105: Work Smarter, Not Harder

If you want to create more freedom, wealth, and happiness in your life, you need to focus the vital few things that matter most, not the trivial many. This is hard to do, but worth it. Let me share some thoughts about the insights I had as I learned to do this in my business and in my life. Show Notes The ONE Thing: The Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, by Gary Keller Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less, Michael Hyatt Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, by Cal Newport General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity

29 Mars 202223min

What are the challenges and opportunities that come with adopting new technology? What are the best practices? In this episode, you'll learn the ideal process for adopting new technology so you don't waste valuable time or money. And we'll examine how I recently used this process to evaluate a new tool for processing email better (a tool specifically for folks who use a Google email account as I do). Show Notes What Henry Ford Learned from a Slaughter House Superhuman email service ($30/month, but worth it) Tiago Forte's website (he advocates "building a second brain" to be more productive) My Loom video for Megan explaining what I like about it. Feedback Survey: Help Me Understand the Challenges & Goals of Your Law Practice How to Create Systems for Your Law Practice, free webinar on April 7th (put on by Jared Correia) Red Cave Legal consulting company for lawyers run by Jared Correia Law Firm Co-Pilot - my group coaching program which includes access to a private Slack group for discussing technology, marketing, productivity and business matters. General Resources Learn to use technology to reduce friction & gain freedom with this resource: https://www.the8020lawyer.com/ Focus on these essential tech tools for maximum traction in your practice. Take this short law practice assessment to identify your main strengths & weaknesses. Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity

22 Mars 202228min

There are dangers in getting caught up in the minutiae of technology, and not thinking deeply enough. We need to not let technology confuse us. The most important things lie beyond the realm of "chauffeur knowledge." We need to go beyond superficial knowledge ourselves, and we need to be able to detect it in others. Show Notes The Two Types of Knowledge: The Max Planck/Chauffeur Test, by Shane Parrish General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity

15 Mars 202216min

Lawyers need to learn the new rules for effective, efficient information processing. These rules have arisen because the information we deal with has become increasingly digital. That part is obvious, but learning how to deal better with digital information is definitely not obvious. Show Notes A Lawyer's Guide to Processing Digital Information (YouTube video) Episode 13 - Paperless Practice - Document Management Episode 98 - Essential Search Skills Episode 107 - Managing Information in Age of Digital Disruption Episode 117 - Frameworks, Tags & Two Books Episode 139 - Information Sherpas Episode 178 Mental Models (Charlie Munger) Episode 179 Mental Models - Part II Axios - daily email newsletter Morning Brew - daily email newsletter Milk Road email newsletter (about cryptocurrencies) The Hustle - an email newsletter about tech/startup news General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity

8 Mars 202228min

If you want to delegate more effectively (even to VAs) here are three vital keys. They may seem obvious at first, but they aren't common practice. So you need to make a strong commitment to using them in your delegation processes. Show Notes My 2-minute YouTube video on the 3 keys to effective delegation An example of well-documented procedure (which can, of course, be improved over time with feedback) Check out my Working Smarter with Technology course (with a limited time special discount) General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity

1 Mars 202222min

You need to protect your valuable time from people who want to steal it. Develop strategies for saying no more often, and for filtering out useless information masquerading as news - do this for your sake and the sake of your clients. Show Notes Free To Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less, by Michael Hyatt (see pages 91 - 113) LFA Episode 190: Text Automation for Lawyers (with TextExpander) TextExpander (the best tool to automate saying no to common requests) Axios (important news & expert analysis by award-winning journalists) Morning Brew (all the key daily news that you can read in 5 minutes or less) Instapaper (save articles for free, even ones that are behind a registration wall, and read them later) Pocket (free, just like Instapaper) Feedly (free RSS reader, with paid version that includes some A.I. features) What is RSS? Here's a helpful article. General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro

22 Feb 202231min

Mental blocks are like invisible fences that keep us from progressing and from achieving what we most want in our practices. Or has the old saying goes, "whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right." In this episode, we'll get clear about what invisible fences are holding you back, and how to get past those mental barriers. Show Notes Blog post about Professor Regales (my high school Physics teacher) Special discount on my Co-Pilot coaching program General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro

15 Feb 202225min

If you want to turbocharge your text output, and triple your typing speed, you need to know about a powerful tool called TextExpander. This is the key to text automation on steroids. Show Notes TextExpander free trial Brett Burney's TextExpander courses for lawyers YouTube video demonstration of TextExpander General Resources The 80/20 Principle (my email newsletter) The 5 Pillars of a Tech-Powered Law Practice The Inner Circle (an online community for law firm owners) Thanks to Our Sponsor Smith.ai is an amazing virtual receptionist service that specializes in working with solo and small law firms. When you hire Smith.ai you're actually hiring well-trained, friendly receptionists who can respond to callers in English or Spanish. If there's one great outsourcing opportunity for your practice, this is it. Let Smith.ai have your back while you stay focused on your work, knowing that your clients and prospects are being taken care of. Plans start at $210/month for 30 calls and pricing starts at $140 for 20 chats, with overage at $7 per chat. They offer a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee on all receptionist and live chat plans including add-ons (up to $1000). And they have a special offer for podcast listeners where you can get an extra $100 discount with promo code ERNIE100. Sign up for a risk-free start with a 14-day money-back guarantee now (and learn more) at smith.ai. EPISODE CREDITS: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment. He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world. Find out more at EmeraldCity Pro

8 Feb 202214min