I’m not sure about you, but I receive dozens of emails, e-newsletters, links, and posts of items I should be reading, today. I could spend the first two+ hours of my day just sorting through all the things I should know, or at least should be aware of in, and still not make a dent. I keep sorting it, trying to manage it all, and currently I have:
- a folder dedicated to daily newsletters that I rarely visit, but at least they don’t hit my in-box;
- a folder filled with webinars I missed, but really need to watch;
- a host of “saved” posts on LinkedIn that I plan to read, later today, but most likely won’t.
It’s too overwhelming. But I know I need to stay on top of these trends, and news stories, and happenings within my industry that will make me better at what I do.
One a day. But what?
The only solution I can think of right now is that once a day I can find the time to stop and read one thing, and share that with the world.
What’s the one thing that stood out, caught my attention (usually with a great headline), and inspired me in some way?
The best way I have found to find these articles is by having a select group on Twitter (haven’t figured out how to cull that list on Facebook or LinkedIn yet) where I will pause when they post.
They are leaders in the legal industry. Leaders in business. Certain reporters and publications. Personal colleagues and friends. I let them do some of the heavy sorting for me. What are THEY reading today? If they’re sharing it, there might be something there.
Today the “If you read only one thing today, read this” winner is Jordan Furlong and a post of his that caught my eye on LinkedIn:
Why THIS post, and not yours?
Let’s talk about this post and how, in the clutter of my feeds and inboxes (Plural. Multiple email addresses), caught my attention, got me to stop, click on the link, read it, and inspire me to do more than “like it, but share it (with or without a comment).
- The picture caught my eye. Love me some Homer.
- It’s a topic, leadership in law firms, that is important to me.
- There’s a lead-in that isn’t the first few lines of the blog post, but a compelling reason as to why I should click on the link (I want to know more)
- It’s written by someone I respect.
- It’s written by someone with whom I have interactions via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
#ReadFirstLegal
I’m going to start promoting a new hashtag: #ReadFirstLegal to share what I find important that day. I don’t care if it takes off or not, but I have noticed that when I lead with “If you only read one thing today …”, those posts are well received and read, which leads me to believe that you too are having a hard time in your busy schedule to sort through all the clutter and noise as well.
And while I’m thinking, “Hey, that would make a great daily newsletter,” do we really need another newsletter? Or do we just want to know the one thing someone we trust read today that they wanted to share?