Has anybody found/used a coach to help get them organized and improve workflow? I am at my wits end trying to come up with a process for my calendar, emails, tasks, etc that I can actually implement. I have looked at different apps lime Todoist and others. I think maybe I just need someone to come in and help me figure it out.

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An app never worked for me because it was too much work to maintain. If I don’t keep it up-to-date it’s useless; once it’s too far out of date it’s too daunting of a task to get it updated (so it doesn’t happen).

My game changer was when I started running my day in repeating cycles, broke tasks into small chunks and calendared time to complete them.

1) check email. A) Items that take less than 10 minutes get punted to #2. B) Items that take more than 10 minutes get put on a to-do list, broken up into chunks and each chunk gets a calendared deadline (this will take practice to gauge).
2) admin tasks. I knock out all those tasks from 1A; send follow ups to people who owe me things (this way I can blast them several times a day if need be); review my daily/weekly to do list; and all other non-legal work.
3) this is a timed blocked off working session to knock out specific tasks that must get done during the allotment.
4) Flex Time. Meetings, appointments, fire drills, or extra time to crank out work. Adapts to my needs.

The cycle then repeats several times throughout the day, and I follow some rules to keep me on target.
Only check email during the email phase (unless exigent circumstances or from a set VIP- you can make outlook rules for this). Checking your inbox kills productivity, 90+% can be resolved by responding within 1 business day. No teams messages during #3. Group like-for-like tasks together and if they’re recurring try to do them at the same time every day. Do you want to work the same number of hours every day? Then you must figure out how long a task takes, specifically schedule time to do it, and frequently review your bandwidth and make adjustments. Calendar things to be completed 2 business days before they’re actually due (so you have slack to adjust your schedule WHEN things go wrong). Get to a good stopping point before putting something down- you burn so much time reacquainting yourself with a task, an extra 5-10 min closing it out pays for itself.

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So besides the cycles and the rules (to not get fired/disbarred) the REAL thrust is I want to work the same amount of time every day. This makes every day a game (which I love). It also forces you to take nebulous “tasks to be completed” and turn them into minutes that you need to juggle. When I botch it and need to work past my target time, I have a monetary penalty that goes to my savings. When I succeed I get a monetary reward that goes to my allowance money that I can blow on whatever I like.

Now you might ask, didn’t all the funds come from your original “allowance money fund”? To which I’d say I have no idea what you’re talking about, because to admit that this was really avoiding a self-imposed penalty wouldn’t jive with my particular ADHD-goblin brain. No no no, instead I’m winning a reward and every day is a new game so I stay invested.

The other useful bit- do the hard task first thing in the morning. But schedule the thing you’re interested in mid-day. And then the stuff that “you must get done today no matter what and once you do you’re done” for the end of the day.

likesmarthelpful

A friend of mine recommended Rosemary Hollinger at Partner Up Coaching. She’s a former lawyer so she gets all the struggles that specifically come with our profession. Worth it even if you just do a few sessions in my opinion. She does free consults.

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Additional Posts in Lawyers with ADHD

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Who here has successfully requested accommodations at work? How did it go? What kind of place did you work, and do you think that affected your ability to seek accommodations?

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