Productivity Archives - Page 41 of 62 - The Attorney Marketing Center

The only productivity rule you need to know

March 13, 2015 by David M. Ward

Shelves of books have been written about time management and productivity. Every day, we are told about the latest methods and systems for managing our lives. And we look at them, oh yes we do, because no matter what system we currently use, there has to be something better.

But there’s really one productivity rule you need to know.

It’s a simple rule. Simple to understand, simple to remember, and simple to use.

Follow this rule and you won’t need anything else.

What is this Holy Grail of productivity?

Behold:

“First things first, second things never”.

If you want to be productive, continually ask yourself “What is the most important thing I can do right now?”

And do it.

When it’s done, or you have done as much as you can on that task, ask the question again. “What’s the most important thing I can do right now?”

In this way, you continually focus on your top priority, and you don’t get bogged down in anything else.

Always do the most important thing. When you complete that task, something else will take it’s place as your most important task, and that’s what you should do next.

Don’t worry about the 927 other things on your lists; you can only do one thing at a time.

First things first. (Do what’s most important.) Second things never. (If it’s not first, don’t do it.)

Here a couple of ways to make this rule work better.

As you look at the universe of things you might do, i.e., all of your lists, notes, calendars, and so on, choose the three “most important tasks” (MITs) for the day. This way, when you complete the first task (“first thing”) you can immediately start on task number two, which will then be your new “first thing”.
Choose your three MITs the night before, so you can get started on the first task the next morning.

That’s it. First things first, second things never.

One rule to rule them all.

Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management

Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it

March 11, 2015 by David M. Ward

You’ve got a problem and you’re searching for a solution. Or you know what to do but don’t have time to do it.

Fear not. Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it.

The problem may go away by itself. Or turn out to cause damages that are relatively minor.Â Or manageable. Or covered by insurance.

It’s all relative, isn’t it?

Some problems are big and hairy. Others, not so much.

Before you start looking for solutions to a problem, make sure the problem is something that truly needs fixing.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Why is this a problem?
What are the benefits of fixingÂ the problem?
What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t fix it?
If the worst case scenario occurs, can IÂ afford the consequences?
What areÂ the costs of fixingÂ the problem?
Can IÂ ignore the problem for now and fix it later?
Can IÂ fix part of the problem now and fix the rest later (or ignore the rest)?
Can IÂ delegate someÂ or all of work needed to fix the problem?

You may find that the problem isn’t as bad as you thought. You may conclude that your time is better spent fixing a different problem, or tackling an opportunity that promises bigger benefits.

You don’t have to fix every problem. Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it.

Filed Under: Leverage, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: problem solving

The problem with being self-employed

February 27, 2015 by David M. Ward

Being the boss is a double-edged sword. I love being the master of my destiny but sometimes the weight of responsibility wears on me.

You too? Do you ever get anxious thinking about how many people depend on you or how much work remains to be done?

You’re not just cranking out widgets, after all. You do important things, with important consequences. Every day you make decisions that affect the lives of other people. You can’t let your guard down. You have to keep your eye on everything, and everyone.

It can be difficult doing our best work when we have so many other things to think about.

Yes, that’s the gig we signed up for and most of the time, it’s worth it. But if you’re like me, it gets to you sometimes.

Sometimes I think, “Wouldn’t it be great if someone would tell me what to do today so I could do the work and go home?”

I remember when I didn’t have clients of my own and did appearances for other lawyers. I enjoyed just showing up and doing the work. Argue the motion, take the depo, do the arbitration. I didn’t have to worry about anything but the assignment. When it was done, I went home.

When I started getting my own clients, I had responsibilities, overhead, employees, and things got very complicated. I grew into the role, of course, and would never work for anyone, but sometimes I look back fondly at the time when I could just do the work.

If you ever find yourself overwhelmed with the burdens of running a law practice, wishing you could just show up and be a lawyer, I have a suggestion.

Go get yo’self two hats.

First thing in the morning, or at the end of your day, put on your “boss” hat and make a list of assignments for your “employee”. Map out the day, and include contingencies in case something comes up that requires the bosses attention.

Then, take off the boss hat, put on your employee hat, and get to work.

When the first assignment is done, look at the list your boss gave you and do the next assignment.Â When all the work is done, take a break, put your boss hat back on and make a new list.

Well, that’s it for me today. The boss told me I could home.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Dealing with stress, Law office management, Productivity

Getting things done in burst mode

February 23, 2015 by David M. Ward

I read an article recently about the work habits of a novelist. He said that he works best when he doesn’tÂ write every day, as conventional wisdom suggests. Rather, he gets more done in “burst mode” (my term) where he will write up to 8,000 or 10,000 words in a day.

His job (full time as I recall) and family obligations make it difficult to carve out sufficient blocks of writing time during the week. He found that an hour a day wasn’t long enough to find his writing mojo and get up to speed. Give him eight or ten hours on Saturday, however, and he could knock out an entire book in record time.

The point is that each of us works differently and we need to honor what works best for us.

As you know, I advocate setting aside time each work day for marketing your practice. You can get a lot done in as little as 15 minutes a day, if you do it consistently. But I acknowledge the value of working in bigger blocks of time, especially on bigger projects. In fact, I do it myself.

In my practice, I would often show up at the office on a Saturday and plow through a pile of files. In a few hours of undisturbed time, I would do more work than I might do in an entire week.

In school, instead of studying every night, I often crammed for tests the night before and wrote entire term papers in a weekend. That’s how I liked to work and I got good grades. In fact, I’ve read that we often do our best creative work when we do it quickly.

All hail burst mode!

In school, we have deadlines and due dates. The same goes for most legal work. But that’s not true with marketing. So, if you want to do marketing in burst mode, you need to schedule the time in advance and stick to that schedule.

You might schedule one Saturday each month for marketing. In a few hours of undisturbed time, you could create a new seminar or produce a month’s worth of articles, blog posts, emails, or social media content.

Getting things done in burst mode doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing throughout the week, however. The above mentioned author uses snippets of time throughout the week to take care of administrative and less demanding tasks related to his writing. You can, too.

During your Saturday marketing session, you might plan out the people you want to call that month. With your plan in hand, you can take a few minutes each week day to make those calls.

You can also use your weekdays to make notes and outlines and collect research material in preparation for your Saturday session.

Being productive is simple. Figure out what you want to get done this week or this month. Look at your calendar and decide when you’re going to do it. Then, do it.

As long as you’re getting important things done, when you do them probably isn’t that important.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: getting things done, gtd

Never check email in the morning?

February 17, 2015 by David M. Ward

Everyone and his brother says we should never check email in the morning. They say that doing so allows others to dictate our morning tasks and we should instead focus on our pre-determined agenda.

But I do check email in the morning. Voice mail, too.

Checking email and voice mail lets me scope out and plan my day. Yes, my task list and calendar show me the important things I will be doing but emails and messages can be important, too.

But while I check email and messages in the morning I don’t respond to them in the morning. I do that after I get my other work done.

My morning routine includes going through my inbox, purging junk, and starring (gmail) important emails that require a response. When I’m done, I know how many emails I will need to respond to later that day. If there is work to do associated with those emails, I know that, too.

Same thing with phone messages. I write down who called and why and call them back later.

And hey, emergencies happen. While that’s rare for me today, I feel better knowing that I’ve made sure everything is okay. That’s better than ignoring the outside world for several hours and wondering if I’m missing something important.

Want to know another secret? Don’t tell anyone but I also check email throughout the day. Many times, in fact. Texts, too.

Yikes. Do I break every rule in the friggin book?

Guess so.

Anyway, that’s what works for me. Your mileage may vary.

I use Evernote to organize all of my tasks and projects. Go look

Filed Under: Email, Productivity, Time Management

Use your calendar to prioritize your work

February 11, 2015 by David M. Ward

I did a consultation with an attorney yesterday. Like most attorneys, he’s a busy guy. In addition to his practice, he owns a small business which he hopes will allow him to transition out of practicing and into semi-retirement.

The first thing we talked about was his work schedule. To achieve his goals, he needs time each week for:

Legal work
Marketing the practice
The business
Marketing the business

I couldn’t tell him how much time to allocate to each function, only that he should allocate someÂ time to each function. I told him to pick a number–an hour a day for this, two hours a day for that–but be prepared to change those numbers as experience and income dictate.

As the business grows, for example, he may allocate less time for marketing the practice. Or vice versa.

At least he has a place to start.

But will he? Will he do what he knows he needs to do each day? If experience is any indication, he’ll probably do the work, but let the marketing slide.

Unless. . . he blocks out time on his calendar for each function, in advance, and that’s what I told him to do.

When he looks at his calendar, he’ll see that it’s time to do 30 minutes of marketing for his practice. He’ll pull up his list of marketing activities and write something or make some calls. Since this has been blocked out in advance, he knows not to spend that time doing anything else.

Later in the day, during the legal work block of time, he’ll see that he’s got two client appointments. He also knows that he has to review a document and send some emails.

Now he’s cooking.

These blocks of time are appointments with himself. If a client calls during the “marketing the business” block, he doesn’t talk to them. He calls them back at another time.

You prioritize your work by scheduling blocks of time, in advance, based on what you know needs to get done.

This one concept could change everything for him, and for you if you don’t already do it. By deciding in advance how you will conduct your day, you stay focused on doing what is in keeping with your priorities and goals.

You are in charge. You make the rules. Decide how you want to spend your time and calendar it. Then, do what the calendar tells you to do and don’t do anything else.

Do you know The FormulaÂ to earn more and work less?

Filed Under: Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management

Being a sole practitioner doesn’t mean doing everything yourself

February 10, 2015 by David M. Ward

In response to yesterday’s post about taking the day off, a subscriber asked, “So how does a sole practitioner disconnect on vacation and turn off the phone? I haven’t had a real vacation in 15 years”.

Of course the short answer is you just do it. You have someone else answer the phone, something you should always do, and you have some else talk to clients and prospective clients and take care of the office.

In other words, you have people.

Being a sole practitioner means not having partners. It does not mean doing everything yourself. You have employees or virtual employees or assistants and outside lawyers who handle appearances and other things only lawyers can do.

Yes, this does add a layer of complexity to your practice. You have to supervise your people, or supervise people who supervise your people, and you have to be comfortable with delegating work. But this complexity gives you something even better in return. It gives you freedom. You can take vacations. You can sleep late. You can go to the movies in the middle of the day.

Having people also allows you to earn more money. If you do things right, you earn enough additional income to pay your people and have more net income after you do.

But there are a couple of additional things you need to do to make this work.

First, you need to specialize. You can’t expect to be good at “everything”. Nor can you make a compelling case to prospective clients as to why they should hire you instead of someone who specializes in what they need.

The email I received asking the question at the top of this post ends with a list of the attorney’s practice areas, to wit:

REAL ESTATE

** Residential Closings
** Commercial Closings
** Short Sales
** Loan Modifications
** Reverse Mortgages
** Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
** 1031 Exchange
** Escrow services
** Property Tax Appeals
** Foreclosure Defense
** Motions to vacate foreclosure sales
** Mortgage Reinstatements
** Landlord Tenant

COMMERCIAL LAW

** Civil Suits
** Business Incorporations
** Debt Settlement

FAMILY LAW

** Divorce
** Child Support
** Modification of Settlement Agreements
** Mediation

CRIMINAL LAW

** Federal/State Defense
** Felony
** Misdemeanor
** Traffic Tickets
** License Suspension

It’s too much. No wonder she hasn’t taken a vacation.

Pick one practice area. Clients prefer to hire lawyers who specializes. They’re also willing to pay them higher fees because lawyers who specialize are perceived as being better, and they usually are. When you do lots of one thing, you tend to get better at it.

You also find it easier to keep up with changes in the law, new forms, and best practices. You spend less time (and money) on “compliance,” which gives you more time (and money) to invest in doing things that lead to more profits and growth.

Yes, you have to give up work that isn’t in your specialty. But you can refer that to other lawyers who send you business that’s outside of their specialty.

In addition, marketing is easier and more effective for lawyers who specialize. Which leads me to the last point. If you want to be able to take vacations, earn more and work less, you have to get good at marketing. Not great, necessarily. Good enough is good enough, as long as you do something on a regular basis.

Specialize, delegate as much as possible, and get good at marketing. Those were the three things that allowed me to go from being overworked and overwhelmed to quadrupling my income and reducing my work week to three days. You can do the same thing.

Learn more: The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Continuing Legal Education, Law office management, Legal industry, Leverage, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Specializing, Time Management

What to do when you don’t feel like working

February 9, 2015 by David M. Ward

It happens. You look at your calendar and your list of tasks for the day and you don’t want to do any of it. You don’t want to work, you don’t want to talk to anyone, you want to take the day off.

But you’ve got obligations. You have work to do and bills to pay. You can’t abandon your responsibilities.

Yes you can. It’s just one day. The work will still be there tomorrow.

Give in to your whim and take the day off. Sneak off to the movies or to the mall. Go sit in a coffee shop and read. Get back in your jammies and order in.

When you come back tomorrow, batteries recharged, you’ll plow through the work and get it done.

Before you take off, have someone contact your appointments and re-schedule them. And go through your task list for the day and prioritize everything so that when you return you can jump right in and knock out the most important tasks first.

But here’s the thing. Sometimes, giving yourself permission to take the day off is all you really need, not the actual time off. Knowing that you could play hookyÂ provides the relief you sought. Once you have it, you realize that the work isn’t so bad and you’re ready to get back to it.

Remind yourself that you’re in charge. Even if you work for someone else, even if you have demanding clients, with demanding deadlines, you’re the boss. It’s your life and you get to decide how to run it.

If you really need a break, take it. Don’t feel guilty about it, do it. And enjoy yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

What’s that? You want to know what to do if tomorrow you still don’t feel like working? Don’t ask me. I’m taking the rest of the day off.

Get more clients and increase your income. Get The Formula.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Dealing with stress, Inspiration, Personal development, Productivity

7 ways to write faster

January 30, 2015 by David M. Ward

My goals this year require me to do more writing. To accomplish this, I plan to write faster.

The faster I write, the more work product I will get out the door producing more income, bringing more traffic, generating more leads, and building my brand.

Here’s how I plan to accomplish this:

(1) Stick with what I know

One of the biggest causes of writers’ block is not knowing what you want to say. When you write about whatÂ you know, writing is easier and faster.

You also don’t have to do a lot of research. If I do need to research a particular subject, I’ll either do it before I write, so as to not interrupt the flow, or “write around it,” i.e., leave a blank and come back to the subject later.

(2) Create more detailed outlines

I often find myself going down rabbit holes and off on side roads in my writing because I haven’t done enough advance planning. More detailed outlines will allow me to know what I’m going to say before I say it. That will allow me to not only write faster, but avoid wasting time on topics that are off subject.

(3) Write shorter

I’m working on a book now that will be less than one-third the length of the previous one. Shorter writing means more readers coming into my funnel. It also means I can get onto the next project that much quicker.

To write shorter, I’ll (a) choose narrower topics and (b) leave out some details, explanations, and examples.

(4) Bigger daily word count

I write every day, but I don’t crank out as many words as I know I could. This year, I’m committed to a bigger daily word count. I’ll do that by using the AIC method (“ass in chair”).

(5) Dictate more

I wrote most of the first draft of the book I’m working on now in a few hours. How? By looking at my outline and dictating it. I’ll transcribe it myself and flesh it out as I do so.

I’ll also try working more with Dragon Naturally Speaking, which I haven’t yet been able to master.

(6) More music to tame my inner teenager

After about 15 minutes of writing, I feel the urge to check email or do somethingÂ else on the Internet. It gets me out of “flow” and takes me longer to get back on track.

Music helps me write for longer periods of time. Classical or new age; nothing with lyrics.

(7) Reward myself

Yes, the work product, and the income it will generate, is its own reward. Nevertheless, I’ve got a couple of new books I’m itching to crack open, digitally speaking. I’m looking forward to finishing my work for the day so I can get my reward.

So, no more time to chat. I’ve got words to write before I rest, and miles to go before I sleep.

Filed Under: Increase your income, Productivity, Time Management, Web traffic, Writing

Why you don’t have time for marketing

January 29, 2015 by David M. Ward

You know that you should be marketing your legal servicees. You tell yourself, “I don’t have the time,” so you don’t.

The thing is, you don’t have the time because you tell yourself you don’t.

Every time you repeat to yourself (or anyone) that you don’t have the time, or you’re too busy to do something, you close the door on the subject. You do the same thing when you say, “I don’t know how,” or “I don’t know where to begin.”

Maybe you don’t want to do it. You don’t want to write content, network, or engage people on social media. You don’t want to make videos or advertise or do seminars. If you don’t want to do something, that’s okay. You don’t have to.

But if youÂ want to do something, and you honestly think you don’t have time to do it (or to learn how to do it), you’re not going to find the time until you change your rhetoric.

Instead of declaring that you don’t have the time, case closed, turn the thought into a question. Don’t say, “I don’t have the time,” say, “How can I find the time?” In so doing, you will command your subconscious mind to find answers for you.

Ask, “How can I find the time to market my services?” Ask that question several times throughout the day. Do it for a week or a month. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself with more than enough time. (NB: I am told this works best when you ask the question out loud.)

It works the same way for anything you want or any problem you want to solve.

How can I earn more money this year? How can I lose twenty pounds without going to the gym? How can I improve my relationship with [whoever]?

Ask “how,” “what,” “where,” and “who” questions. Who can I ask? Where can I find? What are my options for getting? Questions like these frame the issue in a way that pre-supposes there are solutions, making it more likely that those solutions will be found.

Avoid “why” questions, which usually reinforce the problem. If you ask, “Why don’t I have the time?” your subconscious will find all the reasons, real or imagined, and justify your belief that you don’t have time.

You have the time. You can get what you want. Don’t shut the door on things you want but think you can’t have. Ask questions that lead to solutions.

Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find.

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, success