How I Get Work Done – TPW252

Sometimes when we’re looking for ways to get work done, it helps to hear about tools and techniques that have been effective for other people. This week I’m sharing a bit about the tools, systems, and approaches I use to get work done.

(Some of) The tools and systems I use to get work done

Like you, I wear more than one hat. I have a full-time law practice, host a podcast, and work with coaching clients, as well as having a family I love and personal interests. Trying to get all these things done can be a challenge. I try to be as efficient as I can with respect to my work. I like hearing from others how they get their “stuff” done, so I thought I’d share some of the tools, systems, and routines I use to get my work done.

Backdrop: If you’ve listened to the TPW podcast for a while, you know a couple of years ago I changed my law practice to a different firm and moved my office to my home. (Check out TPW154 – Working from Home to hear more about that).

I like working from home for a lot of reasons. But because of where we live, I have a real problem getting reliable internet that’s fast enough for the things I need to do. So early this spring I decided to look for office space in the small town near where we live. It turned out to be much more affordable than I expected. I found an office in a building downtown, 10 minutes from home.

I miss having the ability to toss a load of laundry into the washer or get dinner started early, but having fast, reliable internet has made a huge difference in my productivity during working hours.

Universal systems & approaches

Some of the approaches I use to get work done both for my law practice for TPW include:

• Batching: Doing like tasks together so I only have to set up/clean up only once rather than multiple times
• Block scheduling: Allocating chunks of time to specific tasks or types of tasks
• Single-tasking: Focusing on one task at a time

• • Problems of multi-tasking:

“Research conducted at Stanford University found that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers also found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time. . . . Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.”

The same study looked at people who feel they’re good at multitasking:

“They found that heavy multitaskers—those who multitask a lot and feel that it boosts their performance—were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time. The frequent multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another.”

Multitasking Damages Your Brain and Career, New Studies Suggest

We discussed the detriments of multi-tasking in TPW111 – Time Thieves. Another article I suggest reading is “12 Reasons to Stop Multitasking Now!“

• Daily end-of-day review
  • • Review: make sure I’ve done what I needed to and reschedule anything that didn’t get done.
    • Preview: check for anything I need to prepare to hit the ground running the next morning.

Universal tools

Some of the tools I use across the scope of my work include:

• Encrypt.me – a VPN that allows me to work online securely when I’m not on my home wifi network (VPN explained: How Does it work? Why Would you Use It?)
• Backblaze – Cloud backup service to back up my files
• TextExpander – saves time over repeatedly typing or cutting/pasting frequently used text
• Dropbox –  Cloud storage (NOT a backup service!). Great for syncing files across all devices and sharing files with colleagues
• Excel spreadsheet set up to track expenses and income – makes tax time easier for my husband and accountant

Getting legal work done

Even if you’re not a lawyer, some of these tools and approaches might help you with your work

• What does my work involve?

I’m a transactional real estate lawyer for. This involves…

• • Drafting contracts, memos, letters, and other documents
  • Reviewing and commenting on documents written by other people
  • Managing tons of email
  • Lots of phone calls
  • Managing many, many documents — and often multiple drafts or versions of each
  • Collaborating with attorneys and paralegals in offices around the country

• What tools help me get those things done?

• • Equipment/gear

• • • 27” iMac with 5k display
    • Printer – HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdw
    • Scanner – Fujitsu ScanSnap ix1500
    • iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to review and mark up documents
    • Amazon Echo Plus – Play music to work by, check weather, set timer for my tea
    • Electric tea kettle — the one I use is the Hamilton Beach Compact Glass Kettle, 1 Liter (40930)

• • Firm-provided software

• • • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • NetDocs – document management system that securely stores all documents in the cloud and makes them available to all attorneys and paralegals in the firm, no matter where they office
    • Skype for Business for internal messaging

• • Other software

• • • Dropbox – syncing files across all my devices; sharing files with colleagues
    • TextExpander
    • Todoist: This is my task manager for my law practice. I intentionally keep it separate from my personal life task manager

• Routines that help

  • I try to protect the mornings for work that requires concentration and focus.
    Save calls for afternoons. when I have less energy and focus. When people want to schedule calls or meetings, offer times you’re available during your less energetic hours, so you can protect your most productive time for that “deep work.”
  • Set a smartwatch reminder to stand up and move around a couple of minutes each hour. I use an Apple Watch. I also try to remember to stand or walk in place during conference calls as per my dietician’s advice.
  • Shutdown routine at the end of the work day:
    1. Enter my time (lawyers track their time in 6-minute increments.)
    2. Check my calendar
       • What does tomorrow look like?
       • Do I have calls to prepare for?
       • Is there a deadline for delivery of documents?
       • Is there a closing?
    3. Check and adjust my task list for tomorrow, based on how many calls
       • What didn’t get done today that needs to be tackled first thing?
       • If no calls or meetings on tomorrow’s agenda, schedule a block of time for a bigger project that requires focus
       • If lots of calls or appointments: What small tasks can I knock out between calls?
       • Out-of-office appointments: Can I consolidate errands? Anything else I could take care of in that part of town?
       • Decide what I will start with when I get to the office
       • Tidy desk and file papers, empty trash, rinse my tea mug, set things up for next day
  • Developing checklists for various types of deals so nothing gets overlooked
  • Share a calendar with colleagues I work with regularly on deals
    Consider time blocking appointments with yourself so you can work on important projects and colleagues know not to schedule a meeting because that time is spoken for.

Getting work done for The Productive Woman

• What does my work involve?

  • Capturing, evaluating ideas
  • Scheduling episodes
  • Outlining
  • Recording
  • Communicating with my assistant, guests, & listeners
  • Social media
  • Masterminds and coaching
  • Newsletter

• What tools help me get those things done?

  • Bullet Journal to capture topic ideas.
  • Drafts for quickly capture thoughts about a topic to develop further
  • Calendar (Busy Cal and iCal for iOS)
  • OmniFocus
  • Asana
  • Slack
  • Google Docs for outlining
  • Zoom – team meetings, coaching calls, mastermind groups
  • Dropbox for sharing files with Sarah, mastermind members, and coaching clients
  • Recording:
    • Mackie mixer, Shure SM7B microphone, Roland R-05 digital recorder; good pair of AKG headphones; Skype for interviewing guests.
    • I’m switching to a new piece of gear – Rodecaster Pro
  • Libsyn – media hosting for the podcast
  • WordPress for the website – self-hosted on SiteGround
  • Apple Mail
  • Gmail because of the plugins (like Streak, which helps me keep track of where we are in the process with guests and mastermind groups)
  • Draft the newsletter in Ulysses, then use Mailchimp to send it
  • Canva and Adobe Spark to create images for newsletter, Facebook group, etc., as well as the show notes (Sarah does that)
  • Unsplash and Stock Unlimited for social media graphics stock photos
  • Sanebox – the app learns what emails I consider important, then saves the less important to other folders (e.g., Sane Later) for me to check when I have time. It helps with the inbox overwhelm.

• What routines help?

  • Batching the work to get podcast episodes recorded and published
  • Developing (and using) checklists with the necessary steps for podcast episodes, mastermind set-up, and other regularly repeated projects
  • Scheduling posts in social media (I use Social Jukebox)

What do you think?

What tools and systems help you get your work done? Please share them in the comments section below this post or in The Productive Woman Community Facebook group, or send me an email.

Resources and Links

Previous Episodes

• TPW111 – Time Thieves
• TPW154 – Working from Home

Articles

On Multitasking

• Multitasking Damages Your Brain and Career, New Studies Suggest
• 12 Reasons to Stop Multitasking Now!” 

On VPN

• VPN explained: How Does it work? Why Would you Use It?

Universal Tools 

• Backblaze
• TextExpander
• Dropbox
• Microsoft Excel

Law Practice Tools

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Outlook 
• Todoist

Podcast Tools

• Skype
• Bullet Journal
• Drafts
• Busy Cal
• iCal for iOS
• OmniFocus
• Asana
• Slack
• Google Docs
• Zoom
• Dropbox
• Libsyn
• WordPress
• SiteGround
• Apple Mail
• Gmail
• Streak
• Ulysses
• Mailchimp
• Canva
• Adobe Spark
• Unsplash
• Stock Unlimited
• Sanebox
• Social Jukebox

Office Equipment

• 27” iMac with 5k display
• Printer – HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdw
• Scanner – Fujitsu ScanSnap ix1500
• iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to review and mark up documents
• Amazon Echo Plus – Play music to work by, check weather, set timer for my tea

Podcast Equipment

• Mackie mixer
• Shure SM7B microphone
• Roland R-05 digital recorder
• good pair of AKG headphones
• Rodecaster Pro

Announcements & Reminders

Thank you to our sponsors BetterHelp and UCI for helping me bring content to you at no charge.

• BetterHelp for helping me bring content to you at no charge. Visit BetterHelp.com/TPW and use the discount code TPW to get 10% off your first month. Then simply fill out a questionnaire to help them assess your needs and get matched with a counselor suited to your specific preferences.
• The University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education is here to help us achieve goals that involve additional education. They offer 60 convenient certificates and specialized studies programs on campus and online in a wide range of categories from business to IT, healthcare, finance, and law. Fall quarter is coming up and registration is open! Visit ce.uci.edu/TPW to learn more. Enter TPW for 15% off one course

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Royse City, Texas

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