away 30-day free trials.

Normally, you only get 5 sessions for free before you have to pony up, and that was enough to convince me.

In addition to using the app to focus, you can use it to “relax,” to get to sleep, and to meditate.

This is not just relaxing music or white noise, binaural beats or entrainment. It’s different technology. You can read about it on the site.

The regular price is $50/yr. and it’s well worth it.

You can get your free 30 days here. (Not an affiliate link.)

Let me know what you think.