Getting things done- it’s the way of the achiever, right? We get up and hit our To-Do list; We check off the items, one by one, and often we value ourselves by what we got done that day. That’s the gold standard of the American way these days. We now have more daily planners, week-at-a-glance note-books, planner systems, than ever before. There’s the Panda Planner, (with over 4k Amazon reviews!) the Best Self Journal, the basic black office supply models, the fancier designer varieties, etc. But whether your to-do list is written in a fancy planner, a scrap from a legal pad, or on your breakfast napkin, the bottom line is that most of us are list makers.
For lawyers, the to-do lists can become pretty long. We have the basic administrative and bill paying responsibilities of our firms, the case management responsibilities, interoffice responsibilities, not to mention to the bread and butter of our craft; trials, settlements, document prep, and the likes. And let’s face it, typically there are a litany of fires to be put out most days, including quite a few that weren’t even on our original to-do lists. It is all most of us can do to stay afloat with the workload each day. (No wonder alcoholism, drug addictions, and depression seem to affect our profession so dramatically.)
Claim your Free Law Firm Growth Strategy Session
Claim your Free Law Firm Growth Strategy Session
We can start our morning with a list and a cup of coffee, only to find at the end of a long day that we didn’t make it through half of what we put on our list, and it ends up carried over until tomorrow. If you are like me, I look at the list, and then add and cross out things that I did that day that were not even on the original list, because I love the feeling of accomplishment that I get from crossing through the things I got done.
Claim your Free Law Firm Strategy Session
Claim your Free Law Firm Strategy Session
Of course, if you happen to be married to a marketing guru like Ken Hardison, PILMMA’s Founder, there is a definite feeling that each day needs to count and that the time vampires need to be eradicated. (He can communicate this message with just a smile; go figure!) Ken has written some great articles on time management that provide insights into how you can successfully carve out additional time for getting things done. As a PILMMA Member already, make sure you go to the PILMMA toolkit, and you will find resources that can be game-changers for you, on time management and a litany of other topics
For lawyers that want to grow successful firms, or for anyone who wants to change the trajectory of their life, you must spend time working on your life or your practice, in addition to working in it. If you want to grow your law firm, and bring in more cases, more revenue, while also realizing more freedom from the restraints of your office, you must make time to think about where you want to go, and the steps you will need to take to get there. Otherwise, you and I become hamster lawyers, working furiously on a treadmill/wheel that is exhausting us, while not changing our course. It’s like expending all our energies treading water and not hitting a fluid freestyle stroke that goes the distance.
The Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If we do the same things, we get the same outcomes. While that seems like a no-brainer, of course, the real rub is in figuring out how to change that paradigm. Despite public opinion, we don’t spend our days chasing ambulances, do we? Most of us spend way over 8 hours/ day working in our law firms. Despite our best to-do lists, we are often pulled in multiple directions. We have cases to work up, trials and deposition to prepare for, clients calling, adjusters calling, settlement packages to re-view, documents to draft, interoffice dynamics to referee, not to mention administrative issues; there’s the mail to open, the bills to pay, and on and on it goes.
But there is another layer of analysis that you need to be making if you want to make sure you are taking your law firm where you want it to go. It requires being intentional, rather than reactionary. So, take a moment now and ask yourself a few intentional questions.
1. First, what is my firm’s culture? Do I have the kind of firm culture that I want to have within my firm? Do I have talented team players that are committed to a message we bring to our clients? Do I know what that message is? Do they?
2. What is my Vision for my firm in the next year? Two years? Three to five years? Can I articulate that vision, and does my firm understand my vision and the steps we are taking to get there? Do I actually have clear steps laid out for manifesting my Vision?
3. Am I satisfied with the number and types of cases I am signing up each month? Am I satisfied with my Digital Marketing Strategies? Are they laser-focused? Are they reaching my ideal client?
4. Am I satisfied with my firm’s Social Media Presence? Is it resonating with my ideal clients online?
5. Am I excited to come to work each day, and seeing the progress that inspires me as well as my staff ?
These are the kinds of critical questions we should all be contemplating as law firm owners. But the sad truth is that for many of us, the fires we put out each day, and our to-do lists take all our energies. The day seems to start full speed and carries us along with it. At the end of the day, there’s little time or energy for reflection, as we gear up for the next day’s challenges.
We all KNOW we need to take time to look at our firm’s forest and not just the individual trees. We know we need vision, strategies for growth, developing referrals, growing social media, leveraging Google, and the rest. But carving out the time and being motivated with fresh ideas and clear-cut strategies eludes us. The truth is that we Make time for what is truly important to us.
We all need to take time away from the daily grind, to receive some fresh wind for our sails. PILMMA’s 2019 Internet Domination Bootcamp, September 12-13, 2019 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas is just that; It is fresh insights and ideas as well as the very latest in Digital Marketing Strategies for 2019. We hope it will motivate, excite, and equip you to go back to your firm and make changes—big changes and small ones— It is also time AWAY from the clients, the staff, the friends, the family, and all the needs that compete for your time when you are working in your office. It’s Time to work ON your law practice while not working in it. It is Intentional time, versus Reactionary time.
All of us know the benefits we receive from stepping away from the office for a few days. PILMMA’s Internet Domination Bootcamp offers that kind of much-needed Opportunity; It allows you to step away for a few days, to work ON your firm’s Big picture, and the laser-focused Digital Marketing needed to help you Dominate your market. It will provide you with an invaluable opportunity to return to your office supercharged to get started, and eager to start building, with INTENTIONAL Strategies. This can be a real game-changer if you let it.
For more info on the Internet Domination Bootcamp, including a line up of speakers and topics, go www.pilmma.org/internetdominationbootcamp. Stop dealing with your trees for a few days so that you can look at your Forest! We hope to see you in Las Vegas!!!
