How to cope when there is more to do than can get done

A pilot partnership between Indiana Legal Services and a Tippecanoe County court is providing in-court assistance to pro se litigants in divorce cases. Attorneys sit down with litigants behind closed doors, gather the necessary child-support information, fill out the paperwork and send parents back into the courtroom. (Shutterstock.com photo)

Stop me if this sounds familiar.

Lawyer 1: How’s it going?

Lawyer 2: Busy! How about you?

This is a frequent exchange between lawyers. While I’m not sure how to solve being busy all the time (and it’s not really a complaint because being busy keeps our practices going), it is important to have a method to COPE (Capture, Organize, Plan, Execute).

Capture

I’ve written before about the importance of capturing. Developing a trusted system for inputs in your life is a key part of keeping everything going.

Do you capture things on a legal pad? Sticky notes? On a Word document? In your task management tool of choice? Strive to consistently capture thoughts, ideas and/or tasks in a consistent manner so you can review them easily.

Organize

Stress often comes from a lack of organization. It’s simply less work for your brain if your life is organized. This reduces the tendency to procrastinate because you’ve taken a few minutes to organize the various items you’ve captured.

It helps to organize things in a way that allows you to see all your commitments in one place or at one time. It may be that you need a “not-to-do” list or a “someday” list. The idea is to get things off your mind and into your system.

Plan

Planning is often an overlooked part of the process. It can feel like a waste of time when the to-do list is a mile long. I just need to get going! Abraham Lincoln is often quoted saying something like, “Give me eight hours to chop down a tree and I’d spend the first six of them sharpening my axe.”

This idea is also expressed in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as “Sharpen the Saw” Taking some time to plan can reduce stress and give you a better sense of control. You will also be better positioned to say “no” because you will know what you have already committed to and the plan for getting those commitments done.

An additional consideration is deciding where to store the results of your planning. Do you time block your work, so you have dedicated time to work on a project? Do you keep a list of things to do in front of you and work on them as you have time? There are many theories on the best approach, but the key is finding something that works for you and that you will use.

Execute

Now, the goal is to execute. You’ve captured what needs done. You’ve organized it so you know how to plan. Now, you get to work and execute the plan you’ve created. Obviously, the trick is to not spend too much time on any of the other stages at the expense of getting work done.

The benefit of a system is that you are hopefully getting the right things done against many competing priorities. Your preparation should help you stay focused on getting the most important things done first.

Try it Out

Be sure you understand and even enjoy the tools that you use. Use what you can to help prompt your brain to use the system. Developing or adjusting your habits will take some time, so give it a good two weeks.

For example, suppose you use a Microsoft Word document. You could just use a bulleted list of items. But what if you used numbers instead? Then, you would know how “old” an item on the list is based on its number. Maybe that item should get attention or get dropped altogether. Maybe you want to learn a new piece of technology, like the voice assistant on your phone. Discipline yourself to capture reminders into the device for a week. See if it helps provide some additional peace of mind. If not, try something else. Maybe you like using sticky notes. Track those sticky notes with the app from the manufacturer to combine the analog and digital experience.

Perhaps you can use voice transcription on your computer/device to enter the information into your case management system instead of typing it in or leaving it on the legal pad.

Whatever your system, stay as consistent as possible. Take notes on what works well and what doesn’t. Make small adjustments as you go. Resist the urge to change everything all at once.•

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Seth R. Wilson is an attorney with Adler Attorneys in Noblesville. In addition to practicing law, he helps manage the day-to-day technology operations of the firm. He writes about legal technology at sethrwilson.com and is a frequent speaker on the subject.