The Rule of 3 in Writing, Speaking, and Productivity

June 15, 2012 by
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Last week I did a training for a group of business partners. I created a series of slides and each one began with, “3 Things. . .”, “3 Ways. . .”, or “3 Reasons. . .”. I did it that way because it’s an effective way to convey information in writing and public speaking.

3 things are easy to follow and easy to remember.

If I gave you 142 tips for writing better blog posts, you would read or listen to the first few, perhaps nine or ten, and then you would begin to tune out. It’s too much information to process, absorb, or remember. Yes, you can go back later, but you may never do so. You can handle 3 tips, however, and later, I can give you more.

There’s too much information coming at us today. To protect ourselves, we have learned to tune out most of it. If you want to get someone’s attention and deliver an effective message, if you want them to act on your message, put that message in a smaller package.

The same is true of our task and project lists.

If your list has too many things on it, it’s overwhelming. You look at that list and wonder how you can possibly make a dent in it, let alone finish everything. It’s daunting and depressing.

In addition, when you have too many projects and tasks, there is a tendency to choose the easiest or most urgent ones, instead of the most important.

I have long lists of tasks and projects, but I don’t let them overwhelm me. I use The Rule of 3 to help me sort out the most important things and keep those in front of me until they are done. The rest, I keep out of sight until it’s time to go back and get some more.

To adopt the Rule of 3 to your tasks and project lists, choose (no more than)

  • 3 tasks for the day.
  • 3 outcomes for the week.
  • 3 goals for the year.

I’ve written before about the concept of MITs (most important tasks). Every day, I choose one to three MITs for that day. If I get those done, I can go back for more, but if I only get those done, I know I have had a productive day. I also wrote about how I use MITs in my Evernote for Lawyers eBook.

The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) says that in most situations 80% of results (income, clients, happiness, etc.) come from 20% of causes (efforts, clients, tasks, etc.) That means that most things aren’t important and can be safely eliminated.

Focus on the few things that are important and valuable and likely to advance you towards your most important objectives. Don’t worry about anything else.

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Filed Under: Communication, Personal development, Productivity, Public Speaking, Time Management, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Organization 101: File it, don’t pile it

May 25, 2012 by
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I’m looking at the table I use for a desk in my home office. There is an in basket, a vertical file holder, and one stack of files and papers. At first glance, it is the desk of an organized person. It’s tidy and there is only one (short) stack of files and papers.

At second glance, it is a mess. It’s a mess because the files and papers in that one stack belong in a file drawer, not piled on the desk.

But on third glance, it is the desk of a genius: someone smart enough to know that filing (or scanning) the papers in that stack can wait until other, more important tasks are done.

At least that’s the way I choose to look at it. And being organized is subjective, isn’t it?

But only to a point.

We’ve all seen (and maybe been guilty of having) desks that look like the aftermath of a tornado. I don’t care what the owner of that desk might say or think, they don’t know where everything is. The owner of a desk like that is not organized.

But look, if you can find the file or paper you need (rule of thumb: thirty seconds or less) and you feel in control of your work place, who am I to suggest you need to get more organized. If, on the other hand, you are often unable to find what you need and you’re not happy about it, it’s time to do something about it.

Un-piling your desk isn’t difficult. I think the hard part for some people is the notion that if they file something away, they won’t remember a task they need to do or they won’t remember where they filed something they need. Ironically, that’s exactly what their mess of a desk does.

The solution is to have a system that (a) allows you to remember what you need to do, and (b) lets you quickly find what you have filed when you need it. That’s what Getting Things Done is all about. That’s what a program like Evernote allows you to do.

Getting things out of your head and onto paper or its digital equivalent is the first plank in the Getting Things Done platform. The second is having a system that allows you to regularly review your lists of tasks so that you will be reminded of them and can choose what to do next. The third plank is having a reference system that allows you to put things away, out of sight, but easily retrievable.

For me, filing reference material was the hardest part of the system, at least in a paper based world. For one thing, much of the reference material I collect has more than one purpose and could be filed in more than one place. Indecision often led me to defer filing and I wound up with boxes filled with paper.

Today, I file most things digitally. The pile on my desk will be scanned into Evernote. With Evernote’s  keyword searching capability, and other tools like tagging and “note links,” I can quickly find what I’m looking for, as I detail in Evernote for Lawyers: A Guide to Getting Organized & Increasing Productivity.

If your desk is a mess, it’s time to un-pile and smile.

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prioritize your to-do list by asking why

May 23, 2012 by
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When you tell a young child to do something–pick up their clothes, finish their veggies, do their chores–you invariably hear them ask “why?”

They don’t ask this because they want to drive us crazy, although I know you might disagree. “You don’t know my kid!” Mostly, they really do want to know why they should do what you’ve asked them to do.

In other words, why is it important?

They are learning about the world, trying to make sense of everything and how it all fits together. In that context,”Why do I have to finish my veggies–I don’t like them,” is not an unfair question. Why indeed should they finish them?

By the way, if my father is reading this, “Because I said so,” is not a good answer.

When you tell your children why something is important, why they should do it, even though they still may not like it, they will be more likely to do it. It’s not just something on a never-ending list of things children have to do, there’s actually a reason for it.

And yet as adults, we make lists of things we have to do without always understanding why. It shouldn’t surprise us then that our lists contain tasks that never seem to get done simply because we are not motivated to do them.

When you make a “to do” list, the parent in you is telling the child in you to do these things but not telling you why. Why not ask your inner parent why?

According to an article in Psychology Today, knowing “why” will help you accomplish more of the things on your task list, especially things you “have to” do but might not feel like doing.

The author recommends making a “why do” list rather than simply a “to do” list. Write down why a task is important, the benefits to be had for doing it. If those benefits are important to you, you’ll be more motivated to complete the task.

I love this idea. Not just because it helps us get things done we otherwise might not do but because it lets us compare the tasks on our list and see their relative value. This lets us prioritize our list so that we get the most valuable tasks done first.

In other words, knowing why helps us become more effective.

Right now, I’ve got hundreds of tasks on my master task list. I prioritize my list based more on gut feeling than anything else. Sure, there are tasks with deadlines and there are things I do every day because they are part of my long term business model. But most of the tasks on my list are discretionary and for those, I’m going to start writing down why.

Right now, I’m off to get another cup of coffee. Why? Because I said so.

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What to do when you stink at marketing

May 8, 2012 by
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Many attorneys claim they aren’t good at marketing. You know what? They’re right. They aren’t good at marketing. You know what else? It doesn’t matter.

That’s why God created partners.

I know some attorneys who don’t know the first thing about marketing but have thriving practices because one or more of their partners are good rainmakers.

If you’re not good at marketing, don’t sweat it–partner with someone who is. Your strength may in drafting complex documents, negotiating big settlements, or scoring courtroom victories. Your partner brings in the business and you convert it to cash.

It’s a match made in heaven!

“But I don’t have a partner” you say.

No problem.

“My partner is as bad at marketing as I am!”

Also okay.

The solution is to find a workout partner, someone who has the skills you lack and is willing to help you, in exchange for your help with something they need.

You meet once a week, or check in over the phone once a day, and coach each other and hold each other accountable to your stated goals.

You don’t have to find someone who is good at everything you need. If you know nothing about web sites, find someone who can help you get yours started. If social media is an enigma, find someone who will let you watch what they do, answer your questions, and be your guide through the social media maze they find so natural.

Workout partners can also be study buddies. You share what you’re reading, tips you have learned, resources you have discovered, as well as your ideas and plans. You provide feedback and encouragement to each other as you learn and grow together.

Your workout partner doesn’t have to be an attorney. Your skillset may be more useful to a business owner or other professional. And they don’t have to be local.

Where do you find a workout partner? Everywhere. Networking events, through social media, even on your client list. Once you know what you’re looking for, you’ll find plenty of folks who can help you.

When I was a kid I collected coins. I always carried two lists, “Have” and “Need”. Our weekly coin club allowed us to meet and trade (or sell) coins to fellow club members so we could complete our collections. These two lists made it easier.

You might do something similar. Write a list of what you “have,” i.e., what you can help others with, and a list of what you “want,” what you need help with. Carry these with you and you’ll soon find someone who has exactly what you need to complete your collection.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: ,

The easiest way to protect your privacy online

May 4, 2012 by
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I never worry about online privacy. As a result, I don’t spend any time reading articles about the subject. I don’t have to mess around with settings or permissions. And I’m never worried about “that photo” making the rounds.

I have a very simple rule of thumb that makes all of this possible:

Don’t post anything online you don’t want anybody to see.

Everything I post online is family friendly. I don’t care who sees it. In fact, I post it because I want people to see it. So please come and look, re-post, link, and have at it.

Of course there are times when someone else posts something I may not be crazy about sharing. But while I may think I look fat in that photo you caught me in, I know I’m not doing something inappropriate so I’ll be okay.

Look at the online world as an extension of the real world, because that’s exactly what it is. Be careful in thought and deed, mind your P’s and Q’s, and never have more than two drinks when there’s anyone with a camera nearby.

Yes, things may be a little boring, but you’ll never have to worry about online privacy. That is, of course, until Google figures out how to get their camera truck into your bedroom.

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Filed Under: Image, Productivity, Social media, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

How to find the time for marketing your legal services

April 5, 2012 by
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You’ll often hear me say that you can get appreciable results in marketing in just 15 minutes a day. Why is this so? Because marketing is doing a lot of little things, like taking a few extra minutes to make a new client feel welcome, writing the first draft of an article or blog post, or calling a fellow professional to invite him for coffee.

You can do a lot in 15 minutes. The key is to do something every day. An apple a day keeps the doctor away; seven apples on Sunday will give you a stomach ache.

But marketing is also doing bigger things, like joining a new networking group. You’ll spend a couple of hours a week at the meeting, plus additional time on committees, special events, and meeting with new contacts. This is a commitment of several hours a week. Where do you find the time?

The key to bigger marketing activities is being selective. You don’t join four networking groups, you join one. If it’s the right group for you, the extra time you spend will be well worth it.

When it comes to marketing, attorneys are often “a mile wide and an inch deep”. They try to do too many things and get poor results at most of them. Choose one or two marketing techniques or platforms and get good at them. Learn everything you can about LinkedIn, for example, and master it. Put your time and energy into it and don’t worry about Facebook or Twitter or anything else you could be doing.

When you approach the big things in marketing this way, you’ll find that not only do you have the time to do it, you get much better results.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: ,

Get bigger results with a DMO (daily method of operation) with these 4 components

April 3, 2012 by
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Most attorneys handle their day by (a) looking at the calendar and (b) responding to phone calls, emails, and regular mail. They handle the work in front of them and never seem to find time for much of anything else.

They know they “should” spend some time on marketing, for example, but that time never seems to materialize.

The solution is to create a “daily method of operation”–a written list of daily activities that help you move forward towards your long term and short term goals.

Your “daily method of operation” is a broad plan for the day. Rather than spelling out the specific tasks you need to do each day, a DMO focuses on the big picture. It reminds you to pay attention to what’s important, rather than what’s in front of you. It allows you to run your practice instead of your practicing running you.

Every attorney’s DMO should have these four components:

  1. Professional and personal development. Every day you should be reading or listening to training, learning new ideas, and finding ways to improve what you already know and do. Without continual development, you will stop growing and eventually begin to decay. This category includes continuing legal education, but also things like practicing your next presentation in front of a mirror, reading books on sales and business, and spending time with a mastermind group or a workout partner.
  2. Money making activities. This is work that brings in revenue. Make sure you’re doing things that allow you to bill or settle cases, not wasting time in pointless meetings.
  3. Marketing. Marketing is everything you do to attract clients and you must do it every day. It includes staying in touch with former clients and making sure your current clients are happy. In fact, from a marketing standpoint, there is nothing more important than “client relations”. Whatever you do for marketing–blogging, speaking, networking, social media, advertising–schedule time and do it every day.
  4. Administrative. If you run your own practice, there will always be things you need to do or to supervise to make sure things are running smoothly. If you aren’t in charge, there are things you need to do to stay organized and out of trouble. Schedule time each day to make sure you’re on top of things, but not so much time that the other components get short-changed.

To stay on track, you should also set goals for each component. There are two types of goals–activities and results:

  1. Activities: e.g., make one “how are you?” call each day to a former client, attend one networking function per week, etc.
  2. Results: e.g., one new client per week via online marketing, increase revenue 25% this quarter, etc.

Create a daily method of operation for your practice and schedule time for all four components. If you spend only 15 minutes a day on marketing but do it every day because it’s part of your DMO, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Save time, reduce anxiety with a DON’T do list

April 2, 2012 by
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It is said that successful people make up their minds quickly and change their minds slowly, if at all. As someone who often spends waaaay too much time thinking about things, that’s not what I wanted to hear.

But when you’re intelligent, you can see many possible outcomes. Things are rarely black and white and we should never decide anything important without taking time to reflect.

At least that’s what I tell myself.

Actually, what I think happens is that we often do decide quickly, but as human beings with ingrained self-doubts, and as lawyers trained to see both sides, we go back and forth challenging our decisions in an effort to justify them. We’ll go through the motions of trying to find fault, but usually, we’ve already made up our minds.

I don’t think we can’t change the way this works. We can, however, eliminate much of the anxiety and time wasting that occurs by re-thinking and second-guessing our decisions.

One way to do that is with a “don’t do” list.

If you’re married or otherwise monogomous, there are certain things you don’t do. You don’t go to single’s bars for example. In fact, you don’t spend any time thinking about single’s bars. It’s on your mental “don’t do” list. Why not create a similar list for other areas of your life?

For example, as you read this blog, you are presented with many ideas for marketing your legal services. Some ideas you like. Other ideas you have considered and rejected. They’re not for you. And yet you continue thinking about some of those ideas. Even though you have rejected them, you continue reading about them, you download apps, and you talk to other lawyers to see what they think.

I suggest you make a decision and be done with it. Put it on a “don’t do” list.

Open a text file or an Evernote note and start recording a list of things you’re not going to do. Once something is on the list, don’t read about it, don’t think about it, and by all means, don’t worry about it. You considered it and made your decision. Move on.

Your list might include advertising, for example. Your practice area might be one where many attorneys advertise and you’ve thought about it. Make a decision–will you or won’t you?

Maybe “advertising” is too broad. It might be something you can see yourself doing at some point. No problem. It doesn’t go on your list. But perhaps you’ve decided that yellow pages advertising is something you aren’t going to do (or no longer do) and you can put that on your don’t do list.

Maybe you don’t like social media and have decided you’re not going to have anything to do with it. Fine. Think of all the time you’ll save by not reading about it, exploring the different platforms, or actually engaging in it. You should feel good about your decision.

You see an article about lawyers getting clients through Pinterest. Tempting, eh? But you’ve already explored it and put it on your don’t do list. Not for you. So you don’t read the article or ponder the issue (“maybe there’s a new angle to this. . .”). Next subject. . .

On the other hand, social media marketing can produce a lot of business and just because you don’t have time for it right now or you don’t want to do it right now, you might not want to write it off completely. Don’t put it on your list. But if you’re camera shy and you know you don’t want to make youtube videos, put that on your list.

This doesn’t mean you never re-consider your decisions. I do many things today I never saw myself doing a few years ago. People change, technology changes, circumstances change. So, periodically, perhaps every six months or once a year, re-visit your don’t do list and see if there’s anything you want to remove.

Every day we are confronted with issues that require a decision. The less time we spend deciding, and the less time we spend re-considering our decisions, the more time we will have to do the things we’ve decided we want to do. A don’t do list can help.

So, what’s on your “don’t do” list? I know, I know, you want more time to think about it.

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Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get more writing done in less time with OmmWriter

March 30, 2012 by
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I wrote this post in OmmWriter, an application that creates a quiet, uncluttered writing space. Just a simple, full page of blank writing surface, a few basic fonts, and little else.

The idea is to be able to write without being distracted by Facebook, email, or other web sites or applications. It gives you a quiet place to be alone with your thoughts, so you can get more writing done in less time.

I remember going to the library in high school to write papers I didn’t want to write. Once I settled down and resigned myself to getting started, the quiet helped me to focus. Applications like OmmWriter create a similar environment.

On the other hand, I usually don’t need a quiet setting to write. In fact, like many people, I enjoy having some distractions. I think that’s why you see so many people writing or doing homework at Starbucks.

Also, when I write I usually refer to notes or articles I’ve saved or have open in a browser. Being in a writing app that takes over the full screen means I have to close the app to get to those notes or articles.

I do enjoy writing in OmmWriter, especially when I’m writing about something I know a lot about or have strong feelings about. The writing is quicker and flows more freely. What I mean is that I’m not so much engaged in the act of writing as I am in connecting my thoughts with my keyboard. For first drafts especially, it’s a more intuitive, natural process, and in some ways, the writing is better.

Applications like this are a good idea for writers who need that quiet space where they can let their creativity flow. If you ever find yourself unable to settle down and get into your writing, this is a good solution.

I’ve tried other applications like this. Some are browser based, some, like OmmWriter, you download. OmmWriter offers a feature I like, background colors and sounds (music) they have found to be conducive to writing. They provide a sort of “white noise” that helps me focus better.

OmmWriter is free and there is also a paid version (donation-ware) with more colors and sounds. I have used it off and on since I first downloaded it a month ago and I will continue to use it. It’s easier than driving to the library, and a lot cheaper than Starbucks.

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Filed Under: Productivity, Writing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting things done by letting your “trusted system” remind you

March 26, 2012 by
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Waiting for others to do what they’re supposed to do used to make me anxious. Not anymore. Instead of trusting my memory, scraps of paper, post-it notes, et.al., I record the task in a “trusted system” and let the system remind me. Until it does, I don’t think about it.

A trusted system usually starts with a calendar. Most attorneys routinely calendar due dates, but are sometimes unprepared when the due date “sneaks up on them.” The solution is to add a review date prior to the due date, prompting you to check up on the outstanding task. Or a series of review dates if there is a long time horizon. You can also calendar review dates even when there is no fixed due date.

Another way to handle “waiting” tasks is to keep a separate list of them and review that list on a regular basis, i.e., during a weekly review. Or, instead of keeping everything on one list, you can assign a tag or label to each individual task. During your weekly review, check everything that has the “waiting” tag or label or is in your “waiting” folder.

For your own tasks, you can keep separate lists or folders labeled “Now” or “Next” or “Someday” or use tags for the same purpose.

For my trusted system, I use my calendar (google) for tasks with a due date or a review date, and Evernote for everything else. Anything on the calendar that has an associated note in Evernote is linked to that note with a “note link,” a hyperlink that opens the note in Evernote.

Gmail now allows you to star or label your outgoing emails, which makes tracking replies so much easier. Before you click “send,” add a “waiting” label, for example, to any email where you are waiting for a reply. You can then forget about it until your periodic review.

Getting things out of your head and into a trusted system can help you achieve a “mind like water”. The “open loops” still exist, but you can relax and let your trusted system take care of the remembering and reminding.

—
I’m being interviewed live this Wednesday at 3pm Pacific about using Evernote in a law practice and my Evernote for Lawyers ebook. I hope you can join us. If you can’t make it, you can post your question on my new Evernote for Lawyers ebook fanpage.

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Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , ,
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