Starting a Law Firm | Productivity

I have a bit of a problem. I love to read. I read a lot of books every year, averaging probably about one every two weeks (that may not be a lot to some, but it is to me). The problem, though, is that I don't just read one book for two weeks. I read three or four at a time, hopping back and forth until they are finally finished.

That might sound like a pretty amazing feat, essentially keeping the plots and ideas of all four books in my head at one time, but in reality I'm actually cheating myself out of getting the most of each of those books. And the same thing happens to all of us when starting a law firm, so I thought I'd write about that today.

Multi-tasking is a Myth

I hate multi-tasking, but I feel like I do it all the time. I've got a laundry list of things to do every day, and while I'm knocking them out I'm constantly checking my email, taking phone calls, checking Facebook, checking Twitter, taking a quick peek at espn.com, and a myriad of other things. It's both a time and an energy suck on my day.

And it's also a hard habit to break.

For example, right now as I'm writing this, I've got the incredible urge to check my email. I'm sure it comes over you all as well. I just checked it 15 minutes ago. On a Friday night at 6:00 there is no way that anything interesting has come in. But I just can't help but want to look. Fight that urge.

Multi-tasking is essentially what I'm doing with the books I read. And the end result with my work is that it takes me longer to complete and it's not as high a quality as it might be if I just sat down and devoted all of my attention to it for a specific period of time.

Research shows the most things you can do at one time is two. And the second thing accounts for the downtime you have with the first thing. Think about baking a cake. It's got to bake in the oven right? You aren't expected to sit there and watch it bake. Go do something else! But if your attention needs to be devoted to a task, it should be wholly devoted to it.

That's why starting today I'm going to block out my calendar into time increments. I'm going to give myself a solid two hours to devote to writing that motion (as opposed to a bunch of 30 minute increments), I'm going to block out an hour to think and strategically plan for marketing instead of trying to fit it in the cracks of time that I have. And I think my productivity is going to skyrocket because of it.

You should do the same.

One-Pointed Attention

If you are saying to yourself "there is no way he is going to be able to resist the urge to look at email for an entire hour" you are probably right. But by implementing one-pointed attention I'm going to be able to eventually.

One-pointed attention, from what I understand, is based on some principles of meditation. There basically three rules:

1. Unscatter

2. Turn em all off

3. How long can you hold it?

That's it. Pretty easy, right? Let's talk about each one.

Unscatter is exactly what it sounds like. Take 30 seconds and just let your mind focus in on something, preferably the task at hand. Or, in the alternative, let if focus on nothing. Stop thinking about the next thing to do or the project that might be coming up or the party you really don't want to go to. Just let your mind relax a little.

Second, turn em all off. I think we know what this means. I've slowly started doing this, and it has profound effects. For example, you know why I haven't checked my email while writing this post? Because it's not up. This window that I'm writing in is the only thing turned on with my computer right now. It's sort of like out of sight out of mind, but it takes a little bit more self-control.

Third, and finally, how long can you hold it? Here's the thing, we all like to feel like we're important. We all like to feel like without us people would be losing their minds. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret - they don't. If you don't look at your email for an hour or two (or four, if you get really good) the world is not going to stop. Deals are not going to be lost. Armageddon will not ensue.

But to get to that point you've got to go through steps one and two and then see how long you can take it. And when you try it I think you'll be surprised just how hard it really is. We have been so conditioned to constantly accept stimuli that even a brief break can feel very uncomfortable. Try it to see what I mean.

Systems is the Name of the Game

I know I've talked about this before, but I wanted to mention it again. If you feel like your firm is out of control or that you don't have time to focus because you are so busy doing a million little things, take a second, step back, and look at the big picture. Write down some of the things that you are doing over and over again and think of some way to automate it.

Here's an example from me. My office is filled with checklists. There is a checklist for answering the phone (what to say, then the next step, then the next), there is a spreadsheet to account for all incoming new clients so I can see at the drop of a hat what is coming in. When we sign up a new client there is a checklist for what to do. When a case is resolved there is a checklist for what to do. When a current client calls there is a checklist for how to handle it - and let me tell you the checklist does not tell the assistant to give me all calls, it tells her to schedule a time for me to call them back (unless it's an emergency). That alone will save you an hour a day.

Doing this will make you exponentially more productive and clients will love you even more than they do now. Know why? Because you're consistent. When they call they know exactly what is going to happen. When you file something in their case, they know they are going to get a copy of it. They know after the first two weeks that every week they are going to get a synopsis of what's been done in their case and where it is headed. And happy clients make for referrals - lots of referrals.

So, this weekend, take a couple of hours to unwind and think about the things you find yourself doing over and over again. Is there any way to make that process smoother and faster?

Meeting with the Banker

I had a meeting with the Bank today. It went pretty well. I didn't set up the meeting, they did. Seems they are trying to get to know their business clients a little bit better (I know they want to find ways to sell me more services, but I'm okay with that).

It was a good chat. We talked a little business, they gave me some ideas they thought could help me out, and we agreed to continue the discussion.

One thing that surprised me, though, was their willingness to give me a line of credit. I think it has something to do with me coming up on two years in business (because they mentioned that a couple of times), but that surprised me. I thought it would be harder to get money than that.

I actually just read the paragraph above the last one and realized I'd provided far too little detail. I mean, that's what this blog is about, right? So, here's kind of how it went down. Me and two bank employees went into this conference room. It was completely relaxed (I think that's because I knew I wasn't asking for anything) and they were very nice people.

The discussion started with them peppering me with a lot of questions about the business. When did I start, how long have I been here, do I have any loans, bank account balances, do I bank anywhere else, blah blah blah. I answered their questions and they discussed some of the things they could offer, including a line of credit, payroll services, and things like that. Then we talked a little bit about personal finance, what my plans were for the future, and some things like that. Then they told me about some of the things they could offer for that.

Which, oddly enough, one of the things they mentioned they had was 100% financing on a home. Turns out they played it safe during the housing boom and can still offer stuff like that. I thought that was interesting for two reasons. First, they thought I'd be dumb enough to be intrigued by 100% financing. And second, they think it's a good idea, even with the housing prices where they are, to offer 100% financing. My guess is you'd have to have some pretty stellar credit to qualify. But that's neither here nor there.

That's all I have this week. As always, if you have questions, let me know. And take a minute to let your mind relax. If you need me, I'll be checking my email!