Productivity Archives - Page 30 of 62 - The Attorney Marketing Center

Barf happens

January 11, 2018 by David M. Ward

The cat threw up last night. At 3 am. By the time I fell back to sleep it was an hour later and I got up late.

I started writing (my first time block) about an hour later than scheduled. I just got back from my walk. I’ll get this post done and out to you, so that’s good, but I am behind schedule. I can absorb this into my admittedly not very busy day but if this happened to you, would you be able to do the same?

There will always be interruptions, delays, emergencies, illnesses and other things that throw you off schedule. The question is, what to do about it?

A few thoughts.

First, you have to understand that this is a normal part of life and you have to be okay with that. Don’t panic. Roll with the punches and carry on.

If you miss doing something completely, do it later in the day, double up tomorrow, or stay late and get it done. The occasional weekend make-up session is okay, too. If none of this is possible, don’t fret about it. And don’t get rid of the cat.

Second, build dams between your blocks. Don’t schedule blocks of time immediately following other blocks (or other appointments), give yourself a buffer. Ten or fifteen minutes between appointments or scheduled tasks should be enough to cover you most of the time.

Third, do what you can to minimize or eliminate interruptions, distractions, and delays, before they occur. Tell your staff when you won’t be available and not to interrupt you. Turn off your phone. Close unnecessary tabs on your browser. And keep track of the interruptions and delays that do occur and make notes about how to handle those situations when they happen again.

Because all you can do is all you can do. And because barf happens.

When was the last time you conducted a referral blitz?

Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management

Taking a look at ‘time blocking’

January 10, 2018 by David M. Ward

Not long ago, I mentioned my horror at the idea of using your calendar to schedule your entire day (in 15-minute increments). Apparently, some folks do that. More power to them. It’s not for me.

On the other hand (when you’re a lawyer, it’s good to have more than one hand), I’ve recently been reading about how some people use their calendar to manage their day and what they do makes sense to me.Â Instead of breaking up the day into bite-sized segments of time, they schedule blocks of time that are dedicated to important projects or groups of tasks. Because it’s on their calendar, an appointment with themselves, they do them.

When I first heard about this, I balked because, being invested in GTD, I see the calendar as a place to record appointments and other must-do time-oriented tasks.

Once I saw how other people use time blocking, however, I realized that it’s not inconsistent with GTD, as long as you are committed to keeping those appointments with yourself.

Anyway, here’s what I’m doing right now.

I scheduled a one-hour block for writing. I do that first thing.

I scheduled a second block for my walk. I was already walking every day so this was just a matter of putting it on the calendar.

And I scheduled a third block for writing my blog post/email and doing other tasks associated with the business such as answering email.

By 11 am, I’m accomplished my MIT’s (Most Important Tasks) for the day. I’ve got the rest of the day to do other tasks, do more writing, read, work on small projects, take a nap, run errands, or whatever.

So far, so good. I like getting my MIT’s done early. If that’s all I do on a given day, it’s a good day.

Do you use time blocking? GTD? How do you use your calendar to manage your day?

Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: getting things done, gtd, time blocking

Go plagiarize yourself

December 28, 2017 by David M. Ward

I have another project for you for the new year. In a nutshell, you’re going to inventory everything you’ve written or recorded in the past so you can use it again.

It’s about leverage. Getting more value out of your previous work, and saving a bunch of time and effort in the process.

First, gather up the following and put them into digital files:

Forms, documents, and other work product.
Frequently used emails and letters.
Content: articles, blog posts, newsletters, podcast, video, and interview transcripts, presentations, reports, ebooks, etc.

You might break up work product by practice area, type of matter, type of client, or stage of the proceeding. Instead of files, you can use tags or labels.

Calendar some time in the coming weeks to go through your files, and then:

Update forms and documents. Create an index of these documents, with searchable tags.
Convert emails and letters into boilerplate: transmittal, demands, notices, client updates, marketing, newsletters, etc.

Re-use, update, or re-purpose other content:

Re-publish blog posts, newsletters, and articles. Or combine parts of several posts to create new ones.
Convert blog posts, articles, podcasts, and interviews into ebooks, reports, presentations, social media posts, lead magnets (giveaways), and bonuses. Convert presentations, ebooks, reports, etc., into blog posts.
Update older posts, etc., with new information, new results, different opinions, predictions, etc. Consolidate several posts into round-up posts. Break up longer posts into shorter ones.
Modify marketing documents for use with different types of readers or markets

Do a little bit each week and you should soon find yourself saving time and getting better results.

You should also set up files to save copies of “incoming” content from other lawyers–documents, emails they sent you, (subscribe to their newsletters), forms they use (when you sub-in on a file), and so on. No, don’t plagiarize their stuff, use it for ideas for updating yours.

C’mon, you know they’re doing that with your stuff, don’t you?

Evernote for Lawyers

Filed Under: Law office management, Leverage, Productivity

The list’s the thing

December 19, 2017 by David M. Ward

We like lists, don’t we? They help us remember what to do, when, and in what order. They help us do our work, buy our groceries, and remember who was naughty and who was nice.

As you sit down to plan the upcoming year, you might want to add a few more lists to your collection. Here are some examples, along with what you might include on each list:

Daily: Outgoing phone calls, exercise, vitamins, writing in your journal, 15 minutes for marketing, personal development, reading, tidy up desktop
Weekly: Weekly review, staff meeting, writing your newsletter, paying bills
Monthly: Planning, review accounting ledgers, review goals, meetings, review advertising
Quarterly: Board meeting(s), pay estimated taxes, update software, remind clients to conduct board meeting
Yearly: Year-end review, goal setting, planning, sending docs to CPA, physical checkup, Christmas cards, remind clients to review leases

You’ll want to have sub-lists for many of these. For example, a checklist for your weekly review.

If you’re really into lists, you might also consider a list for every morning, every evening, every weekday, or every Saturday.

Put the date and time of the activities on your lists on your calendar. I suggest you maintain the actual lists elsewhere, however, to make it easier to review and update them.

I also suggest you create a “list of lists”. If you keep your lists in Evernote, for example, create a “Table of Contents” note with links to each of your lists. Drag that master list to your “favorites” in the left sidebar for quick access.

Evernote for Lawyers

Filed Under: Goal Setting, Productivity

Asking questions

December 18, 2017 by David M. Ward

You’re good at asking questions. You do it for a living. Questions help you discover the truth, open and close doors and get a grasp on where to go next with a case or a line of questioning.

Asking questions can also help you clarify your goals and what you’re doing to achieve them.

Look at your calendar and your task list. All of the projects you’re working on, upcoming appointments, meetings, calls, emails, things you have to research, documents you need to prepare. Your day is filled with work and you’re getting most of it done.

Things are good.

You’re bringing in clients, making money, building a future. Don’t stop there. Don’t settle for the status quo. You can always do better.

Make it a habit to ask yourself questions about what you’re doing. Start with the big picture:

How can I earn what I’m earning and work fewer hours?

How can I increase my income without doing more work?

How can I bring in more clients at less expense?

How can I bring in bigger cases or better clients?

Not, “Can I?” but “How can I?” Assume you can.

Cogitate on questions like these. There are answers. You will find them. But only if you ask.

More.

Before you start a new task, ask yourself, Why am I doing this right now? Maybe it can be done later. Maybe someone else can do it. Maybe it doesn’t need to be done at all.

Asking why helps you to prioritize.

That’s “how” and “why”. You should also ask yourself “when” and “what”.

What should I do differently? When would be the best time? What should I add or remove?

Don’t forget “who”. Who should I talk to? Who could help me with this? Who do I know? Who do I want to know?

Ask questions about everything. Perhaps you are in the habit of scheduling new client appointments at a time that’s convenient to the client. Is this the best policy?

I don’t know. Ask more questions. Does accommodating the new client interfere with something else you should be doing? Does it impair your ability to finish things you’ve promised to other clients? Does it send a subliminal message that you’re hungry for business?

Interrogate yourself about who, what, when why, and how. Use your skills to spot the issues. State the arguments, for and against. Yes, I know, you could argue either side and all sides, all day long. You’re good at that, too. But don’t get caught up in that.Â Make a decision. Take action. See what happens.

Then you can ask more questions.

More questions to help you decide

Filed Under: Goal Setting, Personal development, Productivity, success Tagged With: making decisions

Immediately, if not sooner

December 14, 2017 by David M. Ward

In high school, there were lots of girls I wanted to ask out but never did. I was nervous and afraid they would turn me down and although I fully intended to ask them out “someday,” that day usually never came.

Apparently, there’s a scientific explanation. According to research, “The longer you hesitate to do something, the less likely you are to do it.”

And that makes sense. Your fear builds, you convince yourself that you can’t do it, you tell yourself that you’ll do it someday, and then you get distracted by other things (or other girls) and it’s easier to not do something than do it.

If you want to get a particular thing done, do it immediately.

If you can’t do it immediately, if you need to do research, for example, start that research immediately.

Find something you can do related to the project–planning, making notes, talking to someone–and do it. Immediately. If not sooner.

My grandfather used to say that. “Do it immediately, if not sooner,” he would say, trying to be funny. But there’s actually a way you can do things sooner than immediately.

You do that by deciding to do it prior to actually doing it.

You can decide today that from now on, you’re going to work out every day. You can decide right now that you’re going to invest 15 minutes a day in marketing (and put that on your calendar). You can decide tonight you’re going to ask that girl out tomorrow.

When tomorrow comes, you don’t have to think about it, you just do it. Because you already decided you would.

Decide now that you’re going to get more referrals

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity

Why a boring day is probably a productive day

December 6, 2017 by David M. Ward

Routines help eliminate needless decision-making. You do something a certain way because you’ve already worked out that it’s the best way to do it. You don’t have to think, you just do.

Routines are boring, and that’s the point. They help you get more done in less time and with fewer mistakes.

A routine is a mental checklist, although you might want to actually write it down until, well, it becomes routine. Checklists make sure you don’t forget anything and that you do things in the right order.

So you have a routine for getting your day started and a routine for starting work. You have a routine for writing a blog post or article, a routine for signing up new clients, and a routine for closing a file when the case is done. You have routines in the kitchen, routines for running errands, and routines in the bedroom, although that’s one area where you should probably go off script.

Think about how you can create more checklists and routines in your life.

Now, just because you have a routine doesn’t mean you never think about what you’re doing. Periodically, you should step back and examine your routines and look for ways to improve them. Ask yourself, What can I do better or faster? Which steps can I eliminate? Where might I add more steps to improve the overall process?

As you create new routines and improve existing ones, you’ll find yourself getting more done in less time and with less mental energy. You can use that time and energy to work on new ideas and creative projects.

Have a boring day.

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: checklists, routines

Stop writing a “to do” list and write this instead

November 30, 2017 by David M. Ward

We have lists. Lots and lots of lists. Things we need to do, things we want to do, things we’re not sure about but may do someday. How are we supposed to prioritize anything and decide what to do today?

I have a suggestion. Take your “to do” list, the one you wrote for today or this week, and change the name to a “to finish” list.

A to do list isn’t really a list of things we intend to accomplish, is it? It’s a list of things we plan to start. But creating value in our lives isn’t about what we start it’s about what we finish.

Changing the name to a “to finish” list forces you to write a better list. Instead of writing things you should do and hope you can finish, you make a list of things you know you have the skills, resources, and time to finish that day.

If you are planning to start a new project but realize you don’t have time to finish it today, you are forced to break up that project into smaller chunks you can get done today.

A “to finish” list forces you to think about what’s important. It makes you examine the many options available and organically prioritize your list. You not only get more done, you get the most important things done.

Shifting your focus from a long list of things you need to do to a short list of things you are committed to doing gives you clarity and peace of mind. As you finish the items on your list, you feel good, giving you the energy and desire to do more.

Starting is the hardest part of doing anything. But finishing is the most important. If you want to be, do, and have more in your life, stop starting so many things and start finishing what really matters.

Filed Under: Productivity, success, Time Management

3 ways to get better at finishing what you start

November 10, 2017 by David M. Ward

Success isn’t measured by what you start but by what you finish. Here are 3 things that have helped me to get better at finishing things:

1) Choose tasks and projects you know you can finish

Whenever possible, choose tasks you’ve done before or that you know you have the talent, time, and resources to complete. Delegate everything else, unless it’s something you want to learn how to do.

2) Break up big projects and tasks into smaller parts

Preparing for trial is a big project. Break it up into smaller parts: make a list of evidence, compile research, and make a list of parties or witnesses to interview.

Too big? Break up each part into even smaller parts, things you can do in a few minutes, an hour, or today. Finish a chapter, not the book. Finish a page, not the chapter.

The smaller the parts, the more parts you’ll finish. Each time you finish something, you’ll feel good and want to repeat that feeling by doing more.

3) Do one thing at a time until you finish it

Single-task. Focus. Get rid of distractions and interruptions and keep at it until the task is done or you have taken it as far as you can reasonably go.

One more thing. As you finish a project or a part thereof, reward yourself. Get another cup of coffee, watch a video, read a chapter in a novel, or take the afternoon off. It doesn’t have to be much, just something that you can look forward to, enjoy, and feel good about getting things done.

Get organized and get things done with Evernote

Filed Under: Productivity

Start chopping, already!

October 20, 2017 by David M. Ward

Abraham Lincoln famously said that if he has six hours to chop down a tree, he would spend four hours sharpening the ax. Or something like that. His point, of course, was that taking time to prepare before you do a job will make that job easier and the results better.

Okay, we all get that. But sometimes, we use “preparation” as an excuse to procrastinate.

“I’m not ready,” “I need to do more research,” “I need to think about it a bit longer,” we say. Too often, we never start.

Starting isn’t nearly as important as finishing but it’s a close second because you can’t complete a task you never start.

So start, before you’re ready. In the end, you’ll get more done.

If you make mistakes and have to fix them, if you mess up and have to start over, if you have to admit defeat and abandon the project, you’ll still get more done.

Now, I’m not saying don’t prepare. That would be silly. I’m saying don’t over-prepare. Wherever possible, do only as much preparation as you need to start.

Maybe you don’t need a week to do research before you begin. Maybe an hour will let you get rolling. If you find you need more, you can do more. But at that point, you’ll know more about the project and that might make the additional research go faster or be more useful.

Of course, you might find that one hour was all you needed.

If you have big, overwhelming projects, break them up into smaller parts, things you can do in a few minutes, an hour or two. Start those, and finish them, so you’ll be able to start and finish something else.