My Short Email Experiment
Email is a necessary part of my law practice, but it takes up a lot of time. I decided that one way to cut that time is to cut the length of my emails.
My email signature now contains this line at the end:
Why is this email 5 sentences or less? http://five.sentenc.es/
My goal is to limit every email to no more than five sentences. The results have been mixed.
The limit is hard. It’s been difficult to limit every email to five sentences. Some emails just need more than that. Or maybe I should pick up the phone and call the …
Law Firm Productivity with Remember the Milk
As lawyers we have tons of tasks and deadlines to keep tabs on. We have to do something today for Client A, be sure we don’t miss Client B’s hearing tomorrow, and remember that Client C still hasn’t returned a call. Fortunately, Remember the Milk can track everything for us.
I’ve developed a pretty solid way of using Remember the Milk (RTM) to track all of my tasks. My system has been working great for several months, and I’m pretty happy with it. Here’s my attempt to illustrate the system I use to be productive.
A list …
A Perfect Offline Activity – Thank You Notes
Do you ever have some time to kill when you don’t have a computer with you? I’ve found the perfect activity!
Write your thank you notes!
I spend a lot of time at courthouses, waiting for my clients’ cases. I can bring my laptop to some courthouses and work on it while I’m waiting. But that’s not always possible. Besides, it’s bulky, and I wouldn’t have internet access.
Then I realized that I usually have something else I can do. I hand write several thank you notes every …
Print Postage Online – In Your Pajamas!
Don’t you hate going to the post office? The lines are long, the building is dingy, and there’s never enough parking.
I’m now a proud endicia user! I can print whatever postage I need, right from my desk. It’s already saving me time and money. I’ll bet it will work for you too!
As an attorney, I mail lots of things. We have to send documents to court, our clients, and other attorneys. Without endicia, I had to keep a supply of stamps on …
Are Presence Indicators Really Being Present?
A recent article by Web Worker Daily really got me thinking. The article talks about Twitter as a presence indicator.
With all the distractions that these programs and services provide, are we really being present? Are we being mindful, in touch equally with our rational and emotional minds?
I don’t see how.
I think Twitter kills productivity. I know that I’m more productive when I’m not blasting my presence to the world. And I think I’m more in touch with myself.
There’s a reason people typically …
Twitter Kills Productivity, or Does It?
I’m on Twitter (aflusche). Are you?
But I think it’s killing my productivity. Twitter is one more distraction to deal with in our already busy world.
Yes, I understand the point of Twitter. We can all communicate a bit easier. We can meet new people. We can share ideas and thoughts.
Enough already!
Here’s what I don’t understand: how do the productivity gurus handle it?
Merlin Mann (hotdogsladies) is all about making something awesome happen and getting rid of the junk in life (how …
Get a DYMO Labeler for Productivity
I don’t know where I’d be without my DYMO labeler. Actually, I know that I’d be buried under piles of papers that weren’t filed away. Simply put, this gadget is awesome!
A labeler can boost your productivity, whether you’re a student, a stay at home mom, or a busy professional. It really is a handy tool. And now DYMO labelers can even print color labels. Isn’t that cool?!
My DYMO labeler was sent to me to review on this very blog, and I still use it at least once a week in …
Productivity for Students – Slick New Blog
If you’re a student looking to improve your productivity, read on!
A Legal Andrew reader just notified me about a slick blog for all the students out there. It’s The Productive Student.
Honestly, when I received Arjun’s email, I thought the blog would be just another boring, stale-template website. It’s anything but that!
I think Arjun has hit the sweet spot of quality content and slick design. I’m certainly impressed!
Here are a few articles that caught my eye….
Our Two Wisest Purchases – Multitasker and Unitasker
I always like to reflect on things we have bought over the years and think if they were worth buying. Luckily my wife has gotten into the purging mood, so we have made several donation trips to Goodwill lately.
I wanted to highlight two purchases that I think were exceptionally smart.
Multitasking card table
We bought this standard folding table early in our marriage. I think we paid $50 for the table and two matching chairs. That …
Ultimate Handbook for Life and Simplicity – Zen Habits
If you’re looking to simplify your life, Leo Babauta has the resource you need:
The Zen Habits Handbook for Life
This is a brand new e-book that Leo released today! I was privileged enough to receive a review copy, and it’s well worth the $6.95 he’s asking for it.
The Handbook for Life reorganizes a ton of the great tips from Zen Habits and presents them in a slick PDF format. This makes it easy to give as a gift, read on a …
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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