Category Archives: lawyer well-being

Effortless Productivity

Posted on June 10, 2021 | Comments Off on Effortless Productivity

Do you believe your high goals have to be hard to accomplish?

Is it bad to seek out an easier path to get the desired results?

Does life have to be challenging and complicated?

After you’ve chosen the essentials, do you still feel overwhelmed?

It’s common to believe that any problem can be solved with hard, heads-down work. While diligence and determination are elements of success, you could also seek to make essential tasks easier to do.

We tend to think that important and valuable work has to be hard. This could be writing a book, leading a team, designing a new product, running a business, or preparing a presentation. But too much effort is counterproductive when it leads to chronic stress, health problems, sleep issues, and burnout. 

You first need to decide where to focus your energy. Once you determine the essentials, how do you make them as easy as possible to do?   

Work can be effortless if you break it down into small, easy to manage chunks. It can also feel effortless if you pair it with a fun activity. 

In episode 22 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn three big ideas for Effortless Productivity: 

1) How to move into an Effortless State (i.e., think the most essential things can be the easiest to do). 

  • Invert
  • Enjoy
  • Release
  • Rest
  • Notice

2) How to take Effortless Action (i.e., do find the easier path)

  • Define
  • Start
  • Simplify
  • Progress
  • Pace

3) How to get Effortless Results (i.e., get the right results without burning out)

  • Learn
  • Lift
  • Automate
  • Trust
  • Prevent

4) What happens next matters most. Whatever happened in the past pales in comparison to the power you have to choose what to do now.  Instead of working harder and harder, and exhausting yourself, you can choose a more effortless path. 

5) The Incrementalist ebook is on sale for $4.99, until June 20. After that, the regular minimum price of $9.99 will apply. You can find it at leanpub.com/incrementalist. 

Resources cited: 

To listen to episode 22, Effortless Productivity, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 22.

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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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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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Evening Routines and Rituals to End Your Day, The Incrementalist, Ep. 15

Posted on April 19, 2021 | Comments Off on Evening Routines and Rituals to End Your Day, The Incrementalist, Ep. 15

Do you wake up in the middle of the night stressing over what you didn’t get done or what you still have to do?

Are you checking your phone, scrolling through news feeds, and replying to emails as part of your bedtime rituals?

Do you wake up groggy and unrefreshed even if your bedtime began 7 to 8 hours ago?

The evening is your P.M. bookend to your day. Your evening routine is your “me time” at night that helps you to unwind, quiet the nervous system and prepare for sleep. How you end your day is essential to recharging from it.

Your shut-down sequence – before bedtime – creates the environment for you to rest, relax and sleep. Without a full rejuvenation overnight, it’s harder to take charge of your day.    

In episode 15 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:

1. The importance of both productive tasks and restorative tasks in your evening routine. You need to review your day and plan for the next as well as relax and rest completely. If you wind down enough before your bedtime, you will have space for an effective evening routine. 

2. The value of sleep and how the sleep cycle works –

  • Stage 1 – alpha state
  • Stage 2 – theta state
  • Stages 3 and 4 – delta state
  • REM sleep 

3. Ways to create a sleep sanctuary to improve sleep quality and duration

4.  Key things to avoid in your evening routine – 

  • Screens (e.g. TV, computer, laptop, tablet, phone) in the 30 to 90-minute period before bedtime
  • Dinner in the 2 to 3-hour period before bedtime 
  • Vigorous exercise and full workout in the 4 to 6-hour period before bedtime
  • Caffeine intake after 2 to 3 p.m. or in the 5 to 8-hour period before bedtime
  • Alcohol consumption in the 3-hour period before bedtime

5. Key things to include in your evening routine – 

Productive tasks –

  • Review your day and preview the next day
  • Do prep work, e.g. pick out clothes and clean up your work space and living space
  • Learn new information or practice a hobby

Restorative tasks – 

  • Journal
  • Read fiction or other nonwork-related book
  • Enjoy a teatime ritual with noncaffeinated herbal tea (e.g. camomile or Valerian root) about an hour before you go to bed 
  • Do gentle movement or exercise
  • Practice relaxing breathwork
  • Pray or meditate or listen to mellow music

6. The advantage of a maintaining a consistent bedtime, synching with your circadian rhythm, and building good sleep habits

Resources cited: 

To listen to episode 15, Evening Routines and Rituals to End Your Day, 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. 

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The Busyness Trap, Minnesota CLE, 2021 Family Law Institute, March 15 to 16

Posted on March 2, 2021 | Comments Off on The Busyness Trap, Minnesota CLE, 2021 Family Law Institute, March 15 to 16

Minnesota CLE’s 2021 Family Law Institute is completely online this year. It’s the best way to ensure you are up to date on all the latest cases, legislation and other new developments in Minnesota family law. It also provides practical instruction on dozens of important topics, as well as extensive written materials. 

If you register for this online event, I invite you to attend Breakout Session E at 2:15 – 3:15 p.m., in which I will present on The Busyness Trap: How to Reduce Overload and Create Space for Things that Matter.

Attendees have the opportunity to view the video recording with live written Q&A to claim CLE credit, which they will not receive if they watch the recording at another time. 

Here’s a description of what The Busyness Trap will cover:

The path to being a diligent and effective lawyer involves reducing overload and creating space for things that matter. Yet the emphasis on billable hours and “presenteeism” continue to prevail in the legal industry.

Lawyers who work more and stay longer at the office – often at the expense of their personal health and well being – are typically viewed as more successful, productive and committed. But when you’re in the busyness trap, you are less able to do high-quality work, think creatively, and solve problems with the greatest impact and least resistance.

In this presentation, you will learn effective ways to:
1. Cultivate productive habits by focusing on your top priorities, limiting your to-dos, keeping a startup and shutdown routine, and matching your tasks to your energy cycles;

2. Tackle the problem of facetime cultures and 24/7 accessibility by setting realistic expectations and healthy boundaries;

3. Collaborate and communicate in moderation without having emails, phone calls, meetings and interruptions take over your day; and

4. Take restful breaks and regain lost momentum on important projects.

Click HERE to get more information on this 12-credit online CLE event and to register for it. 

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