Find and Keep a Hobby You Love

Posted on June 2, 2021 | Comments Off on Find and Keep a Hobby You Love

How do you spend your free time? Do you have free time?

Do you practice a hobby when you break from your work, your business, your obligations, or even your passion?

When you’re not working, do you feel so tired or guilty that you can’t have fun?

A hobby is an activity you enjoy doing with little or no focus on the long game or the end results. You do it for fun or leisure in your free time. 

Your work or your business can be your passion. But even if you enjoy them, they are not your hobby. They come with risks and consequences that can affect your income, your reputation, and your status.  

A hobby and a passion can be related, but there are subtle differences between the two. A passion is a strong feeling for something you would love to do repeatedly and regularly. It could be your vocation or calling that transcends your profession or career. It is sometimes connected to your work, life goals or big dreams.

With a hobby, it’s easier to take it or leave it, depending on what’s going on in your life. When you already have a full schedule with many obligations and demands to meet, why would you add a hobby to it? If a hobby is something you can live without, why even bother having one?

In episode 21 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) A hobby and a passion might be connected, but are not the same

  • The difference between pursuing your passion like a profession versus like a hobby
  • The difference between a secondary, casual hobby and a primary, serious hobby

2) Why maintaining a hobby that delights you is a double-win practice for life and work

3) Hobbies fall into different categories, including –

  • exercise or movement 
  • outdoor recreation and activity
  • entertainment and information consumption 
  • collecting things
  • creative endeavors

4) The multiple reasons to find and keep a hobby you love – 

  • develops the meta skill of learning
  • enhances your creativity
  • boosts your confidence in all areas of life
  • increases patience and perseverance
  • builds resilience and willpower 
  • breaks monotony and gets you out of a rut
  • recharges your energy and refreshes you physically, mentally and emotionally 
  • centers and grounds you
  • builds connections and social bonds
  • makes you and your life more interesting
  • lets you have more fun in your life

5) How to rediscover or discover a hobby you love

6) Unnecessary creating is part of making big changes in small steps. In celebration of the 20th episode of The Incrementalist podcast, the accompanying ebook is now on sale for $4.99 (up to June 20). Check it out at leanpub.com/incrementalist. 

Resources cited: 

To listen to episode 21, Find and Keep a Hobby You Love, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 21.

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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

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2021 AILA Virtual Annual Conference (June 9 – 12); Panel Speaker for Ins and Outs of Responding to and Avoiding Ethics and Bar Complaints

Posted on June 2, 2021 | Comments Off on 2021 AILA Virtual Annual Conference (June 9 – 12); Panel Speaker for Ins and Outs of Responding to and Avoiding Ethics and Bar Complaints

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) will host the 2021 AILA Virtual Annual Conference from June 9 to 12. If you’re a U.S. immigration lawyer, join your colleagues for four days of education, innovation, inspiration, and collaboration. The conference offers five main tracks with over 80 sessions.

At the June 10, 1 pm ET/12 pm CT Ethics Session on Responding to and Avoiding Ethics and Bar Complaints, I will be a panel speaker with Robert E. Juceam, AILA Past President, New York, NY, and Matthew Blaisdell, New York, NY. AILA Ethics Committee Vice Chair, Meghan Moore, Wyoming, MI, will be the moderator.

Here’s the description for the ethics session: 

In managing a law practice or representing clients, we all make decisions that are, at times, sub-optimal. Sometimes we can effectively mitigate these through our own actions, but not always. Sometimes we do the best we possibly can and still find ourselves subject to complaints from unhappy clients. These events are common and can be so stressful that they become a distraction that compounds mistakes. Panelists will attempt to destigmatize well-meaning mistakes, help immigration attorneys minimize their future risk, and effectively respond to complaints once filed.

• Activities That Give Rise to Complaints
• Management Techniques to Guard Against Complaints (Risk Prevention)
• Maintaining Well-Being in Times of High Stress
• How to Not Let a Complaint Eclipse Your Life and Work
• Understanding the Disciplinary Process and Responding to Complaints
• Risk Prevention: Using Practice Management Techniques to Guard Against Complaints

To view the full program, click here. 

To register for the conference, go to AILA Agora – 2021 AILA Virtual Annual Conference on Immigration Law

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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

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Consistency and the Compound Effect

Posted on May 26, 2021 | Comments Off on Consistency and the Compound Effect

When it comes to success, do you value intensity more than consistency? 

Are you willing to do mundane work to get the desired results? 

Or are you jumping from one new shiny thing to another for immediate gratification?

When I launched The Incrementalist podcast, I committed to making at least 10 episodes before I would allow myself to quit. No matter how I felt – excited or not, I would record and publish a minimum of 10 episodes. I have since doubled that metric. 

Intensity of effort matters, especially in the beginning of a project. But it comes in short bursts. It is fueled by excitement and passion. You ride the waves, but you don’t control them.  

You use intensity as allowed. You go faster, pick up the pace, when you can afford to, when you have high energy and strong willpower. But you can start to get overwhelmed, stressed and deflated as you power though. 

While intensity ebbs and flows, consistency is steadier and more sustainable. Even when you feel unmotivated, you can keep taking daily actions to get to where you need to be. You stack up good habits and routines and take small steps to start the project or finish it.

Daily decisions, choices and actions shape the trajectory of your life. They either lead you down a path of desire or a path of disaster. The Compound Effect formula is: small smart choices + consistency + time = radical difference 

With compounding, you reap huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. Sometimes there are no obvious wins, and just subtle shifts. Over time they add up to massive results. 

In episode 20 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) How the compound effect works – 

  • The Magic Pennies
  • 3 friends in a boat

2) Daily discipline is necessary to trigger the compound effect

3) Tracking your actions is critical to making choices and building habits

  • Track your behaviors to observe how you got where you are
  • Visualize or picture where you want to be
  • Track your lead metrics (inputs, actions, and things you control or influence)
  • Track your choices (cues and times of day that trigger certain behaviors)
  • Stay consistent in your actions

4) Behaviors get compounded and shape your life through this formula:

  • YOU and YOUR CHOICE + BEHAVIOR + HABIT + COMPOUNDED = GOALS

5) The power of momentum (the Big Mo)

  • Old habits are like inertia, the pull of gravity. Once you start and gain momentum, you make faster progress
  • In a rocket launch, most of the fuel is consumed in the first few minutes of acceleration. The rocket needs tons of energy to move out of the gravitational pull and into orbit. After that, it takes less fuel to keep going. 

6) Book ending your day with evening rituals and morning rituals develops daily discipline

7) Taking 100% responsibility for your choices and actions empowers you to co-create with any given situation

8) The Next Five Years question to help you determine what to stop doing and start doing

9) In celebration of the 20th episode of The Incrementalist podcast, the accompanying ebook is now on sale for $4.99 through June 20. After this date, the minimum price will be back up to $9.99. Check it out at leanpub.com/incrementalist. 

Resources cited: 

To listen to episode 20, Consistency and the Compound Effect, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 20.

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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

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Create Peak Moments for a Meaningful Life

Posted on May 19, 2021 | Comments Off on Create Peak Moments for a Meaningful Life

Do you know how to create memorable moments in your life?

Are they happening by chance or are you paving the way for them?

Is productivity simply about maximizing output, or is it connected to a deep and deliberate life?

In the competitive, industrial or post-industrial world, productivity is often defined by a simple formula: Output / Input. (Output is ideal output x efficiency). Or Value of Work / Hours Worked. You have metrics like revenue per employee, revenue per hour, and units produced per hour.

From this angle, productivity seems more fitting for machines. But there’s a more positive aspect that is not easily measured. Productivity means being engaged in doing the things you really want to do and doing them really well. It means being empowered to design a well-lived life, which sparks big memories out of tiny moments.

A defining moment is a short experience that is both memorable and meaningful. It could be a month or a few seconds. These moments often relate to a new job, a new relationship, a relocation, or a vacation.

In episode 19 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) The four elements of peak moments

  • Elevation – moments of elevation rise above the everyday, above the routine
  • Insight – moments of insight bring realization and transformation
  • Pride – moments of pride capture us at our best
  • Connection – moments of connection are shared with others

2) The acronym EPIC will help you remember the elements, but peak moments don’t have to be epic. They can be small but deeply personal, or painful, yet transformational. 

3) The benefits of peak moments 

  • Make your life more memorable and meaningful
  • Enhance your leadership, teaching and communication skills
  • Create a better experience for customers, clients, patients, students, employees and others
  • Improve your relationships and deepen connections

4) The effects of Duration Neglect and the Peak-End Rule – why we forget the duration of an event or experience and remember fragments of it (peaks, pits, beginnings and endings or transitions)

5) The four types of defining moments 

  • Transitions, which are to be marked. Example – reverse wedding (ritual of transition to remove wedding ring following death of spouse)
  • Peaks, which are to be remembered
  • Pits, which are to be filled 
  • Milestones, which are to be commemorated. Example – GE’s Adventure Series at children’s hospitals (industrial designer and his team shift their focus from the MRI machine to the experience of children getting an MRI done)

6) How to create peak moments

  • Moments of Elevation – boost the sensory appeal; raise the stakes; break the script
  • Moments of Insight – trip over the truth; stretch for insight
  • Moments of Pride – give specific, sincere recognition; multiply milestones; preload your response in advance
  • Moments of Connection – shared laughter; shared purpose and mission; shared struggles and challenges

Resources cited: 

  • Chip Heath & Dan Heath, The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

To listen to episode 19, Create Peak Moments for a Meaningful Life, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download Transcript of episode 19.

# # #

Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps. 

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Posted in communication, competence, diligence, The Productive Lawyer - Productivity + Lawyer Wellbeing Blog

U.S. Immigration Risks in Claiming F-1 OPT or H-1B Status When There is No Real Job

Posted on May 14, 2021 | Comments Off on U.S. Immigration Risks in Claiming F-1 OPT or H-1B Status When There is No Real Job

Are you an F-1 student or H-1B worker who claimed to work for a U.S company when there was no actual job?

Did the company issue W2s or pay stubs showing you were paid when you really were not?

If you seek to maintain F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT or H-1B status through employment – when there is no real job – you run the risk of being found inadmissible under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i). This law states that you have a lifetime bar if you engage in fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact to obtain a U.S. immigration benefit.

Being inadmissible disqualifies you from getting a change or extension of status, a new visa, or lawful entry to the United States. While a 212(d)(3) nonimmigrant waiver or I-601/INA 212(i) immigrant waiver might solve the issue, it doesn’t work in every case. It’s best to avoid a fraud/misrepresentation charge altogether.

Episode 11 of The Legal Immigrant podcast covers:

1) The different contexts in which U.S. Customs & Border Protection, USCIS and U.S. Embassies and Consulates can make the 212(a)(6)(C)(i) charge 

2) F-1 OPT and STEM OPT rules to follow

  • Time restrictions for submitting Form I-765, application for employment authorization
  • Unemployment grace period of 90 days for F-1 OPT and an additional 60 days for F-1 STEM OPT (i.e. total of 150 days during entire post-completion OPT period)
  • F-1 OPT and F-1 STEM OPT must involve at least 20 hours of work related to field of study
  • F-1 may include a paid job, a paid internship, an unpaid internship, volunteer work, contract work, agency work, or self-employment
  • F-1 STEM OPT must include paid employment with a company that is enrolled in the E-Verify program

3) Immigration fraud investigations and related problems

  • Many F-1 and H-1B visa holders, particularly from China, get their visas revoked or denied or are refused entry to the United States because they had listed Findream or Sinocontech to receive work authorization
  • F-1 and H-1B visa holders, most from India, face U.S. immigration and visa problems if they listed companies like Integra Technologies LLC, AZTech Technologies, Andwill, Wireclass or Tellon Trading to obtain OPT, STEM OPT or other work permit
  • Problems include refusal of entry to the US, visa denials, visa revocations, and denials of change/extension of status requests. In some cases, a 212(a)(6)(C)(i) charge is made.

4) 3 key indicators that the petitioner or employer may be flagged 

  • Does the company require you to pay a training fee, including before it issues the job offer letter or Form I-983 training plan? 
  • Does the company fail to assign roles and responsibilities as stated in the job offer letter, Form I-983 for STEM OPT, or Form I-129 Petition for H-1B? 
  • Does the company offer employment verification, pay stubs and W2s when there was actually no real work or no pay received for an F-1 STEM OPT or H-1B position?

5) The longer you are associated with a flagged company, the more U.S. immigration risks and visa problems you will have

  • As soon as you find out there’s no real job, move on quickly. 
  • You might be tempted to use fake employment to maintain status or stop the accrual of unlawful presence. But you run the risk of not only falling out of status, but also being charged with a lifetime inadmissibility bar under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i). 
  • US immigration agencies are less forgiving when it comes to a fraud or misrepresentation charge because it means you’ve been found to have lied to the U.S. government to gain an immigration benefit. 

Subscribe to The Legal Immigrant podcast at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 11.

For more information, see:

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The Legal Immigrant podcast and this article provide general information only. It is based on law, regulations and policy that are subject to change. Do not consider it as legal advice for your situation. The sharing or receipt of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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Posted in expedited removal, immigration fraud, INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i), The Legal Immigrant - Immigration Blog, waiver, willful misrepresentation