Time slips away from all of us.

The phone rings. A new email arrives. A colleague stops by to chat.

Before we know it,  the end the of day is upon us and NOTHING has been accomplished.

Motivation is the BIGGEST procrastination killer!

All you need is a little focus and direction to drive distractions away.

Here are four ways to overcome common mental roadblocks.

1. Make a to-do list, but don't over-stuff it!

Create a list and make it manageable.

Don't cram in dozens of tasks that will be impossible to complete in a day. In fact, make a point to cross at least one item that's not worth doing off your list. Whether it's unimportant busywork, old ideas that don't work, or something you can delegate to better hands, your list will speak more clearly to you, and you'll feel a lot better.

2. Wait to check your email in the morning.

When you arrive at your desk, give yourself some time to focus on the day ahead. Make that to-do list, return a phone call, or get a jump on an important project.

Sifting through email - especially when you first arrive at work - can pull you in different directions and clutter your mind. Put email on hold - at least for an hour.

3.  Act quickly on new ideas.

Act on ideas - and act on them fast!

Don't convince yourself that you can't act until you've researched every possible alternative. This is a procrastination tactic, and those new ideas will quickly fade away.

Hustle on your ideas. You'll be happier for not holding out.

4. Overcome your fear of failure.

Go ahead take a risk! Do something great on your next project.  Accept a position at a new firm if your gut says it's right.

Taking risks moves you forward and gives you courage to stretch yourself and try new things.

How do YOU stay motivated? What strategies and exercises do you use to stay on task?

Send me your thoughts and comments!

Article adapted from Top 10 Motivation Boosters and Procrastination Killers by Kevin Purdy.

Time doesn't have to be the bane of your daily existence.

Put time back on your side by making several kinds of LISTS.

List-making is a free and simple way to get a handle on your time management skills and prioritize your day.

And the best part?

There is no new technology to learn.  No keyboard to press.  All you need is a legal notepad or, if you prefer, the task function in Office Outlook!

Here's a handy list-making guide to get you started:

• Start by making a single to-do list of everything that needs to be done. Don’t try to organize or prioritize the tasks, just list them.
• Go over the main list and break it into two lists, one for yourself and one for your assistant. On your list, keep only things that must be done BY A LAWYER.
• Take another look at the lists and prioritize them even further. On a separate sheet of paper, list three or four things you know must be accomplished by the end of the day.
  
• Next, delegate the priority items on your assistant’s overall list and get started on your own priority items immediately.
• Check in with your assistant for a progress report mid-afternoon. This allows time to get things back on track if unexpected events or interruptions derail your plans.
• Revise your lists before you leave for the day, or each morning as soon as you arrive in the office.

How well do you manage your time?

Take my time management test and see how well you score.

Time doesn't have to be your enemy!

Making improvements - even small ones - in your time management and organization skills can lead to more hours available to get real work done.

Here are five quick steps, presented by organization expert Paul H. Burton, that you can start taking RIGHT NOW for more effective time management.

1. Prioritize your meetings.

Before you schedule any meeting, first ask yourself if it really needs to happen. Next, consider that even necessary meetings can often be reduced in frequency or duration—for example, a weekly firm-wide meeting could be changed to a biweekly one, and 45 minutes will usually suffice for most 60-minute meetings.

2. Leave time in between meetings.

When you schedule meetings back to back, it means you are running out of one meeting without capturing all your thoughts. This results in lost data on both sides of the equation. Running and rushing also accelerates your mental exhaustion and reduces your overall effectiveness.

Leave at least 15 minutes open between meetings (plus realistic travel time). These precious minutes will allow you to collect and record the information from the last meeting before entering the next one, and that will help you be more focused.

3. Coach versus instruct.

When you manage others, the best thing you can do both for them is to develop their abilities to do their jobs with as little supervision from you as possible. Accomplish that by coaching them on how to get the results you need versus instructing them on each specific step. The difference is subtle but important.

If you help them figure out how to succeed on their own, you won’t need to look over their shoulders along the way. Thus, you’ll have more time to do the work that only you can do best.

4. Have a designated work space.

Multitasking is far less efficient than single-tasking. Creating a designated work area on your desk allows you to focus on the single thing that needs doing at the moment.

5. Assess your workload twice a day.

There are two times in the day when it’s vitally important to assess your workload—the first thing in the morning and at the day’s end. So, instead of starting your day in e-mail, first survey what is already on your to-do list and only then check your e-mail. Similarly, spend the last five minutes of your workday assessing what’s on your plate for tomorrow. This will allow you to prioritize and organize your workweek appropriately.

Making even just small improvements involves changing some long-established behaviors - which can be difficult.  BUT, you'll see positive results quickly.

There's no time like the present to get your time back...so you can use it to boost your bottom line!

You don't have to drown in a daily deluge of emails.

With a little determination and diligence, the dream of logging in and finding an empty inbox can be a reality for you.

Here are two basic rules, presented by technology writer Farhad Manjoo, on how to overcome a cluttered inbox.

1. Clear out your inbox.

Set aside an hour or two on a Saturday morning to respond to every important message that has dogged you in the last couple months.

Next, delete the junk and move everything into a new folder called Archive. This folder will house all of your old mail - read and unread.

2. Don't let messages pile up.

With your email inbox now empty, think of this as its optimal state. And, your goal should be to keep it this way.

When you receive a new message, do something with it THAT DAY. Don't read your email and let it sit there. Instead, take one of the following actions:

• Archive it - Most email messages require no action or response. These types of messages should be sent directly to the Archive folder.
• Respond to it - If the email message calls for an easy answer - send it, and then push the original message into your Archive.
• Forward it - If the message is best handled by someone else - send it off to that person, then Archive it.
• Hold it for later - This can be the most problematic action. Some email messages require complicated answers, or information that is not readily available. You can leave these messages in your inbox with a promise to come back to them soon - or you can create a file entitled UNANSWERED EMAILS, but be sure carve out time at the end of the day to respond to them.

Remember, the goal here is to keep your inbox empty. Let each email message sitting there be a stark reminder of the messiness that procrastination can cause.

Tackle those messages - before they tackle you!

20 Useful Time Management Tips  for Lawyers

Day by day. Hour by hour. Minute by minute.

Billing time  slips away!

By day's end, you are exhausted, but you haven't met your billing goals for the day. At this point, stress skyrockets - and sometimes, panic sets in.

TACKLE THE TIME DRAIN!

Lawyers can begin managing their time by better managing themselves.

Here are 20 useful time management tips that will help YOU make maximum use of every hour in your day.

1. Time diagnosis

Find out where your time goes.  Take my time management test, or record how you spend your time from the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night. Do this in thirty minute increments on a daily basis for 2-3 weeks at least twice a year.

2. Prune time wasters

Identify the time wasting activities, the unproductive demands on your time, and prune them out of your work day.

Things like too many meetings, phone chatter, long lunches, forwarded funny emails, repeatedly checking your inbox, answering every phone call on your cell.  Each time new trivia begins nibbling at your time, prune relentlessly!

3. Consolidate discretionary time

Determine how much time do you have left each week for the big tasks that will make a contribution to the success of your job.

When possible, consolidate that discretionary time into continuous chunks of 90 minute blocks, three days a week.  Work consistently during those blocks without interruption except for emergencies.

And.....CLOSE YOUR DOOR DURING FOCUS TIMES!

4. SWAT Teams

Your day is mapped out. Then a catastrophe occurs!  Sick child, absent babysitter, broken water pipes, whatever!

You have no back-up plan.

You need a SWAT Team, your personal group of special backup people who fill in at home or work when you have a real emergency.

Identify people you know and respect, at least two in each category: daytime crises, nighttime crises, weekends, and when you are out of town.  Your agreement with them is this: You are on call for crises only!

The pay?  Reciprocation, reward or good ol’ green stuff!  If you try hard enough, you can find SWAT team members to substitute for you at work as well as at home.

5. The rule of two

Stop to think and plan.

Do a ten minute planning session prior to each day, either the day before or early in the morning.  Identify the top two items for the coming day.  What is the best way to go about achieving your goals?

Choose the two items that, if you had no time to do anything else, you would feel as though you had accomplished something.   Do those two things first thing in the morning before you check your email or return phone calls.

6. Get set for tomorrow

Clear your desk before leaving your office each day.  Then place in the middle of your desk whatever you must deal with first tomorrow.

By placing your priority task in the middle of your desk, you avoid mind interference, and you get down to work when you enter the office.

7. Focus day without phones

It can be done!

Try planning for one focus day a week to get important work accomplished without using your phone as usual.

That does not mean you cannot use your phone at all!

What it does mean is that during this focus day the only time you are on the phone is if you initiate the call because it pertains directly to what you are doing.

Come up for air to check your voice mails and emails twice a day.  Return only those that are urgent.

8. Cluster calling

You don’t have to be on 24 hour call as long as you return your calls within 24 hours.

Optimize your time by returning as many calls as you can at one time, preferably at an hour when people are most likely to keep conversations short, like right before lunch and shortly before five.

9. Phone tag

Start leaving your email address as well as your phone number at the end of your recorded voice messages so that your caller can choose to get in touch with you via email - which saves you both time and prevents phone tag.

10. Prioritizing

Look at your month at a glance calendar daily and rearrange appointments if necessary to get your top priority tasks completed. Then guestimate the time you need to complete them and add thirty minutes.

This additional time allows you to complete your tasks without rushing and gives you downtime before starting a new project.

11. Key to high productivity

Become intensely results-oriented!

Dedicate yourself to getting better and better at the few tasks that account for most of your results.  Delegate, outsource or eliminate all those things that contribute very little to your results.

12. Cell phone mania and email obsession

Turn your cell phone off until you are ready to make outbound calls.

Check your voice mails only four times a day.

Keep the cell phone off when you are driving.

Turn the email bell off on our computer.

When you get to work, wait until after you get your priority work done before checking emails.  Do your planned work first.

Designate limited, specific times throughout the day to check email.

Reward yourself for self-discipline with personal treats.

13. Red circling

Circle in red or spot your PDA with the dates of deadlines, court appearances, speeches, vacations and other major events.

By distinguishing these dates clearly, you can keep from overloading yourself the day before and after.

14. Feel free to reschedule

Most people will not get upset with you if you need to reschedule an appointment.

People do get upset, however, when you do not call ahead to reschedule or you cancel at the last minute.

Semantics is almost as important as courtesy here.  The word “cancel” sounds inconsiderate; the word “reschedule” denotes professionalism.

15. Home sweet home

Work one day a week at home or schedule an early morning work period at home without telephone before going to work so that you can accomplish high quality, results-oriented tasks.

16. Set aside an hour a day for you

Time crunch is killing us physically and emotionally.

You can find one hour a day for yourself…to do what you want to do.  Think about just sitting down and thinking.  Figure out what time each day at the same hour you can block out for yourself.

Establish this habit and reap the reward of health and sanity!

17. Guard personal time

Let other people know that the time you have set aside as “my time” is very special to you and that you would appreciate not being interrupted during a specific time period.

When another person violates “my time,” state assertively (but politely!) that only occasional brief interruptions qualify as okay.

18. White space

Schedule white space on your calendar at least two hours a week, either during week days or weekends.  That means you leave two consecutive hours empty with nothing planned in advance.

When the day comes, you decide then how you are going to spend that time doing something fun with no “should’s” involved.

19. Discover the productivity of waiting time

Learning to use the valuable time spent waiting is essential to effective time management.

What keeps us from making use of waiting time is often the lack of critical tools or products.  Start using your car as an office and kitchen on wheels by organizing the trunk of your car so you always have what you need.  Divide your car trunk in half.  In one half, store work- related equipment, such as expanding file folders with stationary, thank you notes, etc..  In the other half, pack family-related necessities such as athletic gear, carton drinks, granola bars, and extra outfits for the kids.  The division helps keep the trunk organized and neat.

20. Integrate multiple activities

Spend quality time in several areas of your life on the same day by integrating or combining your activities at one time.

This is not multi-tasking! Talking on your cell phone while your land line is ringing and you are checking email while listening to a podcast is multi-tasking.

Lifting weights while watching CNN or reading the Bar Journal on the treadmill is integrating!  You kill two birds with one stone but one of those birds is not stressed-out you!

Time management is more than just managing our time, it's managing ourselves in relation to time.

It is setting priorities, taking charge of the situation, and changing those habits that  cause us to waste time.

Time is our most valuable commodity - get control of your time, and you'll meet those billing goals day after day!

Scoring:

1 = Never
2 = Occasionally
3 = Frequently
4 = Always

The number one challenge my clients face is TIME. There's just not enough of it!

As a lawyer coach, I give our clients this self-assessment, and then we design an Action Plan that holds them accountable for beating procrastination and using their time effectively.

1) I decide how many times I can be interrupted in a day. 1 2 3 4
2) I reserve certain hours for visits from colleagues. 1 2 3 4
3) I limit the duration of my calls. 1 2 3 4
4) I allow a colleague or secretary to screen my telephone calls. 1 2 3 4
5) I am able to complete tasks without interruptions from colleagues. 1 2 3 4
6) I close my office door when I want to think strategically. 1 2 3 4
7) I tell telephone callers I will return their calls, and I do each day in "clusters" of calls. 1 2 3 4
8) I delegate tasks to colleagues that I could do myself. 1 2 3 4
9) I arrive on time and prepare for meetings. 1 2 3 4
10) I achieve the right balance between thinking time and action time. 1 2 3 4

Score:

• 10-15 You are time-challenged! Reduce the time you spend in unproductive ways.
• 16-29 Your time management skills are reasonable, but could use improvement.
• 30-40 You are a time master! Keep looking for ways to streamline work practices.

Adapted from: Tim Handle,  Manage Your Time