My secret obsession

October 9, 2015 by
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I’ve got a confession. I am obsessed with something right now and I can’t seem to let it go.

Every day, lately, I have been indulging my obsession. Watching videos, mostly. No, nothing kinky. I am obsessed with high-end voice dictation recorders. Especially the top-of-the-line units from Olympus and Philips.

See, I’d been thinking about buying a digital audio recorder, for notes and to dictate books and blog posts. I found that there is an entire universe of audio recording options–for recording music, for recording lectures and meetings and interviews, and for dictation.

Great. If you want to keep me busy, just give me lots of options.

Anyway, I studied what was available, and learned more about audio recording than I will ever need to know. I had dismissed the high-end units, because they are expensive ($500 and up) and have a lot of features I don’t need. But then I saw that they have a feature I really want and can’t get from (most) of the more modestly priced units.

The high-end recorders have a sliding switch on the side of the unit that allows you to use your thumb to rewind and fast forward, which means you don’t have to take the recorder away from your mouth when you are dictating. In addition, they allow you to “record over” and/or “insert” dictation anywhere in the audio file.

You can make corrections on the fly. Just like you can on many (most?) desktop dictation machines and microphones. Just like the one I used to own.

Without these functions, when you make a mistake or want to add something, you have to just keep recording.

Now, you may be thinking I’m a nutter for obsessing over this, but it’s important to me. Maybe because I cut my teeth on dictation and I know what a difference in productivity this capability delivers. Or maybe you’re thinking, yes, this makes sense, why don’t you just go ahead and pick up one of those high-end units and stop annoying me.

But here’s the thing. I realized that I don’t need to buy anything, I have an app on my iPhone that does what I want.

The app is called “Dictate + Connect” (formerly “Dictamus”) and it is heralded by legions of lawyers and other professionals. I’ve had it for years but used it only sporadically because I haven’t been dictating. Now that I’m using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for transcription, I can use the app when I’m away from my desk.

Dictate + Connect allows you to record over and insert into existing recordings. It also allows you to select a section of your recording and delete it or move it elsewhere. I can edit my dicatation on my phone before I send it to my desktop to be transcribed.

The app does everything I need it to do. I can live with the absence of a side switch. I’ve ordered a new headset microphone so I can hold the iPhone in my hand and work the controls while I continue to dictate.

So, I had the solution in my pocket all along. If you share my obsession, or you want to have another option available for notes and dictation, check it out in the app store (iOS and Android). You can download a free version with full capability but limited recording length and try it out.

Okay, that is all. I’ve got some dictation to do. And maybe a video or two to watch.

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Filed Under: Productivity, Technology, Writing

Do you have five minutes? Great, then you can market your law practice

September 25, 2015 by
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Like a broken record, I promote the idea that you can market your law practice in only 15 minutes a day. You repeatedly hear me say, “Put 15 minutes on your calendar and make it an appointment with yourself.”

But I know that many lawyers don’t do it.

Is that you? If 15 minutes a day is too much, how about 5 minutes?

The beauty of five-minute marketing is that it can be done on the spur of the moment. You don’t have to schedule anything. When you’re waiting for your next client, when you’re eating lunch, when you’re driving, you can make calls, dictate emails, or brainstorm ideas.

You can even write the first draft of a blog post or article. Yes, in five minutes.

The trick to writing an article in five minutes is to separate the idea-getting from the writing. Set up a notebook dedicated to ideas for articles or posts. When you have five minutes, add a few bullet points, examples, or sub-topics to each idea.

When you have another five minutes, you’ll be ready to crank out the first draft of an article.

Assuming you’re writing about something you know, with notes in hand, in five minutes you should be able to write 200 to 400 words. More if you dictate them.

Whether you type or dictate, the trick is to write for five minutes without stopping to edit or even to think. Remember, you know this subject and you know what you want to say about it. That’s enough for a first draft.

That draft will be rough and better for it because it will sound conversational. At least it should.

Put the first draft aside and come back to it when you have another five minutes. Re-write, add links or cites or quotes, edit and polish.

As proof, I wrote the first draft of the foregoing in about five minutes. I’m taking another ten minutes or so to make it pretty for you.

Whether it’s writing articles or emails, calling former clients to say hello, or calling other lawyers to talk about how you might work together for your mutual marketing benefit, you can do a lot in five minutes.

If you’re not willing to commit 15 minutes a day to marketing, make a list of things you can do in five minutes and keep it handy. If you are willing to commit 15 minutes a day to marketing, during those 15 minutes you can do three of them.

How to talk to lawyers about referrals

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management, Writing

Who says there are no shortcuts?

September 10, 2015 by
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Some say there are no shortcuts. You must do the work and put in the time. There are no shortcuts in life.

Balderdash.

Of course there are shortcuts. Untold numbers of shortcuts. Everywhere we look and everything we do there are shortcuts.

Law school is a shortcut. Imagine having to prepare yourself to practice law without it. A bar preparation course is a shortcut. In fact, every class, course, or book, is a (potential) shortcut. You learn what others know and what they did, so you can avoid their mistakes and follow their path to success.

A franchise is a shortcut. So is a network marketing business.

Do you (or did you) have another lawyer mentor you? That’s a shortcut.

Form books, checklists email templates, are shortcuts.

I dictated this post with dictation software. Yep, a shortcut.

The 80/20 principle says that in just about everything we do, a small percentage of our activities or effort produce a disproportionate percentage of our results. Do more of those activities (and less of the others) and you will have a shortcut to achieving more.

So if someone tells you there are no shortcuts, don’t listen to them. Shortcuts are everywhere and we use them all the time. Do you want a shortcut to success? Go find more shortcuts.

Want a shortcut to getting more clients and increasing your income? click here

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

How many hours a week do you work?

September 3, 2015 by
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If you’re like me, and you are, when someone asks you, “How many hours a week do you work?” you usually say, “It depends”. We say that because we’re lawyers and everything depends.

How many hours we work depends on how one defines “work”. Do we count being at our workplace as working?

Do we count thinking time? Reading time? What about driving time?

I’m guessing that most people who put in a “full” day spend only 25% of that time actually working. Show up for eight hours, you do about two hours of work. (Actually, I recall reading that the average person only works 90 minutes a day, but we’re not average, are we?)

And don’t get me started on billable hours.

So when I read about the notion that working more than 40 hours a week makes us less productive, I have to wonder what they mean by work. And while we’re on the subject, what do they mean by “less productive”?

We might get more done in less time working 40 hours a week, but so what? If we’re getting things done after 40 hours, we’re still getting things done.

And maybe we like what we do. Maybe it doesn’t feel like work. Maybe we don’t have hobbies or other things to occupy our time and, given the choice, we would prefer to keep working instead of resting or playing.

When someone tells us we’re working too hard, we should smile and nod and tell them they’re right, even if we disagree. Hard work never killed anyone, right? Yes, but what do we say when they tell us we’re not working hard enough?

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, Time Management

“I’m at my best when. . .”

August 25, 2015 by
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I watched a replay of a webinar conducted by Nuance, the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, about their new products. One of the speakers was a productivity expert who suggested that we take some time to think about when we are at our best, meaning when we do our best work and under what conditions we have our best days. He suggested we remind ourselves of these conditions by posting a note on our mirror or our computer screen.

He said he’s at his best when he starts his day by first checking overnight correspondence, then going to the gym. At the top of my list I would say, “I’m at my best when I have coffee first thing in the morning.”

I’m also at my best when I work at my desk, not when I’m mobile. At my desk, I have a full sized keyboard and access to files and notes and everything else I need. I can make or take calls in quiet, without worrying about the phone signal or finding a quiet place to talk. I can also take notes more easily.

Sitting at my desk also puts me in the mood to work. When I’m away from my desk, not so much.

When I’m out, I always have something to read (Kindle books, blogs, etc.) and a way to record notes. When I have downtime, I keep busy. At the mall the other day, my wife went into a store and I read. (Okay, I also played chess on my phone.)

I’ve taken my computer to a coffee shop and the library a few times, and I was able to get work done. That was a nice change of pace. But for every day work, I prefer being in my home office.

When it comes to work, I know when I’m at my best, and when I’m not. How about you?

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Filed Under: Productivity

What should I have my virtual assistant do for me?

August 21, 2015 by
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I got an e-mail from attorney who uses a virtual assistant “to write and edit letters to prospective clients”. He asked me what else he could have her do.

Great question.

To answer it, I’ll share a (slightly edited) email I received in response to a post I did about justifying the cost of hiring outside assistants:

I have a full-time VA in the Philippines. She costs me about $75 per WEEK (full time). I gladly pay this even though I often don’t have 40 hours’ worth of stuff for her to do. I don’t let her handle much for my law practice. Her English grammar is a bit off sometimes, but she updates websites, edits video, does show notes for my podcast, handles blog posting, social media promotion of my stuff, etc. She’s been invaluable in getting my courses and info products created and published. This frees up some time for marketing, client service, and for ME… I get to have dinner with my kids almost every night.

Letting go of control is my big challenge, but I’m working on it, and Managing a VA is a skill set that needs to be developed, too… the time/distance and cultural differences require some finesse… But I’m glad to have Joanna on my team. I encourage everyone to find a VA to help out with things.

So, here’s what I would do.

Make a list of every task that is performed in your practice, by you or anyone on your behalf. Write down everything, from opening the mail, opening and closing files, meeting with clients, writing articles, and everything in between.

Then, look at that list and put a check mark next to every task that can only be done by YOU.

You probably do a lot of things that someone else could do. They may not do it as well, but as long as they can do it at an acceptable level, you should let them do it.

Make sure break down the tasks that only you can do into sub-tasks that others can do.  You may be the one who conducts the trial, but you can have others assemble documents and write (the first draft) of motions.

Now, what about the tasks that nobody is doing? What could you have a VA or employee do to help you with marketing, for example? That depends on your objectives and what you’re willing to do to accomplish them.

If you want to do Facebook advertising, you can have an assistant find keywords, create the ad graphics and copy (or co-ordinate with freelancers), and manage the campaigns.

If you have my new course on getting referrals from lawyers, you would have your assistant find other lawyers that you can contact to discuss referrals and joint ventures. The VA can compile details about what they do, make the initial contact on your behalf, and follow-up with those who respond affirmatively.

Do only those things that only you can do and delegate everything else. But first you have to figure out what needs to be done.

Get more referrals from other lawyers: click here

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , ,

What’s next?

August 20, 2015 by
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What are you working on right now? What will do after that?

What project(s) have you lined up for next week, next month, and later this year?

It could be anything: hiring a new virtual assistant, updating your website, or getting trained on a new contact management system. Whatever it is, you need to know what’s next.

I just finished a project (Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals) and I’m already working on the next one. I also know what I’ll do after that.

For me, knowing my next project gives me time to think about that project before I start it. I can do research, outline and plan. My subconscious mind will cogitate on the subject and prompt me with ideas and questions.

Knowing what’s next also means I don’t have any “dead air”. I go from one project to the next without missing a step. And if I have any challenges with a project, or it fizzles out, I always have something else to turn to.

It’s exciting to think about what I’ve got lined up. Thinking about future projects inspires me to finish the current one.

I don’t know my next ten projects, just the next two or three. But I have a list of hundreds of ideas to draw from, and as I complete the next few projects, I’ll have the next few lined up.

Mind you, I’m not obsessed with planning. I like a little spontaneity in my life. When I stumble upon a new idea that excites me, I’m fine with pushing aside my other projects to make room for it.

No matter what productivity system or method use, or if you don’t use any, develop the habit of always knowing what’s next. Whenever you start a project, ask yourself, “What’s will I do after this?”

When you know what’s next, your productivity will soar.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, Productivity, success

Voice to text dictation with Dragon Naturally Speaking

August 19, 2015 by
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A long time ago, my colleagues and I dictated most of our letters, pleadings and other work product into a recording device, to be transcribed by a legal secretary. At first, we recorded onto a magnetic belt or tape. Later, we used cassette tapes (micro and regular size).

I could type, but this was before computers, and correcting typos, even on a Selectric with built in correction tape, was not the best use of my time.

Today, I type. But in my never-ending quest to increase my writing output, I have lately been experimenting with voice to text (speech to text) apps, including an old version of Dragon Naturally Speaking which I’ve had on my hard drive for several years.

I’ve tinkered with it in the past, but never used it consistently, mainly because of the learning curve and concomitant time it always seemed to require.

That, plus I am a quick typist.

And yet, I know that voice dictation is quicker, and if I can master DNS, I will increase my productivity.

This post wasn’t dictated with the software, but I have started using it daily. I’m learning the program’s commands, practicing my old dictation habits, and things are coming along. Period. Paragraph.

Nuance, which makes the software, just announced a new app for mobile, Dragon Anywhere, coming this fall. This looks amazing for those who are frequently away from their computer. When I’m out, I use Siri to dictate on my phone, but you have to stop and re-set every 30 seconds. Dragon Anywhere offers unlimited dictation time.

Nuance also announced a new Professional version for individuals. I couldn’t resist the price so I upgraded. (If you have DNS, go to Help on the menu and “check for upgrades”.

One thing I like about the upgrade (that I don’t have on my old version) is the ability to import an audio file for transcription. If I don’t subscribe to Dragon Anywhere (it will be a monthly subscription), this will be a big help.

If you read reviews about DNS, you find a mixed bag. A lot of people have had problems with installation and use of their products. Other reviews sing their praises.

If you use voice dictation in your work, or you have done so in the past, I’d love to hear your experiences. What do you use? How has it helped to improve your work flow? Do you have any tips to share?

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

If Donald Trump managed your law office

August 5, 2015 by
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If Donald Trump managed your law office, you’d be in for one hell of a ride. On the first day he arrived, he’d call a meeting and lay out the plan to take you into the big (or bigger) leagues.

Before he arrived, he would have had his people study you. They would know your operation better than you do, and they would have recommendations. Lots of them. They will have briefed The Donald and he will be ready to sell the plan to you and your staff.

And that plan would be breathtaking.

Everything that you have always taken for granted would be back on the table. Every document, every procedure, every employee would be examined, and that includes you. Some of your staff will be given raises. Some will be fired. New people will be brought on board.

Waste will be eliminated. Opportunities will be exploited. Everything will run smoother, faster, and more profitably.

I imagine The Donald will tell you (repeatedly) why a business person and not a lawyer should run things. He’d point out that lawyers aren’t good at taking risks, they don’t appreciate marketing, and they are often better with paper than people.

Yes, he’d ruffle feathers and leave you breathless trying to keep up, but as a result of implementing his plan, new clients would come in, bills would go out, and your bank account would grow.

The lesson? Hire a business person to manage your law firm. Or change your thinking, crack the books, and become one yourself. Embrace the notion that your firm is a business and needs to be run like one. Change the way you think about things, and change the things you do.

Because Mr. Trump is a little busy right now and probably won’t show up at your office any time soon.

Here’s a good place to start

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

If you’re not growing, you’re dying

August 3, 2015 by
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James Clear had an interesting post about something called The Repeated Bout Effect. In simple terms, it means, “the more you repeat a behavior, the less it impacts you because you become accustomed to it.”

He quotes Marshall Goldsmith, author of “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” who says, “Doing the same thing over and over again, even if it worked for a long time, will eventually lead to a plateau.”

Clear uses examples from weight training, but the principle applies to other aspects of life, including marketing and managing your practice. If you continue doing the same things you’ve always done, or you do them the same way you’ve always done them, you limit or retard your growth.

And if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

Clear suggests deliberately practicing new skills that you can master quickly, i.e., “in one to three practice sessions”. This will stimulate growth and help you reach new levels of achievement.

Identify skills that could prove helpful to you in marketing and managing your practice. Once a week or so, choose a skill to focus on for the next few days.

For ideas, read blogs and articles and books on those subjects. Talk to your colleagues and business contacts and see what they do to build or manage their business or practice.

Regularly add new skills to your bag of tricks and encourage your staff to do the same.

But don’t stop there.

I think it’s also wise to periodically examine your current skills and activities and seek ways to improve them.

Over the next few days, take note of everything you do–small tasks and big tasks, highly skilled tasks and rudimentary or routine tasks. Include everything: writing, speaking, presenting, signing up new clients, meeting with employees, interviewing job applicants, dictating a motion, prepping for trial, reviewing a new client intake, touch typing, and everything else.

Then, look at each task and ask yourself, “How can I do this better?”

Can you change the order of the steps? Add in an extra step? Use a different tool?

Can you do it faster, perhaps by leaving out a step or two?

Can you get better results by practicing the underlying skills or delegating some of the tasks (or the entire task) to someone else?

Acquiring new skills, combined with an ongoing effort to improve your current skills, is a powerful recipe for growth. And if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity Tagged With:
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