An extremely common source of stress on the job is largely self-inflicted: the chronic underestimation of how long a task will take. Whether it’s a routine motion you have to draft, a “touch-base” meeting with a partner or staff member, a quick call with a client, or cleaning up your …Read More
As a species, we humans either move toward pleasure or away from pain. Reductionist as that might sound, it nonetheless explains a huge portion of our behavior. And it is quite helpful in understanding the scourge of procrastination. My time management coaching with lawyers confirms what the research shows: there …Read More
Ok, perhaps that’s a tad hyperbolic . . . . But not by much. It’s one of the best technology tips for lawyer time management I know of. By hitting the Windows Logo key and the letter V at the same time, instead of Control V, the contents of your text …Read More
I have to handle the Smith motion by tomorrow. I gotta get to my pre-bills this week. I need to get back to Susan Client with that amendment I promised her. Sound familiar? Those are the kinds of time management-related phrases we say to ourselves all day long. And while …Read More
Most attorneys keep vastly more printed material in and on their desks and cabinets than they need to. Even prior to the advent of the net, it was tempting to save too much paper-based information. You know the script in your head: “I might want to look that up someday.” …Read More
Do you trust your daily calendar to help you manage your day effectively? Many attorneys don’t. Often there’s just not enough information in the item entry to plan properly. Or they think that crunch-booking will let them get more done. Some are so used to seeing back-to-back appointments without prep …Read More
When Executive Coach Marshall Goldsmith asks audiences around the world to complete the following sentence, one word is overwhelmingly provided: “When my kids grow up, I want them to be _______.” Your response? It was probably “happy.” No other answer – successful, wealthy, healthy, well-adjusted, etc – comes remotely close. …Read More
You know them: The “I need it yesterday” client. The “I’d like to pick your brain” long sales-cycle prospect. The “Can you take a quick look at this?” partner. They may be well meaning, or they may be jerks; but either way, they take up more of your time than …Read More
In previous SuccessTips, I’ve advocated turning off your email alerts and periodically putting your phone on Do-Not-Disturb in order to reduce the number of times your train of thought is interrupted – and therefore your productivity diminished – throughout the day. The object is to retrain yourself to accept incoming communications …Read More
Far too many attorneys have convinced themselves that they must tolerate their disjointed, interruption-laden approach to managing their time in the name of “good client service” (aka, “responsiveness”). But like an optical illusion, what seems to be true about responsiveness often isn’t. Indeed, in our work coaching lawyers on time management, we repeatedly …Read More
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