Andrew McDermott

Have you ever heard this saying?

Knowledge is power.

It’s trite and kind of cliché, but it’s also incredibly true. Knowledge gives you power, especially if you know how to use the knowledge you acquire. It’s so cliché in fact, that it’s taken for granted by most people.

Attorneys have to grow continually.

You have mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) requirements to meet. But how many attorneys go above and beyond that? How many attorneys have the time?

Not many.

Learning creates compounding growth

Learning from your own experiences is risky because you’re at the mercy of… your own experience.

Wait.

That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Actually it does.

You’re probably familiar with the Rumsfeld Matrix, right? This is the reason. Why learning creates compounding growth.

• Known/knowns: Things we’re aware of and understand. (your practice areas)
• Known/unknowns: Things we’re aware of but don’t understand (e.g. rocket science)
• Unknown/knowns: Things we understand but we’re not really aware of
• Unknown/unknowns: Things we aren’t aware of and don’t understand

Most attorneys simply drift through their careers. Their work happens to them. Their growth is limited to their experience which is limited to the first three categories above.

That’s the problem.

Most of the knowledge you need to dramatically outperform those around you exists in the unknown/unknowns category. Knowledge that by definition exists outside of your experience.

This is why you need it.

You need continuing education – on a variety of subject areas. If you’re not doing this you have no chance against those who are.

Here’s the problem you say.

I don’t have the time. I actually don’t have any time. None whatsoever.

This is completely untrue.

Most of us have lots of free time. Whether we use it to learn and grow is another story. But most of us do have the  time. “You don’t know me or my life Andrew.”

You’re right, I don’t.

So what am I talking about? I’m talking about dead time.

What’s that?

Dead time refers to the time spent on monotonous tasks. The kind of tasks you can do without thinking about it. Showering, your daily commute, your lunch breaks, work out time, time spent doing errands, etc.

It’s the perfect time to learn.

You typically can’t read a book during dead time. This makes podcasts an ideal learning mechanism. So, let’s take a look at the legal podcasts you can listen to during your dead time.

Top 9 Legal Podcasts

1. ABA Journal

This podcast provides attorneys specific insights on a variety of legal topics. They host three blogs: Legal Rebels, the Modern Law Library and Asked and Answered.

2. Life of the Law

A team of investigative journalists, producers and scholars create biweekly episodes, using live storytelling to discuss all things law.

3. Serial

Serial is a whodunit podcast. It takes one story – a true story – and covers it, from a legal perspective, over the course of season. It’s an intense legal podcast that covers the factual twists and turns in a case. It’s compelling storytelling. And the best part? It’s all true.

4. Legal Toolkit

A practical how to podcast, the legal toolkit covers topics like how to be a better associate, putting your firm on autopilot, how to make money as a lawyer and more. This gives you the ins and outs of becoming the attorney you want to be.

5. I Am the Law

This podcast profiles legal professionals in a variety of jobs and practice areas. It’s intended to be something students can use to learn about what it’s really like to practice law. But it’s a great tool for seasoned attorneys to gauge their experience vs. others in their industry/locale.

6. New Solo

Adriana Linares chats with attorneys and professionals in the legal industry. She covers topics like practice management, productivity, running a solo/small practice, rainmaking, job searching and more. Lots of practical advice for new and established attorneys.

7. Legal Current

Published by Thompson Reuters, this podcast covers interesting, trending and relevant legal topics. The Legal Current offers fresh insights from legal experts working in the field today. It’s concise, direct and gets right to the point.

8. Court Junkie

This podcast covers the surprising twists and turns in criminal cases. These 45 minute episodes include a mix of testimony from legal professionals, journalists, family members and experts. Court Junkie stays neutral but works to humanize the participants in each case.

9.  Lawyerist Podcast

Hosted by Sam Glover and Aaron Street, the Lawyerist podcast has conversations with successful attorneys and professionals in the legal industry. Learn directly from the movers and shakers in your industry.

What if these don’t appeal to you?

You can use several directories to find the podcast that’s right for you. Here’s a few directories you can use to get started.

• The Legal Talk Network
• The ABA’s Best Law Podcasts
• Stitcher search (e.g. legal)
• iTunes search (via Google)

If it exists, these platforms should have them. The good news here is there’s something for everyone.

Dead time is the best time…

To learn.

Knowledge is power.

As trite and cliché as that sounds, it’s completely true. Learning from others is a straightforward way to flush out your unknown unknowns. Things you don’t know, that you don’t know.

This is where your competitive advantage comes from.

Most of the knowledge you need to dramatically outperform those around you exists in the unknown/unknowns category. Knowledge that by definition exists outside of your experience.

Use it.

Take advantage of the dead time in your commute. Do it consistently and you’ll acquire the knowledge and power you need to become the attorney you’ve always wanted to be.

We all want it.

Don’t we? The status and prestige that comes with success? With being significant? Express the desire to grow your standing out loud though and it’s viewed as vain. It’s the truth though isn’t it?

Status is a good thing believe it or not.

It’s a helpful tool that enables you to do what others around you can’t. You’re able to reap rewards your peers can only dream about. It’s a driver, a motivator for success.

And it’s inevitable.

Your social standing is a value signal

This is the part many professionals mix up.

They confuse people with performance. This confusion seemingly creates a kind of social schizophrenia. Our culture makes statements like “everyone has value.” Then we turn around and reward people with high status jobs (e.g. attorney, doctor, scientist). We reward them with more than those who work at a fast food restaurant.

Some people take it further.

They assume they’re better than those they consider to be beneath them. Which is the driver for all sorts of dysfunctional and oppressive behavior.

Is this true?

Are people with high status better than those without?

Not at all.

It’s about your value proposition.

• People are priceless.
• Their jobs are not. They have a fixed value.

A person is irreplaceable. You are irreplaceable. There has never been a person exactly like you. And there never will be again. You’re literally one of a kind.

But you are not your job.

It’s fairly easy to teach someone to cut grass. It’s a valuable skill sure, but there are lots of people who can do it. There are very few people who are both willing and able to do what you do as an attorney.

Most people can’t do what you do.

20 to 40 percent of law school students drop out. Another 40 percent of students fail the bar exam on their first try.

It’s hard work.

The status and rewards a person receives isn’t about their intrinsic value as people. It’s about the unique value they’re able to provide. If they can do things most people can’t do, the rewards are greater. Complete a task that anyone can do and the rewards aren’t as… well… rewarding.

It’s about the value you’re contributing, not the people themselves.

Grow your status and you may hurt your career

Status is a deceiver.

Your social standing in your firm, if it’s good, lulls you into a false state of confidence. People with status make the same mistake I just mentioned.

They believe it’s about them.

They tell themselves they deserve it. It begins to hurt them. Sukhvinder Obhi, a neuroscientist at McMaster University, in Ontario, compared the brains of the powerful and those without power under a transcranial-magnetic-stimulation machine.

His research shows power and status corrupts the unprepared.

It behaves like a tumor, impairing the neural processes responsible for empathy. The subtle differences were surprising.

A 2006 study asked study participants to write the letter E on their foreheads for others around them to view. It’s a task that requires you to see things from another person’s point of view.

Here’s what happened.

The powerful were three times more likely to draw the E the right way for themselves and backwards to everyone else. Those who weren’t powerful did the opposite more often than not.

Ouch.

Status, power, it primes you to ignore peripheral information.

Which is exactly how status destroys careers

Struggle teaches you a secret.

It’s the secret to boosting and preserving your social standing in your firm. Your status and power doesn’t come from you. It comes from those around you. It’s not an intrinsic part of who you are.

Meaning what?

Status and power is given to the exceptional (you) so you can continue to serve. Because at its core, your social standing is about trust.

Distilled to its purest form, it means this:

Your status, and the power that comes with it, is a loan and it must be repaid.

There’s only one reason for your increased social standing in the firm. Service. Your employer, co-workers and peers expect you to make things better, for them.

• Co-workers come to you for help and advice
• Partners give you lucrative rewards, incentives and bonuses in exchange for performance
• Your team trusts you to lead (and they follow)
• You’re asked to represent the team or the company officially

This also means your firm expects you to:

• Be the rainmaker
• Outperform or fight off competitors
• Raise the profile and status of the firm in the industry at large
• Building, teaching or developing your team. Making them better in some way.
• Achieving results that are quite simply, above and beyond what the average attorney can do.

Burn this into your brain.

Your status and power is a loan. That loan must be repaid.

Ignore that long enough and your status and power will be revoked. Allow this to happen and you’ll be worse off than when you started. It’s important to keep this fact in mind.

Still want it?

Follow a few simple rules to grow your standing

These rules are clear.

They’re not at all easy. They take time, require growth and come with serious risks. But the potential payoff is disproportionately enormous.

Rule #1: Do what others can’t (or won’t)

Doing what others can’t or won’t immediately creates value. In a supply vs. demand economy, we’re intrinsically drawn to results. Doing what others can’t or won’t is bigger in the minds of those who refuse to try.

Here are a few examples:

• Connect with top out-of-sight influencers and power brokers.
• Access information others can’t find, get to or reach.
• Partner with influencers and platforms that generate a significant and disproportionate amount of revenue for you and your firm.
• Create new ideas, tools or resources that produce more money for firm (and you) with minimal effort.
• Create fascination and desire with potential clients.
• Create openings and opportunities in situations where those around you have failed.
• Deliver wins in an unwinnable situation

See what I mean?

It’s hard enough meeting billable hour deadlines. How on earth are you supposed to make all of this happen?

It’s simple.

You [10x your productivity], creating the extra free time you need to get these results.

Rule #2: Always provide value

I use Peter Thiel‘s value formula. It’s a consistent and straightforward representation of how the world works. The formula goes like this:

1. Create X dollars of value for [clients, partners and shareholders].
2. Capture Y percent of X.

That’s it.

When it comes to providing value, it’s only limit is your imagination. As long as it’s valued by others and it’s legal/ethical it’s fair game.

Here’s a few examples:

• You can write for distinguished sites like Blue Sky and the Wall Street Journal’s Law blog.
• Become a prolific thought leader, blogging on a wide variety of high traffic, high profile, or partnership oriented sites.
• Syndicate your content across a wider variety of sites online.
• Take on public facing, noteworthy cases with a slim chance of victory. Then win.
• Become a rainmaker by partnering up with platforms like Martindale, Avvo, or AttorneyPages. Platforms that attract a significant amount of clients.
• Come up with new ways to bring more money to the firm.
• Create free quizzes, software, tools and resources to generate a disproportionate amount of leads. Then share them with the attorneys in your firm. Maintain control of your lead generators.
• Connect with power brokers, key influencers, celebrities and leaders. Then, when relevant, work to connect them with those at your firm who are worthy of that trust.
• Become an information broker. Gain access to information that’s difficult or impossible for others around you to get. Create systems and procedures that enable you to find the exact information people need, when they need it.

Your goal should be simple.

Become so valuable to your firm that it’s incredibly and brutally painful for them to lose you. Create enough value to elevate their position as a firm. This gives them the opportunity to create the amazing results they desperately want.

Deliver value consistently.

Do it with the understanding that your new found status and power are loans that must be repaid.

Rule #3: Take care of your audience

People are sensitive.

It’s a general rule to follow. It’s a wise idea to assume that your clients, peers, co-workers and employers are sensitive to the same things. We’re all a bit sensitive to:

• Insults
• Threats
• Bullying
• Abuse
• Humiliation

Use these tools sparingly if at all. The circumstances that require these strategies are exceedingly rare.  It’s not as easy to avoid making these mistakes as you might think.

It’s actually quite common.

People around you are often offended by things you aren’t even responsible for. Some of these people may cast blame, secretly nursing a grudge.

Here are some straightforward ways to avoid making that mistake:

1. Don’t ghost or ignore people. Ignoring texts, emails and instant messages harms the relationship. Silence is the worst insult possible. It trains those around you to fill in the blanks. Which of course means they’ll assume the worst.
2. Don’t assert your power over others. At any given time, and in any given conversation, one person will always be more successful than another. Casually mentioning the large bonus check you received stings when the associate you’re talking to didn’t get one.
3. Pay your debts. Most people collect relational and social stamps. They do good with the expectation of return. What’s worse, the value of the good deed goes up in a giver’s mind and down in the recipient’s.  Consistently expressing gratitude for the things others have done for you. It’s a simple and easy way to avoid resentment due to social and relational debts.
4. Don’t waste their time. It’s important to zealously guard your time. It’s just as important to guard the time of those around you. Simply saying “I don’t want to waste your time” in a conversation is enough to let people know you value them personally and you value their time.
5. Don’t think they’re okay with it, just because you are. Your values aren’t their values. People have their own way of doing things. Imagine that an associate decided to borrow several items from your desk without asking because they’d be okay with it. Then, when confronted, they mentioned it’s not a big deal and told you to let it go? Infuriating right? That’s how many people feel with this assumption.

It really comes down to this.

Know your audience. If you’re a junior partner, be aware of the fact that senior partners may be condescending from time to time. Interns may fawn all over you, eager for any of your attention. Prospective clients may feel intimidated and express false bravado.

There’s a simple rule you can follow to take care of your audience.

Build them up.

That’s pretty straightforward right? This doesn’t mean you morph into a brownnoser. It also doesn’t mean that you accept abusive or dysfunctional behavior.

Acknowledge their value, as a human being, as equal to your own.

Some people are driven by agreeableness and social pleasantries. Others loathe chit chat preferring that you “get to the point.”

Do so.

Meet people where they are.

What if your social standing doesn’t matter?

It always matters.

Your clients, the public, your peers, everyone around you relies on it. Your social standing is a measuring stick. A clear point of distinction that outlines your place in the dominance hierarchy.

•       If you’re low on the totem pole, work is easy but life harder.
•       If you’re high on the totem pole, work is hard, but life is easier.

There’s suffering either way.

That’s the beautiful part about your social standing. We live in a culture where your rank matters. But unlike other cultures, you’re free to choose.

What will you choose?

We all want the status and prestige that comes with success.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

The need for significance is a normal and legitimate human need. It’s not a vain or unworthy pursuit. It’s about you. You’re intrinsically valuable. There’s no one else like you. Improving your social standing gives you the ability to show that your work is valuable.

Because your social standing is a value signal.

You are priceless. Your job on the other hand has a fixed value. You have everything you need to increase that value as you see fit. To create the life and the opportunities you want Now.

But you have to choose.

Make the right moves and you’ll reap rewards your peers can only dream about. Use value as a driver, a motivator for success and you’ll see growing your social standing is inevitable.

 

It’s an important but underdeveloped skill.

It’s something professionals struggle to do with any reasonable amount of confidence. They’re concerned about the consequences of their choice. When the topic comes up, many attorneys are filled with fear and dread.

I’m talking about saying No.

Saying No something most of us don’t want to do. It’s unpleasant, awkward and difficult.

Saying No is unpleasant, because you’re a peach

It’s scientific.

Psychologist Kurt Lewin found that our cultures can be broken down into two broad categories.

Peach or coconut.

These fruits are used to describe people and cultures in the world. It’s a simplification to be sure but that’s the point. This symbolism shows us our differences. The ones that exist at a deep and fundamental level.

Here’s how he described people.

“Peach people are soft on the outside, but have a hard stone that protects their inner being. Coconuts have tougher exteriors, but get past that, and they’re sweet inside. Americans, according to stereotype, are peaches; the French, like the Russians and Germans, are coconuts.”

This is why it’s so hard to say No.

Peach is synonymous with the personality trait agreeableness. In American culture, you’re expected to be warm, cooperative, considerate and kind.

Saying No isn’t any of things.

This isn’t actually true. Instead it’s one of those implicit and unconscious assumptions we carry around with us.

It’s easier for coconuts to say No

Coconuts seem to be tough on the outside. They’re often viewed as cold and unfriendly. Calloused and frustratingly rude. Get past their tough exterior and they’re incredibly sweet.

Honest, open, but still sweet.

And there it is. The secret to saying No to colleagues safely. Coconut cultures use an approach that’s direct and open. Peaches rely primarily on subtlety and nuance. Suggestions and requests that are actually orders and commands.

[In a previous article] I covered different strategies for saying No. Here’s a quick recap.

• The deferral. I’m swamped right now. Ask me again after 4:45 today?
• The delay. The deadline for this contract is today. Can I finish this first?
• The introduction. I’m in the dark on this. Can [Steve] take the lead on this?
• The bridge. Alison is already working on the brief. Should I reach out to her?
• The relational account. If I do this I’ll let [client] down. He was counting on me to…

See how peachy these responses are?

What if you’re dealing with a rotten peach?

Someone who isn’t all that cooperative but still aware enough to be able to play the peach game. It seems like they’re warm, caring and considerate to everyone else.

They haven’t hurt you explicitly.

But you know they’re not acting in your best interests. Maybe the approach is used to strong arm you in meetings. Maybe they’re using email CC’s (to company influencers) as a coercive force. Maybe they’re asking you to do something you can’t or don’t want to do.

What do you do?

You use the structures in place to your advantage. Our culture relies on subtlety. We’re expected to escalate our responses to problems proportionally. First a suggestion or request, then a gentle let down, followed by a firm No, concluding with an aggressive shutdown.

The usual first steps.

Here are some additional peach strategies you can use to counteract your colleague’s requests before they escalate.

Strategy #1: Confirm the ask completely

You’re on the clock.

You have to complete and file paperwork with the courthouse by a specific time. You’ve got a lot on your plate. And then it happens.

The request.

“Can you help me with a consult? I’ve got a problem with…”

Start by asking questions.

You:“I’m in the middle of finishing a contract that’s due today. Are you asking for help with something that has to be done today?”

Asking questions is the one thing many attorneys forget to do. But asking questions gives you the tools you need to protect your boundaries. You can…

• Forward their request to another colleague with similar experience
• Point them to new, different or specialized resources
• Schedule a time to help, once you’ve finished your work

When colleagues make a request, make it a habit to ask questions. A complete understanding of their request gives you the ammunition you need to find the appropriate No/redirect.

Strategy #2: Confirm the consequences with terms and conditions

When colleagues make a request they’re typically concerned with their side of things. It’s natural and understandable. But their request comes with consequences. These consequences are hooks you can use to say no.

Like this:

• I’m supposed to be getting X done. Did you want me to drop Y and focus on Z?
• I can help you if I have X, Y and Z by noon tomorrow. Can you get it to me by then?
• I’ll give this a shot. X could be a major barrier but I’d like to try and work around it.
• Would you give me two days to figure this out? There’s a lot to unpack here.
• I’m willing to help you with X. Would you be willing to take over Y for me instead?
• I can’t help with X but I know three people who can. Give me a day to reach out to them.

See what’s happening? You’ve shown colleagues you’re willing to try, open to helping them and struggling with real consequences of your own.

It legitimizes your No.

It’s an important must-have in peach cultures.

Saying No, an important but underdeveloped skill

How you say No matters.

It’s something most professionals struggle to do. They’re concerned about the ramifications of their No. Saying No doesn’t have to hurt the relationship between colleagues.

You just need the right No.

With the right approach and plenty of peachiness, you’ll have the skills you need to improve your relationships, all while saying No.

 

It’s impossible. There’s no way.

There’s no way to 2x, 5x or 10x your productivity. It’s absolutely impossible. That’s the approach many professionals take towards productivity.

It makes sense.

There’s a lot of generic advice online. Most of it isn’t practical. It’s often not clear what you’re supposed to do with the advice you receive. It’s no wonder then that productivity is a struggle for most.

Here’s the surprising truth.

Exponential productivity can be your default

This isn’t just you getting a little bit more done each day.

No.

I’m talking about a massive increase in productivity, 2x, 5x or 10x better than your performance on an ideal day where everything flows well.

Is that possible?

Not only is it possible, it’s something you can begin to accomplish in a few short weeks. Add the right ingredients, make the right choices and your productivity skyrockets naturally, automatically.

This sounds like nonsense.

No scratch that. This sounds like it’s too good to be true, which based on experience, means it is too good to be true. Here’s the reality. You can achieve exponential productivity because others have done it.

How’d they do it?

Step #1: Begin with Halt

What is halt and why should you care? Halt is something many of us choose to ignore. It’s an acronym that stands for hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

•  If you’re hungry you need to eat. Research shows thinking makes you hungry. Deep intellectual work stimulates an increase in appetite. This makes sense when you realize your brain consumes a whopping 20 percent of the energy you consume.

Research also shows that hunger, in the form of low blood sugar, leads to mental and emotional instability.

You’ll experience confusion, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating and a plethora of negative side effects. If you want to win consistently, eat consistently.

•  What about anger? The scientific and medical literature validates this again and again and again. Stress, in the form of fear, anxiety and anger decreases your cognitive abilities. It affects your ability to concentrate, impacting working memory (recall + recognition), sensory processing functions, your ability to pay attention and more.
• Then there’s loneliness.  Dr. John Cacioppo states loneliness is actually like hunger. Loneliness raises the levels of stress hormones in the body. It destroys the quality and efficiency of sleep so it’s much less restorative. Lonely people sleep more but they get much less rest. Loneliness slowly erodes your ability to cope with stress. In addition to producing all of the same effects I mentioned above, it’s contagious.

What’s more horrifying about loneliness is that 1 in 4 people are struggling with it. Twenty-five percent of Americans said they had no one to confide in.

• What about when you’re tired? Research shows tired people are prone to overreacting. Researchers found activity levels in the amygdala were as much as 60 percent higher than levels in those who were rested. It’s difficult for the tired to concentrate. To focus. It increases (dangerous) risk taking behavior. It dramatically decreases cognitive function. It also makes you easy to manipulate.   

You see where I’m going with this right?

You already know all of this. You already know it’s important to eat, sleep, rest and have good relationships. The problem is, you’re under a tremendous amount of pressure to do otherwise.

Want to win?

To routinely outperform your peers? You have to fight this pressure. You have to make sure your needs are met. When they’re not met, you’re automatically underperforming. Neglect one of these areas and your performance suffers. Neglect two or more and your failure compounds.

Ignore these areas and you kill your ability to act on any of the other productivity strategies I’ve listed below.   

Step #2: Discover what focus actually is

Focus is defined as:

“The center of interest or activity“

If you’re like most people, you think this means you have to pay close attention to a very specific thing. If you’re focused on contracts, you have to exert a tremendous amount of willpower to force yourself to focus on drafting contracts.

This is miserable.

This approach to focus is dysfunctional. There’s a much healthier way to approach focus. When it’s viewed appropriately it produces peace, joy and yes, productivity. It’s starts with a question. What is focus?

Focus is the ability to say No.

And what are you doing when you say No? You’re creating a non-negotiable anchor point. If you’re focused on drafting a contract you should say No to…

•  Phone calls
•  Consults from other partners or associates
•  Visits from advice seekers
•  Emails, meetings and events
•  Matter management (administrative tasks and busy work)
•  Some good things and some bad things

This creates focus automatically.

You say Yes to the details that work with your focus (e.g. eating, sleeping, relaxing a bit, etc.) and you say No to details that take you away from your focus. You don’t have to say No ahead of time either. Just say No as you need to.

Focus is decision making.

It’s you drawing a line in the sand about the one thing that matters to you right now.

One thing.

Not three, or four, or ten.

One.

Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of us are terrible at multitasking. The scientific, experiential and anecdotal evidence all back this up.

Take a look.

Say No, to focus on one thing.

Here’s the problem. You have bosses, partners and clients. Nothing upsets them as much as hearing the word No. There are times when you need to use that word specifically or directly. What about the other times? When you need to let them down gently?

Get them to say No for you.

How?

Here’s how Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of Give and Take, does it:

1. The deferral. I’m completely swamped right now. Would you follow up with me after 4:45 today?
2. The delay. Would it be alright if I did this after I finished here? The deadline for this contract is today. I don’t want to let [our client] down.
3. The introduction. I’m completely in the dark about these easement and environmental issues. Geoffrey is the in-house expert. Would it be alright for him to take the lead on this?
4. The bridge. Alison is already working on the brief for tomorrow. Should I reach out to her?
5. The relational account. If I do this for you I’d be letting [client] down. He was counting on me to finish drafting this contract by the end of business today.

Another simple solution?

Make yourself scarce. Find a private and quiet place to do your work where you won’t be disturbed. It sounds obvious until you realize how many attorneys aren’t doing this.

Want to focus? Learn to say No.

Step #3: Leverage those around you with 80/20

You know the 80/20 rule, right?

That roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes? Yeah, that’s the one. This rule deserves your obsessive and undivided attention.

Here’s why.

Attorneys, on average, lose 6 hours daily to non-billable tasks. In fact, only 2.3 hours are spent on billable tasks. If you’re able to save an additional 2.3 hours, you double your incoming billables!

Think about that. 80/20 can save you.

How?

• Use legal practice management software to automate or semi-automate your administrative tasks.
• Outsource your work to people, apps or tools.
• Hire new, trustworthy law school graduates on a freelance basis. Have them handle your busy work at a lower rate.  This gives them the experience they desperately need, you get the work you need done.
• Use people and tools to screen out interruptions and undesirables (e.g. salespeople).

Focus 80 percent of your time and attention on the 20 percent that produces results. Make a consistent and systematic effort to remove yourself from non-essential tasks. Remove…

•  Busywork
•  Timewasters
•  Interruptions
•  Knowledge vampires
•  Freeloaders
•  Dysfunctional peers
•  and users…

From your professional life. Then, once they’re out, work to keep them out. Show support staff how to be an efficient gatekeeper.

Then focus.

If you’re looking to gain freedom, power, opportunity and rewards from your work, say No to what you don’t want.

Step #4: Resist the inevitable “labor creep”

Trouble is coming.

If you take the time to implement the first three strategies I’ve covered you’ll notice some interesting things.

First, things will get harder.

Your productivity will actually go down at first. Which is insane. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of this article?

Not at all.

This is actually how things are supposed to be. This is the part most “life hacks” and productivity experts leave out. Change, in the short term, is uncomfortable and unpleasant.  

Why?

Your basal ganglia is to blame. Your habits, routines, rituals and traditions (repeatables) are formed in the basal ganglia, in your brain. We use this part of our brain to store our thoughts, memories and the functions we perform repeatedly. We reinforce these repeatables whenever we think, feel or behave as we did in the past.

When we make a change it’s physiologically painful.

Our brains are comfortable with the way things are. It’s not pleased with the fact that we’re trying to make a change. If you’re looking to overcome that you can (a.) make your productivity changes pleasant (e.g. with a reward) and (b.) structure them around a trigger and (c.) repeat them consistently.

Stick with it, and the payoff is enormous.

Second, If you’ve followed steps 1 – 4, you’ll begin to notice you have a newfound resource.

Time.

You’ll accomplish far more work in far less time. You’ll easily outperform your peers and partners. You’ll also have a large amount of free time on your hands. Here’s why that’s bad news. Your co-workers have a plan for your free time.

To claim it as their own.

You’ll suddenly be inundated with more requests from those around you. “Can you help me with this? What do you think about those briefs I sent you? Do you know where I can find these docs?“

You’ll need to rely on step #2.

You’ll need to protect your newfound free time. Focus, on saying No. At this point you’re faced with a choice. Determine what you’re going to do with your free time or watch as others decide for you.

You can…

• Use it to recoup and recharge
• Spend it with family and friends
• Use it to boost your career or earnings
• Build your career outside of your practice
• Work on projects and cases you choose

It’s completely up to you.

Step #5: Learn how to learn.

Have you learned how to learn?

Most professionals believe they can learn well. They made it through law school after all. And they’re right for the most part. But they don’t hold a candle to those who’ve learned how to learn.  These aren’t the same things.

I’ll explain.

Imagine being able to memorize long complex forms of data. To be able to triple or quadruple the amount of information you’re able to consume, learning four to five times faster and remember it all?

It sounds impossible doesn’t it?

And that’s the problem. Remember the Henry Ford quote? “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t -you’re right.” It’s the same with learning.

Your peers are suffering.

They’re suffering from digital dementia. That’s a technical term, believe it or not. It was coined by German neuroscientist, Manfred Spitzer in 2012. A large section of the developed world is struggling with digital dementia.

The suffering is real.

We’re experiencing a fundamental breakdown of cognitive abilities in a way that’s similar to people who have suffered a head injury or major psychiatric illness. Spitzer argues we’re all getting dumber.

Here’s how he explains it.

An overuse of digital technology results in the breakdown of cognitive abilities. Short-term memory pathways will start to deteriorate from underuse if we overuse technology.

We’ve lost the ability to make simple calculations in our head. The ability to remember phone numbers like we used to when we were young. We don’t learn as fast as we used to. And we tell ourselves a story (e.g. we’re getting old) as a way to explain it away.

But it’s not true.

How do I know? Jim Kwik. Kwik was once known as the boy with the “broken brain.” After a childhood accident left him struggling in school, he learned how to trick his brain to overcome mental limitations.

He’s defied what’s possible.

He’s able to learn 10x faster than top performers, memorizing (and recalling) long and complex pieces of information. He’s taken his “broken brain” and he’s turned it into a super power. A tool he uses to dramatically outperform those around him.

Here’s how he does it.

Want to win?

To permanently surpass your co-workers, peers and those around you? Learn how to learn. Do it and you’ll be able to out learn, out think and outperform your peers. You’ll have the training you need to use your mind the way you’ve always wanted to.

Exponential productivity is your default…

If you’re properly trained.

It seems impossible but, as we’ve seen, it really isn’t. It’s possible to 2x, 5x or even 10x your productivity. A massive increase in productivity can be simple and enjoyable, if you have training and a plan to follow. Add the right ingredients, make the right choices and the productivity at your practice will skyrocket.

Sounds too good to be true.

It’s all true, if you follow the steps I’ve outlined. Do the work, learn to learn and you’ll have everything you need to boost your productivity to legendary levels.