How to plan your day in 5 Minutes or less

February 12, 2026 by
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Every morning, I spend a few minutes planning my day. It only takes 5 minutes because I (usually) do just three things: 

  1. I check my calendar to see if I have upcoming appointments for the day or the week. Is there anything I need to prepare? Is there anyone I need to notify? Is there anything I need to reschedule?
  2. I check my messages. Do I have any emails that require action? If it’s a one or two word reply, I usually do that on the spot. If something requires more thought or research, I forward those to my task app. The same goes for phone messages. Anything that isn’t actionable I delete, forward to a “read later” app, or leave it in my inbox and look at it on the weekend when I do my weekly planning and have more time.   
  3. I check my tasks. What have I planned to do today? Too much? Too little? Just right? Anything I need to adjust?

And I have my plan for the day.

If I feel like it, I often also do a quick tidy up, meaning emptying inboxes, filing notes in the appropriate project or folder. 

Anyway, that’s how I start my day. t’s only a few minutes, and I consider it time well spent.

It’s only a few minutes because:

  1. I choose the tasks and projects I plan to work on that day the night before. It’s the last thing I do before calling it a night, and allows me to relax and enjoy the evening.
  2. I do a weekly reset (plan, review) each weekend. 
  3. My calendar and task management apps are always with me and available in case something comes up or I run out of time, or I’m tired and need to change something. 

So, how about you? Do you make a daily plan? What do you include? How long does it take? 

Do you do it every day or just when you think of it?

I do it daily because it helps me start the day with clarity and focus. It’s worth it to me. But frankly, if it took more than a few minutes, I’m not sure I would do it consistently. 

I know that because of my many off-and-on-again efforts to do weekly planning. 

When a weekly review took 90 minutes, or even 30 minutes, I often found myself avoiding it. It wasn’t worth it.

Now? My weekly planning is just 15 minutes. For reasons I’ll talk about in another post. 

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Filed Under: Law office management, Productivity

The truth, the whole truth, and (almost) nothing but the truth

February 10, 2026 by
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You’re not good at everything. Sometimes you make mistakes. Sometimes you don’t do what you said you would do when you said you would do it. 

You’re a lawyer. And pretty good at disguising your flaws, because why would you talk about them? 

Why tell clients what you don’t do well or give them reasons to doubt you?

Because it might be the best thing you could do.

Transparency isn’t a common characteristic of most lawyers. We thrive on displaying strength and avoid revealing weakness. We say what must be said and avoid saying anything that doesn’t.  

Of course we protect ourselves with disclaimers and disclosures in our retainer agreements, authorizations, invoices, and other documents, lest we later be accused of failing to disclose something.

We hide the negative in the fine print. 

What if you shared some of that upfront? Better for clients to hear it from you instead of hearing it on social media or finding out after they’ve hired you. 

What if, instead of downplaying some things that can go wrong with a case, you talk about them openly? What if you tell stories about problems you’ve seen in your practice and point out that not everything has a happy ending?

What if you tell clients what you do and what you don’t do? Tell them what you offer and what’s not included. Tell them you don’t handle “everything” and when you will refer them to someone you know and recommend.

How refreshing to hear some unvarnished truth from an attorney. 

Transparency will let you differentiate yourself from most attorneys and give you a distinct marketing advantage by building trust and likeability.

You don’t have to walk around with a lie detector attached to your arm or take a truth serum before you meet with prospect clients. 

Just don’t bury everything in 6-point type. 

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Image, Marketing legal services

The brutal truth about marketing

February 5, 2026 by
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Many lawyers say they don’t have time for marketing, but the reality is, they “do” marketing every day. 

Because everything a lawyer does in his or her practice is marketing. 

The way you speak to a prospective client is marketing. Your words and how you say them make the client feel hopeful about their situation and confident about your ability to help them, and that’s the quintessence of marketing. 

The way you do your work is also marketing. You do it efficiently, expeditiously, and effectively, and show your clients and market why they should hire you and refer you.

It’s all marketing. 

From the way you greet a new client at their first appointment, to the way you describe the documents you ask them to sign, how you talk about your fees, the trinkets on your desktop, the clothes you wear—it’s all marketing. 

And you do it well, or you don’t. 

Take a look at your website the way a client might. Does it look clean and modern and inspire confidence in your practice? Does it provide answers to FAQs, explain the law and describe your services in enough detail that visitors understand what you do and convince them that you’re very good at what you do?

Marketing. 

How often do you stay in touch with clients and prospects? What do you say to them and send them? Do you share success stories, warn them about changes in the law, and strenuously tell them what to do to protect their business or family?

It’s all marketing. 

Some people look for you on social media to see what others say about you or ask you and how you respond. Do you say the right things? Do you “talk” too much or too little? What impression do you make? 

When you turn down a case, do you make sure the client understands why and feels good about you even if you can’t help them? When you deliver bad news, do you do it with compassion and intelligence and help clients see that you did everything you could for them?  

When something goes wrong, when there’s a delay, when you don’t get the results you expected, how do you handle that? How do you explain what happened? How do you respond when a client is angry?

What do you say about the other party or their counsel? What do you tell clients about your personal life? When you speak with another professional, do you show interest in their business or personal life, or are you all-business-all-the-time? 

How about your staff? Are they friendly? Dedicated? Interesting? Do they treat clients with complete respect? Is it obvious that you hire good people, train them well and support them?

It makes a difference. Everything you do makes a difference. Everything you do is marketing.

And you’re doing it well or you aren’t. 

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Relationship marketing

Do more hard things?

February 3, 2026 by
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It sounds like good advice, doesn’t it? Do hard things, take on bigger challenges, put in more hours—that’s how you get ahead today. That’s what the books and videos and blogs repeatedly tell us.

Doing hard things, they say, helps us improve our skills and strengths, increase our confidence and self-discipline, and as we take on greater challenges and achieve them, we gain motivation to continue to achieve even more.

Our efforts compound, and so do our results. The harder we work, the more value we create for ourselves and the people we serve, ultimately leading to greater success and happiness. 

But is it true? 

Should we train ourselves to make hard work our default? 

Not necessarily. 

Learning new things, improving our skills, and putting in more effort can all distract us from doing the things we’re already good at and easily do—the types of things we get paid to do every day. 

Doing hard things might actually make us less productive and lead to a lower standard of living.

It’s called hard work for a reason. 

Don’t discount the value of doing easy things. The kinds of things we’ve been doing for a long time and are good at.

If we’re good at speaking, for example, we usually find ways to do more presentations, and the more we do, the more effective we become at convincing people with our oratory skills. We get more new clients, we win more motions and hearings, and we settle more cases for higher amounts. Without breaking a sweat.

So, which is it? Should we do more hard things or continue doing things we find easy? 

Obviously, we need both. The better question is, “How much of each should we do?”

I don’t know the answer. I don’t have a formula or percentage. So here’s what I suggest.

As you plan your week, look at the list of tasks you need to do and make those your priority. Even if they are (relatively) easy. You need to do these to pay the bills.

But don’t ignore the hard things. You need to do these to learn more about yourself and what you could do, and to challenge yourself to do a bit more than you do now.

Do hard things, but make easy things your priority. 

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, success Tagged With:

Another type of content most lawyers don’t use (but should) 

January 29, 2026 by
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Most lawyers who create content for a blog or newsletter or podcast usually don’t  include “guest posts” or other contributions from other content creators, especially other lawyers. 

But they should for three good reasons. 

The most obvious reason is that it saves time. Every post created by someone else is a post you don’t have to create yourself. 

Yes, it does take time to work with others, to make sure they know their subject are and can write or speak intelligently about it, to make sure their content is appropriate for and of interest to your audience, and to possibly do some editing of the content they submit to you, but on balance, you’ll probably come out ahead because the other creator will do most of the heavy lifting. 

The second reason for accepting (or soliciting) contributions from others is that your clients and audience will enjoy hearing from experts in other fields, on subjects you can’t or usually don’t address. 

This content might take the form of 

  • Guest posts from lawyers in other specialties or other markets
  • Articles by business experts who sell to or advise your target market
  • Interviews of subject matter experts or business professionals who work in your field or local area
  • Reprints and reposts of previously published content on others’ blogs or channels
  • You reviewing and/or commenting on the business, practice, or content created by other professionals or business experts who sell to or advise your target market

Which leads to the third and most important reason for sharing content created by or about others: 

Each time you publish or re-publish an article or video, interview a professional or business expert, or share content created by other content creators in your market, you create the opportunity that said content creator will ask you to contribute content for them. 

They might post (or repost) your article, agree to interview you, or repost something by or about you for their newsletter, blog, or channel. 

And just like that, your name and services get exposure to a new audience, with the actual or implied endorsement of that attorney or business professional. 

That’s marketing gold. 

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services

Most lawyers don’t create this type of content (but should)

January 27, 2026 by
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Many lawyers use informational articles, blogs, newsletters, reports, videos, seminars, and other content for marketing their practice. They write or speak about the law and legal procedure, talk about the problems they see and the solutions they have delivered, and in this way, educate readers and listeners about what they do and how they can help them.

It’s a simple and effective way to bring in new clients, repeat clients, and referrals.

If you’re not doing this now, try it. Write a brief article about your field and post it on your website, share it on social media, or email it to people you know who can share it with people they know. 

You can start by imagining you’re speaking to a prospective client who has a problem and wants to know his options. Explain the basics, tell him about a case or client you had with the same or similar issue, and tell him what you did to help that client, and encourage your reader to contact you if they have questions. 

You’ll probably find that it’s easy to create educational content like that, and when you get calls or emails asking questions and scheduling appointments, how effective it is at generating business.

When you do, I’m sure you’ll want to create more content.

Educational content works because it allows you to “show, not tell”. Readers and listeners get to see you “in action,” helping people understand the law, their rights, their obligations, and what an attorney can do for them, and through the stories you use to illustrate your points, how you wisely and compassionately work with your clients.

It’s a great way to build trust and show the value you offer, and for many attorneys, this is all the marketing they need to do. 

But here’s a tip. 

Don’t limit yourself to content about the law and your work. That’s what most lawyers do. You should also create content about yourself. 

You, the person, not you the lawyer. 

Personal information helps people get to know you. Why is that important? Because it lets people connect with you and see a side of you they otherwise might not see, and they might like what they see. 

And because most lawyers don’t do this, when you do, you’ll stand out in a crowded world of lawyer “options” available to clients and business contacts.

So, tell people what you do when you’re not working, what you like to read or do, about your family and background, and plans for the future.

What did you do before law school? What kind of music do you like? What’s your favorite genre of movie and why?

There are two ways to do this. One way to post an occasional story about yourself and update it when something interesting or good (or bad) happens in your life. Talk about your first child or grandchild and what parenthood or grandparenthood mean to you; describe how frustrated you were with your Windows computer and how you finally switched over to a Mac; describe your upcoming vacation plans and what you’re looking forward to seeing or doing. 

You know, human stuff.

The other way is to weave into your blog posts and articles about your work parenthetical comments and asides about your personal life. For example, “I was trying out a new recipe for lasagna I was cooking for some friends my wife and I had over for dinner and it made me think about how…”.

They both work. Try them and see. 

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Filed Under: Communication, Content creation, Marketing legal services, Writing

You don’t need a big network

January 20, 2026 by
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You don’t have a lot of business contacts? Social media isn’t your thing? You don’t do a lot of networking or socializing?

Me neither. 

Contrary to popular business sentiment, success doesn’t depend on having an extensive network. I don’t have one. Never did. And yet I built a successful law practice and several businesses, including—are you ready—a successful network marketing business. 

Networking is a great way to build a business or professional practice, but it’s not the only way. 

If that sounds like good news to you, welcome to the club. 

More good news? If you want to incorporate networking into your practice-building array, you can do that without putting in a lot of time or effort. 

Because you you don’t need a big network. You need an influential network. 

A few people who are well-known and well-respected in your niche or market, and who feel the same way about you. 

A few influential contacts are all you need because they will lead you to a few more.

They know other influential people in your market, professionals, business owners, consultants, people in media, people who write or speak or who are simply good at their job and know other people they can refer. 

And you need only a few. 

It’s about the depth of your relationships, not the breadth. 

Build strong relationships with a few influential people who are a good fit for you and the markets you target, or want to, and you’re good. 

Quality over quality. 

This year, set a goal to develop one new “good” contact. That sounds doable, doesn’t it? Even for those of us who don’t like networking or aren’t good at it. 

One is a great number. 

And guess what? You might not even have to find someone new. You might simply get closer to someone you already know. 

Call them. Buy them a coffee. Talk to them about what they’re doing and what they’d like to do this year. 

You never know, they might be “the one” or lead you “the one” and, wonder of wonders, they’ve been in your phone book all this time, waiting for you to call.

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Filed Under: Networking, Relationship marketing, Social media marketing

Why good lawyers aren’t necessarily successful lawyers

January 15, 2026 by
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We all know lawyers who are good at their job but never seem to get ahead. They’re intelligent, work hard, and get good results for their clients, but success (at least financial success) eludes them. 

Paradoxically, their lack of success might stem from the very attributes that make them a good lawyer. 

Good lawyers are risk averse. They don’t want their clients to take chances and sustain losses and advise them accordingly. Unfortunately, they almost always adopt the same standards for themselves. 

They’re careful to a fault. They don’t try new marketing ideas or different ways to manage their practice. They don’t experiment, test out new ideas, or do anything they haven’t done before. 

Or that other attorneys are already doing.

They avoid doing things unless they see proof they will work. Failure is not an option.

And that’s the problem. 

The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.

The missing element? Feedback. Failure is feedback, and without it, you don’t know what works or gain insights into what might work better. 

If you want feedback, you have to take the chance. 

When you do, there are three possible outcomes: 

  1. It works. You get a good result, you’re happy and encouraged to do more.
  2. It doesn’t work. But you do it again, make changes, and keep at it until you eventually find the solution.
  3. It never works. You see this and learn from it and can use what you learn with your next idea.

Everything we do gives us feedback, which we miss if we don’t risk failure.

When I started practicing, I volunteered at a legal clinic, speaking with indigent clients. I didn’t get many cases or clients and earned next to nothing. 

But the experience was invaluable. 

I learned how to diagnose legal problems, how to talk to clients, and how to give them hope, even if I was not able to help them. 

I learned things about being a lawyer I didn’t learn in law school and used that experience to build my practice. 

Failure leads to feedback, and feedback leads to success. The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.

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Filed Under: success

Growing your practice by doing LESS? 

January 13, 2026 by
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This might be the year you take your practice to a much higher level. But not in the usual way. Not by doing more, but by doing less. 

What do I mean? 

I mean that instead of increasing your billable hours, getting more cases or clients, ramping up your ad spend or expanding into new markets, you cut back on what you’ve been doing or planned to do this year. 

You don’t hire more employees or open another office. You don’t force yourself to create more content or do more networking. Growth doesn’t always require “addition”. It can also occur through “subtraction”. 

Doing less but better. 

It might mean putting fewer hours into marketing but getting better clients or bigger cases, or more income and greater profits.

How does that happen?

When you do less or spend less on something, you have more time and energy and cash (and enthusiasm) for doing something else produces better results. Or allow you to accomplish more with less effort. 

When we simplify our marketing and management workflow, we get better at what we do. When we spend less on one strategy or in one market, we have more to spend on others.

It’s called leverage. The 80/20 principle. Working smarter. And it’s a beautiful thing.

Start by taking inventory of what you did last year—all of your time, all of your expenses, all the people and processes you managed. 

Then, review the list and consider what you could cut or change. 

Maybe this is the year to downsize some personnel. Maybe you can do just fine with a smaller office. Maybe one ad or one marketing technique is producing the lion’s share of your income and the rest aren’t contributing much.

Of course, you might also see things that are worth expanding, and others you’ll simply decide to continue. 

It’s all good. 

Sometimes you subtract, sometimes you add, and sometimes, you appreciate your blessings and look forward to the coming year.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, success

How to write a blog post in five minutes 

January 8, 2026 by
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Would you write more blog posts or newsletter articles if it only took a few minutes?

You can. Using voice dictation. Something I’ve done for many years. 

When I was in law school and clerked for my father, I dictated everything on a belt-driven recording machine or a cassette tape recorder, and a secretary would type my words and execute my instructions. When I opened my own office (and could afford a secretary), I continued doing that. 

Years later, I discovered Dragon dictation software and used it to write several books. It was (and is) clunky, you have to train it, you have to dictate all the punctuation and do a lot of editing, which is why many people, I’m sure, say, “it’s not worth it”. 

Technology today is much better. And you have many options, including those that are built into your computer and phone. 

They do a great job of quickly transcribing your words into error-free text.

Some programs automatically add punctuation. Some correct your grammar on the fly. Some translate your words into other languages. And some take your raw dictation and, using AI, change the tone of your message, format it, and convert it into mail, text messages, scripts, meeting summaries, and just about anything else you might want. 

I type quickly and actually enjoy it. But there’s nothing better than sitting with my phone or in front of my computer, speaking for five or ten minutes, and producing 500 to 800 words of text. 

And that’s what I do.

Note, I’m not using any AI functions. Just dictating and creating a first draft. I still have to rewrite and edit and do other things to turn it into publishable content.

For now. 

I’m experimenting and learning which program(s) I want to use and how to use them. Eventually, I expect I’ll be able to do things even better—and faster. 

If you don’t use voice dictation software, I suggest you try it. If you’ve tried it before and thought, “it’s not for me,” I suggest you try it again. 

With or without AI, it’s worth it to be able “write” three or four times faster than you can type, and not have to hire anyone to do it for you.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Writing
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