How fitting that my morning meditation today was focused on “Deep Work” just as the annual LMA conference is about to kick off. With a thousand plus old and new friends, and friends I have yet to meet, converging in my favorite town, it is easy to get distracted from conversation, as well
Like everyone reading this blog post, I am busy. I have too much on my plate. I can’t get to all the things I need to do today. I feel guilty for the I cannot get to. I panic over what I am missing, or what has fallen through the cracks. I wish I had more time. When I have more time I don’t want to be doing business development. I need a vacation. I’m afraid of a vacation and leaving the office (actually, my in-box).
I get it. But here’s my problem: I am supposed to coach you on how to work your way through this, while I am living the same problem.
Continue Reading What do you do with good advice?
I know I am not alone in always trying to manage my time and projects. Truth be told, I do this better on some days then on others. When things get out of hand, and my in-box starts to overwhelm me, I know it is time to get back to basics. I need to declutter,
I caught a post today from Jaimie Field, one of my Legal Marketing Extraordinaires, Rainmaking Recommendation #91: The Mathematics of Time for Rainmaking where she breaks down the myth that you don’t have time to make rain. She’s right. I don’t care how busy your practice is, you can find the time to make some rain.
We are going to start with a few assumptions:
- That you are required to bill 2000 hours per year, and
- That you like to sleep.
That means you have to average 40 hours a week for 50 weeks of billable time (I’m giving you two weeks of vacation a year – am I nice or what?) or 160 hours per month. So let’s talk about just one month of time (and we aren’t even going to discuss working weekends): On average, there are 20 business days per month. 20 business days x 24 hours per day = 480 hours total hours. 480 hours – 160 hours (8 hours of sleep per night for 20 nights) = 320 hours left 320 hours – 160 hours of billable time per month = 160 hours left Even if you work out 1 hour per day for those 20 working days you have 140 hours remaining per month. Those 140 hours per month (and remember, this is only during the working week, this does not include weekends) equals 7 hours per business day to use any way you want.
Fine. You’re busy. I get it. Plus you have to add in a commute, the gym, watching a TV show or game. But even with all that, you still have a good three hours a day in which to market, or goof off around the office, hang out on Facebook, or play video games. Which one’s going to make you money? Here are some suggestions on what to do with some of those three hours:
Continue Reading Rainmaking Math … You have the time
I’
m sorry, Coolerites. I’ve been distracted and not blogging like I usually do (at least once a week, if not more).
I can claim busy at work (I have been). The Girl Scout Troop (we’re selling nuts, getting ready for a camping trip this weekend, planning our holiday service project and more). The sports
I wrote here about where I find time to participate in social media and social networking.
By taking a Sharpie to my calendar, and deleting most of the programs taping on my DVR, I found the time to launch a blog, speak at some conferences, and participate on Facebook and Twitter to develop my personal
I just walked back into my office after spending four days at the Legal Marketing Association‘s annual conference where I spoke on panel, organized the LMA Tweeters, and have volunteered for the 2011 conference advisory committee. I returned to my office this morning to find hundreds of emails that need to be
I had to chuckle at the following e-mail exchange captured by Scott Greenfield over at Simple Justice because I am always on time and would never think so highly of myself as to walk into a room an hour late under any circumstance. Time management (or lack thereof) is a huge pet peeve of mine.