Category Archives: communication

Are you skilled at remembering and retaining what you read?

Do you integrate key lessons into your life and work?  

If you’re tasked with a writing project, do you have a reliable system for organizing ideas and forming your own insights?

Are you starting from a blank slate or from a solid foundation when you write?

We all write on some level. We write research papers, articles, blog posts, essays, books, memos, reports and the daily, basic stuff.  Students, academic researchers, lawyers and content creators, for example, write a lot. Even if you don’t consider writing a part of your profession or vocation, your ability to take smart notes will carry you forward.

The main goal of smart note-taking is not to stay informed. It’s to increase understanding and build your knowledge base, which you can apply to your creative projects and productive work.

You learn best when you connect ideas and evaluate the information. Does this confirm, contradict, or add to your existing knowledge? Have you mastered the subject enough to explain it or teach it to others through a presentation, an article, or a paper? How will your knowledge hold up in a test or in a real-world situation?

In episode 17 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1) The difference between being familiar with a subject and actually knowing it

2) Why writing is a core part of the thinking process, i.e. the medium in which you think and not the outcome of your thinking

3) The Zettelkasten slip box method for smart note-taking, which was invented by Niklas Lumaan – a German sociologist who published at least 58 books and nearly 400 scholarly articles on various topics

4) The three types of notes to make –

• Fleeting notes, e.g. highlighting and underlining text; jotting down quick notes
• Literature notes, e.g. writing notes in your own words for future projects
• Permanent notes, e.g. storing notes in the Zettlekasten for long-term knowledge

5) The “reference slip box” is for source citations and brief notes while the “main slip box” is for permanent notes

6) The profound benefits of having an external system for note-taking and managing knowledge –

• you have a standardized, process-oriented method for organizing ideas and retrieving them
• you create bottom-up work so you’re not starting from scratch or with a blank slate
• you avoid the linear path to writing and instead pull from existing notes and ideas
• you learn more and apply more from your reading
• you become a more critical and original thinker

Resources cited:

• Sönke Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers

To listen to episode 17, Smart Note-Taking for Productive Work, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

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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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The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Institute for Well-Being in Law, and bar associations across the country are hosting the second annual Lawyer Well-Being Week, May 3 to 7.

During the week, AILA will provide daily meditations and three well-being programs for AILA members. There will be a different morning meditation every weekday, a roundtable on resilience on Monday, a CLE on dealing with difficult people on Tuesday, and a roundtable on mindfulness on Thursday. 

As a member of AILA’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee, I encourage you to learn more and register at https://info.aila.org/wellness2021.

I am scheduled to present one of the meditations on Wednesday, May 5:

• 8:00 am (CT) / 9:00 am (ET) / 6:00 am (PT): Emotional Freedom Technique, or Tapping Meditation Involving Acupressure and Affirmations to Calm the Nervous System

AILA’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee has put together resources that can help you make quick improvements and long-team commitments to your well-being at the Lawyer Well-Being Center. 

Sign up for the free meditations and AILA will send out instructions. Other events must be registered for separately. 

An effective to-do list helps you take action on the right priorities at the right time. But if yours leaves you feeling overwhelmed and uninspired, you need to change how you make it.

How do you make a to-do list so it brings a sense of calm and keeps you focused on what matters?

How do you make it work for you instead of against you?

If you find yourself rushing through tasks, worrying about things you’re not doing, or having items linger for weeks or months, you might think that to-do lists don’t work.

Your to-do list didn’t appear by itself. You made it. So maybe the answer is not to stop making to-do lists. Instead, you need to be more intentional and organize it around your real priority or priorities.

In episode 13 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn 5 reasons why to-do lists might not work and what you can do to make them work better:

Reason #1: You’re using too many mediums or the wrong medium.
Solution: Choose one medium that’s right for you or use the lowest number of organizational task management systems that help you do the things you need to get done.

Reason #2: You have too many things on your to-do list.
Solution:  Keep it short and simple. Less is more. Use your weekly planning session to set your daily to-dos. 

Reason #3: Your to-do list doesn’t prioritize what really matters.
Solution: Be more selective and intentional when you make your to-do list.If you’re not eager to do a task, ask yourself whether it’s vital for you to personally complete. If it is, stop procrastinating and take action. If it’s not, dump it from your list, delegate the task, or move it to your someday/maybe list.

Reason #4: You define your items too broadly.
Solution: Break down goals and projects into manageable action steps. Divide big tasks into smaller sub-tasks that are actionable.

Reason #5: You have too many micro steps.
Solution:  Switch to macro steps. Tasks like clean the office, write blog post, and prepare notes for podcast episode are macro. You don’t always need to break up projects into small steps. Even though it works to make big changes in small steps, you start with tiny only when it’s necessary to gain traction. 

When created without much thought, your to-do list can make it hard to execute on important tasks or steer you toward low leverage tasks. But when made with intention, your to-do list can help you stay on track, get organized around your priorities, channel your attention, and make steady progress on what matters. 

Resources cited: 

• David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
• The Incrementalist podcast, Ep. 8, How to Plan Your Ideal Week
• The Inrementalist podcast, Ep. 9, Why Weekly Planning Works

To listen to episode 13, How to Make a To-Do List that Works, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

Cheers,
Dyan Williams

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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. 

SUBSCRIBE           CONTACT