INAUGURAL POST!

Welcome Lawyer-Moms & Mom-Enterpreneurs ... kick back and share a coffee break with me. 

Although this is my inaugural blog post, I'm going to postpone introductions until I can do them properly..... (I mean,  what's an online intro without photos, right?)

So, I'll just dive right in  and share that  I've just put the finishing touches on an article for the "SmallLaw newsletter", published by TechnoLawyer.  It's about "time-hacks" (productivity shortcuts) for busy professionals. 

It's not yet in circulation .... (link to SmallLaw coming soon).... so I'm pasting a copy for you here.

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                    Three Thrifty “Time-hacks” from a MOMtrepreneur

Have you ever imagined what your law practice – or your life -- would look like, if you could add another 4 hours to the day? If you’re like me, you actually fantasize about that sometimes.

Now that I’m a solo-practitioner, traveling professional and parent, my feet hit the floor at 6:00am and I’m inevitably juggling the toddler, the pets, three phones, two faxes, multiple emails, “urgent” client demands, and the numerous household distractions -- “responsibilities” -- that come from being a full-time wife and mom. Some days, every single conversation starts with:
“ [Attorney] can you …”, or
“ Mommy, will you …”, or
“ Honey, did you …”. 
Their expectations keep increasing, but my time is tapped-out.

Fortunately, amid the daily barrage of “can you/will you/did yous” , I’ve struck a work-life balance and salvaged about four “extra” hours a day. Is that really possible? Yes! By leveraging available technology, you too can create a productivity work-around (a.k.a “time hack”) and streamline your professional and personal life, via: 

Time Tracking -- (Estimated time saved: 0.5 hrs per day) 

First, to recapture time you have to know WHERE it’s spent! 

• Try tracking your activity through Chrometa, a downloadable program which produces a graph summarizing your entire day, ($19/month, or FREE in Beta format). This saves you the hassle of having to take notes, and has the added bonus of assigning your activities to individual clients for billing purposes.  According to Chrometa, my average work day used to be 12 hours long. Approximately 50% of it was spent on the computer (i.e. building and marketing my three businesses, legal researching, drafting, blogging, emailing, surfing, etc.); 25% was on the phone (i.e. answering calls, client reminders, teleconferences, etc.); and the other 25% were miscellaneous activities. At the end of the day, that realistically left only three non-work hours to divide between my family and myself, and that was UNacceptable.

Time Blocking -- (Estimated time saved: 2.0 hrs per day)

Start slashing distractions! Recent studies show that it takes 15 minutes to return to “serious mental tasks” after an interruption, so ditch distractions and begin working in uninterrupted “blocks” of time.

• Take your business or other project(s), and set aside specific days to “work ON” them (i.e. managing, developing, growing) and specific days to “work IN” them (i.e. providing service, delivering content). If you’re a solo-practitioner or small firm partner, you know how valuable this distinction is, so don’t fail to apply it.

• Commit to check your email only at set times. I check mine briefly at 8:30am to scan for changes/cancellations, at length around lunch (11:30am), and once again before close of business(4:30pm). The key is deactivating the #1 distraction -- the New Mail pop-up window -- and instead activating the auto-responder, (mine says “Thank you, your Email is Received, and I will reply before day-end. i appreciate your patience while I devote my attention to one client at a time.”)

• Eliminate distractions with Email Filters. You can do this by increasing your SPAM filter settings, setting filters to capture emails from groups/listserves that land in their own folder for later reading, and changing your RSS subscriptions to a FREE blog reader instead of email. It clears out the inbox, and helps to avoid tempting email distractions until you have time for them.

• Organize your Inbox with email folders. Create one for each project or client, so that your Inbox gets emptier as you answer emails and file them. I also suggest folders for “Short-Term” (within 1-14 days) and “Long-Term” (within 15-30 days) action items. Once they are categorized, they’re out of your Inbox and easier to handle. Stop fighting with your email, make it work for you!

Delegating – (Estimated Time Saved 1.5 hrs per day)

Those of us who travel regularly know the importance of delegating. This used to be a costly concept involving on-site staff and added overhead. But time-hackers today are taking advantage of outsourcing, and shifting simple and essential tasks off-site.

• Time-block your phone calls by delegating the answering and routing to a Virtual Receptionist. I currently use My1Voice (about $10/month), to answer phones with an auto-attendant, and route callers between office extensions or my voicemail (which says “I have received your message, and will return all calls at 3:30pm”). What is indispensible for me is that My1Voice sends me an instant text message with the transcript of each voicemail so I can screen for emergencies. It’s been so indispensible in cutting down unnecessary “chatting” that I’ve implemented this system for my personal calls too.

• Next, delegate routine administrative tasks to a Virtual Assistant. I outsource my travel and appointment making, faxing/follow-up, and client reminder calls to AskSunday (monthly plans around $14/hour). It is such a relief to know that a competent professional is on the call, and because I’m not on the phone I don’t get stuck fielding questions or chatting with clients. (Note: it can get addicting, I’ve now delegated preschool planning, playdate scheduling, and online shopping to them, too.)

Although they are simple, these three low-cost “time-hacks” have streamlined my life. I’ve reclaimed my 8-hour work day, (now consisting of 50% Computer, 20% Phone, and 30% Misc.), and best of all have seven non-work hours each day to split between my family and myself. Those four “extra” hours each day equates to twenty “extra” hours per work week, and that can really change your work-life balance! What you do with your 20 extra hours is up to you, but now there’s no excuse for leaving those Christmas lights up past Valentines Day.

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I would love your comments, insights, and recommendations for additional time-hacks, and look forward to trading thoughts around this virtual water-cooler.