12 lists for organizing and managing your practice

September 19, 2018 by
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I like lists. They keep me organized, focused, and productive. I use them every day.

Take a gander at this list of lists, to see if there are any you might want to add to your productivity toolkit.

  1. Current Projects. Everything you’re working on (or should be). Having these in one place will keep you from neglecting anything and see if you’ve got too much on your plate and need to offload something.
  2. Next Projects. What do you intend to work on once you’ve completed your current projects? This will help you prepare for those projects, e.g., write down ideas, research, etc., so you can start them without delay.
  3. Ongoing & Recurring Projects. Other projects or responsibilities, e.g., updating your website, networking activities, content creation, client relations activities, your newsletter, preparing reports, etc.
  4. To Do This Week. 3-5 important projects to focus on in the next week to ten days.
  5. To Do Today. Look at your “this week” list, your calendar, your project lists, and elsewhere, and choose 3-5 “MITs” (Most Important Tasks) for the day.
  6. Routines. Checklists of weekly or daily tasks for tidying up, organizing, and planning your work. Examples: weekly review, inbox zero, cleaning up computer files, paying bills, morning and afternoon “startup” and “shut down” routines.
  7. Goals & Dreams. Monthly, quarterly, and annual benchmarks. Long-term goals or vision.
  8. Someday/Maybes. Ideas you’re considering but aren’t yet committed to doing.
  9. What’s Working Now. Questions that prompt you to reflect on what’s working well so you can do more of them.
  10. What’s Not Working Now. Questions that help identify problems, bottlenecks, and poor ROI, so you can eliminate, curtail, delegate, or fix them.
  11. Budget. Track income and expenses to reduce debt, increase profits, manage investments, etc.
  12. Remember. Ideas, quotes, or accomplishments you want to keep in front of you, to stay motivated, focused, and on message.

Do you use any lists that aren’t on this list?

My Evernote for Lawyers ebook

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity

Deciding what to do first

September 18, 2018 by
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Yesterday, I said that when you feel overwhelmed with too much to do you should make a big list of everything and then choose (no more than) three things.

But how do you choose?

Do you select something that’s urgent? Important? Easy? Challenging? Enjoyable? Do you choose something at random just to get moving?

There’s no right or wrong answer.

One thing you could do is go through the list and for each item, ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen if I DON’T accomplish this today?” No doubt you’ll realize that most of the things on your list can wait but you still may be no closer to choosing.

One question that’s helped me choose is the one posed by Gary Keller in his book, The One Thing:

“What is ONE THING you could do such that by doing it, everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

A simpler version: “If I could ONLY do ONE thing today, what would I do?”

When we limit ourselves to just one thing we make it easier to choose because we tacitly give ourselves permission to put everything else aside. It forces us to identify our priority.

Get your “one thing” done and even if you don’t do anything else today, you will have a good day. Get your One Thing done FIRST and you’ll have the rest of the day to choose what to do next.

Referrals every day

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: ,

Gotta minute?

September 11, 2018 by
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You’ve just finished a meeting and have ten or twenty minutes before your next appointment. Or you’ve finished a research or writing project but don’t feel like starting anything new.

To stay productive, maintain a running list of tasks you can do in five or ten minutes.

Ideas:

  • Send a note/email/social media message: thank you, birthday, networking, praise, etc.
  • Call a former client to say hello
  • Call a business contact and invite them to coffee/lunch
  • Stretching exercises/get some air
  • Clean your desktop or your computer desktop
  • Read an article or two in your “read later” list
  • Un-subscribe from email lists you don’t read
  • Empty your email inbox (respond/file/delete)
  • Empty your task inbox
  • Organize computer documents
  • Add new contacts to contact management app
  • Review your to-do list, re-prioritize tasks
  • Shop for a gift
  • Edit/outline/proofread a document
  • Clean up bookmarks
  • Backup files
  • Update software

Once a week, you might create a short list of contacts to connect with for the week. That way, when you have an extra five minutes, you won’t have to use the time deciding who to contact.

So, what’s on your list?

Keep your list in this

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Filed Under: Productivity

Do everything in full-screen mode

September 6, 2018 by
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On the radio this morning I heard a promo for an upcoming program. I wasn’t listening closely and don’t know what it’s about but the guy featured in the promo said something that caught my attention. He said, “Do everything in full-screen mode.”

I like the image. I like the idea of being so totally focused on what you’re doing that you can’t see anything else.

“Full screen,” says, “don’t multi-task,” do one thing at a time and give it your full attention.

It says, “pay attention to the details,” because they’re important. And make sure you have the proper tools and allocate sufficient time so you can do that.

When you’re working, work. When you’re playing or relaxing, praying or spending time with loved ones, do those things with everything you’ve got.

Do everything in full-screen mode and live a more productive and prosperous life.

Focus on getting more referrals

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Productivity, success

Is your cat too thin?

August 27, 2018 by
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The last time my daughter was in town she commented on how much weight our cat had lost. My wife and I didn’t see it. Maybe he was a little thinner but not that much.

But we were wrong. Our vet confirmed that the cat had lost too much weight. (Change of food and other measures and he’s back to normal now.)

Why was our daughter able to see that the cat had was too thin and we couldn’t? We couldn’t see his gradual loss of weight because we saw him every day and our daughter didn’t.

We were too close and couldn’t see what was right in front of us.

I want to make the case for periodically taking a step back from your routines and changing up what you do. When you interview a new client, for example, instead of following the same checklist in the same order, mix it up. Ask the questions in a different order or ask different questions.

You may be surprised at what you find.

The same goes for anything you do habitually. Your exercise routine, the way you do research, the way you arrange your desk or the desktop on your computer.

When you always do the same things, and you always do them the same way, you can get stale and miss things.

Change your routines. Change the people you hang out with. Change the way you drive to work.

Change your perspective and you may see things you no longer see (or have never seen).

Your cat’s health may depend on it.

Change your marketing habits

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: ,

How many tasks should you put on your list?

August 23, 2018 by
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Many experts recommend adding a specific number of tasks to your task list each day, or a specific number of projects for the week or month. They recommend limiting your “work in progress” to three to five tasks or projects and moving everything else to another list.

Choosing a small number of items helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed. You can see what’s on tap for the day or week, what to do first and what to do after that.

But no matter how many items you put on your list, in a way your list is always just one item. At any moment, you choose one thing you need to do or want to do and do it. If you’re smart, you don’t think about anything else until you’ve completed your number one task or taken it as far as you can go.

First things first. Second things never.

Gary Keller says, “Until my number one priority is done, everything else is a distraction.”

Okay, I’ve got to admit, I know what I’m going to work on after I finish this. After that? I don’t know. Its more fun that way.

Earn more, work less. This shows you how.

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Filed Under: Productivity

Procrastination might be your friend

August 22, 2018 by
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In an interview, Ray Bradbury spoke about writer’s block, noting that it’s a warning that you’re doing the wrong thing:

“What if you have a blockage and you don’t know what to do about it? Well, it’s obvious you’re doing the wrong thing, aren’t you? . . . You’re being warned, aren’t you? Your subconscious is saying I don’t like you anymore. You’re writing about things I don’t give a damn for. . . If you have writers’ block you can cure it this evening by stopping what you’re doing and writing something else. You picked the wrong subject.”

So, trust your gut.

Could the same be said whenever we find ourselves procrastinating?

I think it could. But things aren’t that simple.

If you’re doing work for a client, the work has to be done. You can’t change the work just because your gut’s telling you something’s not right.

But that doesn’t mean we should ignore our gut. It might be trying to do you a favor.

When you feel resistance to doing something, take a moment to ask yourself some questions:

  1. Does this have to be done? Maybe there’s another way to accomplish the same result. It couldn’t hurt to take a moment to consider this.
  2. If the work has to be done, does it have to be done now? Maybe a delay would help you sort out some things that your gut says are a problem.
  3. Am I the one who has to do it? If someone else could do it, that might be a simple solution to what ails ya.
  4. Is there another way to get it done? If the work has to be done, now, by you, maybe you can do it in some other way? How might you do it differently?

Let’s noodle for a moment about that last one.

Suppose you are hired to write an appellate brief but your gut is telling you there’s a problem. You’re blocked, but you know it has to be done and you’re the one to do it.

Instead of writing the brief the way you usually do it–research, outline, first draft, etc.–how about trying a different process? Maybe start with a quick stream-of-consciousness draft of what’s on your mind about the case or the people, before you do any research. Maybe by doing that, you’ll realize some things about the case you didn’t think about before. And maybe this will provide you with a breakthrough and help you turn out a brilliant piece of work.

All hail your gut. It knows things you don’t know.

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Filed Under: Productivity, Writing Tagged With: , ,

How to conquer fear

August 13, 2018 by
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Fear is a bitch. It stops you from doing things you need to do and things you want to do and it makes things you do more difficult.

I’m not talking about big scary stop-in-your-tracks kind of fear. They don’t crop up that often and when they do, it’s often better to give in to them. If you’re afraid of sky-diving, for example, don’t do it. Do something else on your bucket list.

No, I’m talking about micro-fears, little nagging worries that make you avoid situations or people, doubt your process, procrastinate, abandon half-finished projects, or move so slowly that you miss the opportunity.

You may not see what these fears do to you because they are small and familiar but they add up and make for a poorer quality of life.

What can you do?

You can do more research. You can delegate the task. You can do something else that makes the original task unnecessary or easier. Or you can get someone to do “it” with you–yep, hold your hand as you take your first steps.

I’ve done all of these at various times in my life. I’m sure you have, too.

But there’s something else we can do to defeat our fears or to get the thing done despite them.

Do it anyway.

Dale Carnegie said, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Easier said than done? Maybe. But here’s something that can make it easier.

It’s called “the five-minute rule”. Whatever it is that you’re avoiding, do it for just five minutes.

You can do just about anything for five minutes. When you do, you will have done the hard part–you got started, and getting started is the antidote for what ails you.

How to get better at delegating

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity Tagged With:

This isn’t important so read it later

August 8, 2018 by
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Another day, another study. This one says that we have “an urgency bias” meaning that “our brains pick urgency over importance, wanting the immediate satisfaction of a quick payoff”.

We prefer to do the quick and easy things on our list because important tasks are (or appear) more difficult and take longer to complete. “People want to finish the urgent tasks first and then work on important tasks later.”

I get that. I do that. I like to sprint through my email inbox first and get it out of the way before tackling more important work.

The researchers say one reason we tend to prioritize urgent over important because we find comfort in appearing busy. I get that, too. Who doesn’t like checking things off our list?

If we’re getting the important stuff done, however, does it matter when we do it? Kinda. We have more energy at the start of our day and should use that time for work that requires more focus.

If we’re not doing the important work, however, if our day is filled with putting out fires and reacting to what’s put in front of us instead of doing things that bring us closer to our most important goals, that’s a problem.

What’s the solution? The researchers say we should remind ourselves of the value of the bigger tasks we’re avoiding or postponing. Okay, but how? The article doesn’t say. But I will. It’s something I wrote about before and it’s about as simple as it gets:

Next to each task on your list, write down why you need to do it. In other words, write down the benefits it delivers.

This forces you to think about what each task is worth to you. Is it short-term and relatively low-value or something that advances your career? Is it urgent but otherwise not a priority or is it an important factor contributing to your success?

As you write down why, consider the price you pay for not doing the task. What do you give up if you don’t get it done?

We need to prioritize tasks that provide more value over those that are merely urgent. By consciously considering the benefits each tasks offers, we can be more intentional about what we do and when we do it.

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Filed Under: Productivity

Are you making money reading this?

August 7, 2018 by
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I’ve never watched “Shark Tank” but I read an article about Kevin O’Leary, one of the investors who appears on it. It was about how he gets so much done.

One thing he suggests would drive me crazy. “Prioritize every 15 minutes of your day,” he says.

Nope. Too confining for me.

On the other hand, there’s something he does to defeat procrastination I like. When he finds himself getting side-tracked, “I think to myself, ‘Am I making money doing this?’ That makes it easy to snap out of it.”

Kinda explains why he’s got so much money. Not sure how much fun he is to be around.

But asking that question is a good idea, at least while you’re working. If you’re honest with yourself, the question can get you back to work. I’m going to try it.

Problem is, when you do what I do, what might otherwise be considered goofing off, i.e., reading, watching videos, surfing the interwebs, is part of the job. But when I’m playing Words with Friends, it’s an excellent question.

Earn more without working more

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With:
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