The Two Keys To Managing Your Workflow

When you don’t have a system, it’s very difficult to get organized and stay on top of things, even when you’re managing your thoughts.

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • Do you worry constantly about whether you have enough time to get everything done?
  • Do you feel overwhelmed?
  • Do you get paralyzed trying to figure out what to do first, so you do nothing?
  • When you work on one thing, are you worrying about whether you should be working on something else, or when you’ll get to it?
  • Do you feel like you have no idea how long your tasks will take you and feel out of control about your schedule?
  • Do you get distracted frequently remembering things you need to do later?

All of these problems are symptoms of not having a dependable workflow process.

Before I became a coach I thought the key to productivity was having the right SYSTEM. If I just found the right system everything would take care of itself.

You can guess the outcome: I tried lots of systems, and none of them really solved my procrastination and deadline-driven anxiety.

Then I discovered coaching. In my early days as a gung-ho coach, I thought that coaching was all you needed. Just work through all your thoughts and the workflow would take care of itself.

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Not quite.

What I know now is that you need BOTH. You need a system for your tasks, and you need a system for your mind. Either one without the other isn’t enough.

When you don’t have a system, it’s very difficult to get organized and stay on top of things, even when you’re managing your thoughts. And conversely, even if you have a great system, if you don’t manage your thoughts, it won’t matter, because you’ll procrastinate and avoid doing what you’re supposed to do anyway.

Let’s start with the system. I’m always astounded how many of my high-powered clients don’t have a system. They have scraps of paper with notes jotted down on them, and some they don’t even have that. Some just have a running mental list of what they’re supposed to be doing. Or they just show up to work everyday and figure out what is immediately due and try to work on that, if they can get through their panic. None of these are good systems.

So here’s the system I recommend for lawyers trying to get a better handle on their workflow:

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  1. Write down everything you need to do, broken down into specific tasks.
  2. Put all of those tasks and everything else you spend time doing on your calendar, with each activity or task assigned to a time block.
  3. Always include “buffer time”–blank time that you don’t assign any tasks to, which you use for overflow or for when things change unexpectedly.

Note: This MUST be real buffer time, not time you secretly are assigning to something in your head. It has to actually be empty time for the system to work. The amount you need will depend on your particular job and what proportion of your day is unpredictable work – as you progress up the ranks in practice you tend to have more control over your time and get better at estimating this. Overestimate in the beginning.

A system is essential. But a system won’t help you if you aren’t actively managing your mind about projects. Even with a system, if you are not managing your mind, you will create a beautiful calendar of work tasks, and then you’ll sit down and get on Facebook instead, because your brain is scared of your work. So you still have to be actively managing your mind and working on changing your thoughts.

If you’re avoiding a particular assignment, for instance, just putting it on the calendar won’t magically make you do it. You still have to work through your thoughts.

What am I avoiding?

Why am I avoiding it?

What am I afraid of?

What could I practice thinking instead?

It’s usually some variation of “I don’t know how to do this,” or “this won’t be good enough,” or “I don’t have enough time.” You always have to pay attention to what you’re thinking when you’re procrastinating. Coming up with thoughts you can practice on purpose when your brain goes into anxiety and overwhelm is key.

So don’t go buy another organizational self-help book or another $90 planner. All you need is a pad of paper and a calendar. The true keys to getting sh*t done are a system that you consistently follow and consistently managing your mind.

Kara Loewentheil, J.D., C.M.C., is a former litigator and academic who now runs a boutique life coaching practice, with a focus on high-achieving women who believe in empowerment but don’t always feel empowered. As a Certified Master Coach, Kara is intimately acquainted with the unique challenges high-achieving women face in their professional careers and personal lives. Kara teaches her clients cognitive-based techniques for dealing with stress, anxiety, and lawyer brain so that they can build the lives and careers they want. She is also the host of the only podcast that teaches lawyers and other accomplished women how to actually rewire their brains so that they can feel confident and get what they want in life, The UnF*ck Your Brain Podcast, available on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts. To download a free guide to creating more confidence and believing in your own abilities, go to www.unfckyourbrain.com/imposter.