Productivity Tips for Lawyer Mamas

Getting things done - on time, and done well - is a challenge for any lawyer and for any parent.  So here are five productivity tips for those of us who happen to be both lawyers and mamas:

1.  Plan each week out in advance.  For both home and work obligations, devote Sunday evening to looking at the calendar and mapping out the week.  For me, this means coordinating schedules for extracurricular activities, reviewing out-of-town travel plans for work, noting court appearances or important meetings, and then preparing to make everything easier doing the week.  I pick out (and line up in the front of my closet) my work clothes for the week, with accessories, to avoid the what am I going to wear today? dilemma at 6 am.  This is also a great time to prepare a meal plan for the week.  I love the printable meal planners here.

2.  Plan to be surprised.  Take a tip from Taylor Swift and leave some "blank space" in your schedule each day for the unexpected -- the client who has an emergency, the partner who needs last-minute hearing coverage, the child with the flu bug.  Days that are scheduled to the minute make it hard to accommodate these emergencies, so to the extent possible, keep some wiggle room in each day's schedule.  

3.  Use a time management tool.  Whether it's analog or digital -- a website like any.do or an oldfashioned Moleskine notebook -- use it.  Don't count on your memory to keep track of which day is "crazy hair" day at school and when the client is expecting a draft of the contract.  No matter how good you are, your memory will fail you.  Write it down as soon as it hits your desk or e-mail, and keep looking at it until it's done.  

4.  Pick your priorities.  Your "to do" list each day probably has anywhere from 10 to 50 tasks.  Not every task can be a top priority task.  In the morning, review your "to do's" and select the handful that absolutely must get done.  These are the non-negotiables: the deadline for the motion, the child's doctor appointment, the performance review.  Make a note of which things must get done, and treat everything else as an "it would nice to get it done" task.  Then get the important stuff done first, even if the "nice to get it done" stuff is easier or more pleasant.  To quote Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog!  (Do the least pleasant but most important stuff first.)

5.  Don't forget to enjoy it.  Even on the craziest days - or maybe especially on the craziest days - don't forget to cherish the little things -- the reasons that you are working and parenting.  The satisfaction of a job well done, the little ones' smiles, or even a bright sunny day.  Life isn't happening tomorrow.  It's right now.  Don't miss it.