becoming more organized for ls Forum

[circle.the.wagons]

i'm a 0L currently working in the professional world, and although i'm really motivated for law school, i wasnt really as a hs or ug student and never developed great organizational skills. this has really come to bite me in the ass big time in the real world, between forgetting to do work, missing deadlines, etc.

knowing that i'm going to ls soon, i can tune out some of the stress that this causes at my job, but i'm viewing ls as a fresh start and don't want to screw this up. i know deadlines are especially important as a patent lawyer and i don't want to have to learn these skills the hard way after law school...

having said all that, can anyone recommend books, techniques, coaches, anything that can help me out? i often feel like everyone just instinctually understands something about this that i don't. thanks

[BigZuck]

Do you write down everything you have to do and then check it off once it's done? I'd start there. Physically checking things off a list (with a red pen if you can) is the truth

[S.Picquery]

Do you write down everything you have to do and then check it off once it's done? I'd start there. Physically checking things off a list (with a red pen if you can) is the truth

I would second this. I always have a pocket notebook on me. I run through them faster than milk in my fridge. It keeps all your To-Do's in line, and then reminders go straight into my phone, with extra reminders leading up to a deadline. It might feel like overkill, but the notebook version of things is how I get through my professional life, period.

[circle.the.wagons]

i know that the notebook/planner is probably the simplest and most effective tool for organization. i've tried it a few times but i haven't had th discipline necessary to stick with it... i just started doing it again yesterday so i know i really have force myself to make it a habit.

the biggest problem i seem to be having is time management and prioritizing. at work i'll have several long term projects happening at once, each due at the same time, and small day to day tasks sprung on me as well, and each is more important than the previous one. since i'm jumping between projects i can't keep them all straight in my head and inevitably some get totally forgotten about.

i use reminders in my phone like crazy for personal stuff but my work tasks are so fluid that updating them in my phone would be insane

i think what i need is some sort of tool- digital or paper- where i can have some tasks listed, but then adjust the list as new tasks with differing priority levels get added. the multi tasking is just killing me and obviously that's a pretty crucial skill to have

[S.Picquery]

i think what i need is some sort of tool- digital or paper- where i can have some tasks listed, but then adjust the list as new tasks with differing priority levels get added. the multi tasking is just killing me and obviously that's a pretty crucial skill to have

You should try Asana. It's free and it links between your computer/phone/whatever.

[CatherineZetaScarn1]

i think what i need is some sort of tool- digital or paper- where i can have some tasks listed, but then adjust the list as new tasks with differing priority levels get added. the multi tasking is just killing me and obviously that's a pretty crucial skill to have

You should try Asana. It's free and it links between your computer/phone/whatever.

Organizing is my favorite thing! I would agree Asana is a really cool app and there are a lot of apps out there that might help you.

I personally write stuff down because it's in my face and plus it feels nice to put a check mark next to something. I also go REALLY overboard when it comes to planning but hopefully some of this is helpful.

Here's what I do:

1. I have a planner that goes hour by hour (this method is not for everyone) that has goals and to dos for the day
2. I have a separate list that includes my to dos for the week
3. I have a large planning calendar on my desk at home and work so I can write down important reminders and deadlines
4. I have another to do list that ranks my work every day as high priority, medium priority, and low priority
5. For time management, I work a little different. I go by high priority and depending on the work, give each task about one hour. Then, I stop and move on to the next task. Then, when I've devoted one hour to each high priority task, I circle back around and devote another hour, and so one until I've finished. Then I do the same with medium priority and so on. This part is really important to me because if I have one thing due and I know it and I work on it all day nonstop, not only do I get bored, but I waste like 4 hours on Facebook because I'm bored. For me, switching tasks helps me stay on focus. I know this is unconventional but it really works and it makes it so much easier to get things done.

[circle.the.wagons]

i think what i need is some sort of tool- digital or paper- where i can have some tasks listed, but then adjust the list as new tasks with differing priority levels get added. the multi tasking is just killing me and obviously that's a pretty crucial skill to have

You should try Asana. It's free and it links between your computer/phone/whatever.

Organizing is my favorite thing! I would agree Asana is a really cool app and there are a lot of apps out there that might help you.

I personally write stuff down because it's in my face and plus it feels nice to put a check mark next to something. I also go REALLY overboard when it comes to planning but hopefully some of this is helpful.

Here's what I do:

1. I have a planner that goes hour by hour (this method is not for everyone) that has goals and to dos for the day
2. I have a separate list that includes my to dos for the week
3. I have a large planning calendar on my desk at home and work so I can write down important reminders and deadlines
4. I have another to do list that ranks my work every day as high priority, medium priority, and low priority
5. For time management, I work a little different. I go by high priority and depending on the work, give each task about one hour. Then, I stop and move on to the next task. Then, when I've devoted one hour to each high priority task, I circle back around and devote another hour, and so one until I've finished. Then I do the same with medium priority and so on. This part is really important to me because if I have one thing due and I know it and I work on it all day nonstop, not only do I get bored, but I waste like 4 hours on Facebook because I'm bored. For me, switching tasks helps me stay on focus. I know this is unconventional but it really works and it makes it so much easier to get things done.

wow very helpful! on my phone so i need to come back and reread this but i like your last point a lot... i may implement this at my job.

i think i need to work more extensively in google calendar but that's more of a school thing than for work

[fazzvm56]

i think what i need is some sort of tool- digital or paper- where i can have some tasks listed, but then adjust the list as new tasks with differing priority levels get added. the multi tasking is just killing me and obviously that's a pretty crucial skill to have

You should try Asana. It's free and it links between your computer/phone/whatever.

Organizing is my favorite thing! I would agree Asana is a really cool app and there are a lot of apps out there that might help you.

I personally write stuff down because it's in my face and plus it feels nice to put a check mark next to something. I also go REALLY overboard when it comes to planning but hopefully some of this is helpful.

Here's what I do:

1. I have a planner that goes hour by hour (this method is not for everyone) that has goals and to dos for the day
2. I have a separate list that includes my to dos for the week
3. I have a large planning calendar on my desk at home and work so I can write down important reminders and deadlines
4. I have another to do list that ranks my work every day as high priority, medium priority, and low priority
5. For time management, I work a little different. I go by high priority and depending on the work, give each task about one hour. Then, I stop and move on to the next task. Then, when I've devoted one hour to each high priority task, I circle back around and devote another hour, and so one until I've finished. Then I do the same with medium priority and so on. This part is really important to me because if I have one thing due and I know it and I work on it all day nonstop, not only do I get bored, but I waste like 4 hours on Facebook because I'm bored. For me, switching tasks helps me stay on focus. I know this is unconventional but it really works and it makes it so much easier to get things done.

wow very helpful! on my phone so i need to come back and reread this but i like your last point a lot... i may implement this at my job.

i think i need to work more extensively in google calendar but that's more of a school thing than for work

What I did in undergrad, and will probably continue to do in law school, is I had 1 planner that had the month view and the day view (most planners do). At the beginning of the semester, I would write down all deadlines, tests, paper due dates, etc. from the syllabus in the month view for every class that I'm taking. And then (I don't remember if I did this weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) I would continuously look at the monthly view and then go to the daily view and write out my week as a to do list. So mon-fri would have to do lists, based on what I needed to work on/get done based on how soon it was due and how big it was and I'd check them off as I was doing my work for the day.

I also tried to get anything big done at least a week ahead of time to get the pressure off.

So let's say a big paper is due April 28th. I would probably write in my dailys to start working on it the first and second week of april, revise the third week, and have it completely done the week before it's due. Of course, this depends on how big it is and how much time needs to be allocated for it, but you get the idea.

[MangoPapi]

As helpful as planners and apps are, I find it a hassle to continuously update them or cross them off my list as my day goes by so what I do, and this applies for really only the rudimentary tasks of my day, is I just send a text to myself in the beginning of the day with all the tasks I have to do for that day. As the day progresses, if I have any additional tasks I just sent myself another text reminding me that I have additional tasks to take care of. Everyone texts so it's already instilled as one of your habits and texting yourself a list of tasks can be done in less than a minute