Category Archives: The Productive Lawyer – Productivity + Lawyer Wellbeing Blog

Why You Need to Set Goals, Even If Achieving Them Doesn’t Make You Happier

Why doesn’t goal achievement make us happier?

When we finally accomplish what we want or create the life we designed, we feel excited and ecstatic. But as the days and weeks go by, our emotional state goes back to baseline.

Goals cannot fix internal, existential problems. They can lead to distracting busy work, instead of purposeful, important work. They do not always create desired results or positive outcomes. They are not reliable sources of true joy.  

Even though goals don’t make you happy or happier, you still need to make them for different reasons.

In episode 60 of The Incrementalist, you will learn:

1) The limits of goal setting and goal achievement

2) The 5 reasons you still need to set goals

To learn more by reading the transcript, go here.

To listen to Why You Need to Set Goals, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist podcast at Apple Podcasts or other apps if you’re an auditory learner.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show. And subscribe to the show if you’re a visual learner. This will help the show grow and reach you and others who want to create big changes in small steps.

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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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What to Do When You’re Motivated to Do Nothing

There’s no shortage of things to do, whether at home or in the workplace. If we don’t take action and make steady progress, we stay stagnant and fall behind.

But there will be days when we feel like doing nothing.

Do we need to buck up and get moving as quickly as possible? Or do we need to sit with the feeling, and slow down and rest?

What to do depends on the reasons you’re unmotivated and unproductive.

In episode 59 of The Incrementalist, you will learn:

1) The Procrastination Equation, a formula by Dr. Piers Steel that helps explains why you feel unmotivated and why you procrastinate.

2) 10 tips to get out of a mental slump and motivation rut.

To learn more by reading the transcript, go here.

To listen to What to Do When You’re Motivated to Do Nothing, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist podcast at Apple Podcasts or other apps if you’re an auditory learner.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show. And subscribe to the show if you’re a visual learner. This will help the show grow and reach you and others who want to create big changes in small steps.

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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

The Truth About Productivity Advice and Toxic Productivity

Toxic productivity occurs when you apply habits, routines and practices that are prescribed for someone else. Some of the productivity advice are hacks, tricks and tips that won’t work for you. They just don’t match with your mindset, preferences and season of life.

In episode 58 of The Incrementalist, you will learn:

1) The truth about productivity advice and toxic productivity.

2) 5 universal principles or basic rules to apply in any productivity practice. 

3) 7 common mistakes to avoid when moving from being unproductive to productive. 

To learn more by reading the transcript, go here.

To listen to episode 58, The Truth About Productivity Advice, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist podcast at Apple Podcasts or other apps if you’re an auditory learner or want to develop your active listening skills.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show. And subscribe to the show to help it grow and reach you and others who want to create big changes in small steps. If you’re a visual learner who knows how to manage your online consumption, you will benefit the most from being a regular viewer of the YouTube channel!

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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 Power of Slow Living and Doing Less, But Better

Harness the power of slow living and practice the slow philosophy. This is how you break the obsession with doing more faster and, instead, do the right things at the right speed.

On the road of life, there are twists and turns, hills and valleys. We can map out and plan our journey. But even then, we can’t always see what’s ahead of us in a given moment. And slowing down is the only way to move ahead.

In episode 57 of The Incrementalist, you will learn:

1. The benefits of slowing down to move ahead.

 2. Seven steps to slow, productive living. 

To listen to episode 57, The Power of Slow Living and Doing Less, But Better, click here. If you prefer to read the transcript, go here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

Watch the video on episode 57 on our YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show. You will see video clips of my recent travel to my home country, Jamaica, a tropical island in the Caribbean. Taking extended breaks is not always easy, but it’s one of the steps to slow living and doing less, but better!

Subscribe to the YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show, to help it grow and reach you and others who want to create big changes in small steps.

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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

5 Things to Start Doing to Finish Your Goals

If you have trouble finishing projects and goals, you’re not alone. This is a common human experience. But there are 5 things you can do to finish strong with any project or goal.

In episode 56 of The Incrementalist, you will learn:

1. The limits of willpower, better habits, and more refined systems.

2. The 5 things to start doing to finish your goals.

To listen to episode 56, 5 Things to Start Doing to Finish Your Goals, click here. If you prefer to read the transcript, go here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.

Watch the video on episode 56, especially if you’re a visual learner!

Subscribe to the YouTube channel, The Incrementalist – A Productivity Show, to help it grow and reach you and others who want to create big changes in small steps.

The Incrementalist YouTube channel is inching toward a milestone, with the last video, How to Stay Focused and Control Your Attention, giving it a boost.

As of this date, it has 91 subscribers, and needs 100 to get a custom url on YouTube. (The default url is impossible to remember and a custom url allows us to tailor it to the name of the show.)

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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