How Can I Stop Being Distracted and Get More Work Done?

by Felicien | Sep 18, 2018 | Education

5 Ways to Reclaim Your Time

There are hardly any jobs in the modern world that permit you to work completely apart from other tasks. Getting stuff done today demands concentrated levels of teamwork and communication with your coworkers, your friends, and your clients.
As a matter of fact, a recent report showed that the combined intensity of work has increased 50 percent in just 10 years. The large strain on our time and energy at work, leads to a reduction in our ability to perform creative work. The study reveals that the average worker can spend up to 85 percent or more of their time each week on email, on the phone, and in long meetings.
Researchers are discovering that making incremental adjustments in your behavior can help. In fact, just a few small tweaks will give you immediate results in the work place and your personal life. By making a sequence of subtle changes in your behavior, you can clear the hassle of time-wasting off your radar.
What Can I Do to Reclaim My Time?
We usually have way more control over our time than most of us think. The power of saying “no” and drawing clear and defined boundaries can be tough, especially for a “yes” person. However, these are key steps in time management that will help you be the master of your schedule.
5 Ways to Recover Your Time at Work
1. Create an agenda for every meeting under your control.
By adding a few bullet points in an email prior to the meeting, your team will have a heads up as to why you are calling the meeting in the first place. Reading the bullet points ahead of the meeting will allow them to be prepared to discuss the important information. It’s also essential to give everyone plenty of time to review the agenda beforehand to formulate their ideas and questions.
2. Set a clear time limit for meetings and conference calls.
Walking into a meeting without determining and declaring a time limit, can lead to needless small talk. Add to that people showing up late to the meeting, and a rudderless meeting can quickly get lost at sea. If you are specific about the start time on the front end and a limit on the back end, you will send a message to your team that showing up on time, being prepared, and being direct is important for success. This will prevent meetings and phone conversations from dragging on for too long. It’s easy for people to not understand a time limit and even easier for them to lose track of time in the midst of a meeting. Therefore, set a well-defined time limit for every meeting, declare it at the start of the meeting, and add a couple of quick reminders during the meeting.
3. Set Clear Job Objectives for yourself.
It’s too easy to become overwhelmed with conflicting priorities at work. Posting your objectives in front of you will be a reminder of why you were hired in the first place. If you have trouble knowing your objectives, that is usually a problem to talk through with your boss. If you don’t have clear job objectives, it is often due to poor management and lack of vision from your employers. Emphasize to them your need for objectives that will lead to you being more productive. Without clear objectives, you may tend to take on too much of the responsibility at work that should be someone else’s.
4. Create a way to fly under the radar when you can’t be bothered.
Impromptu meetings, calls from a chatty customer, troubling emails from a boss or client, and getting caught up in small talk in the break room seem to always pop up when you are under pressure at work. These distractions drain your time that should be concentrated on creating, leading, or whatever is core to your job. If you discover that your work environment is full of these distractions, find a way to “fly under the radar.” Locate a permissible space where nobody can bother you. Perhaps you can find an unoccupied meeting room in your office, or if work allows, maybe you can find a coffee shop close to work. Switch your phone to “airplane mode” and spend some targeted time getting the important things done.
5. Figure out a way to implement the most powerful word in the time management vocabulary: The word, “NO.”
Saying “no” can be really hard, especially if you enjoy helping people solve problems and pride yourself on being known as the “go-to person” around the office. Nevertheless, saying “no” is absolutely crucial to reclaiming power over your limited time.
If saying “no” causes you to break out in a cold sweat, come up with a way to say “no” without having to say the word itself. For example, if a team member sticks their head in your office and asks you to help them with a problem, should you welcome them in or ask them to schedule a time tomorrow? Ask briefly what the topic is about and then try to decide whether this is something that could easily lead you down a rabbit hole of wasted time.
Another way that works is to post your schedule in your office, then when people stop in and ask to stay, just point to your schedule, apologize, then get up and leave. Politely ask them to come back tomorrow at 3 (or whenever you’re free).
Adding these time-management steps will enable you to get back up to 18-20 percent of your time and make your job less stressful and more productive.

Are You Still Using Windows 7?

by Felicien | Sep 17, 2018 | Education

10 Critical Things To Look For When Choosing An IT Service Provider

by Felicien | Sep 17, 2018 | Education

How Do We Choose An IT Service Provider?
10 Critical Things To Look For
If your IT company doesn’t return your phone calls, their prices are too high, or they run in to “fix” things only to run out before you find what was done, you need to choose another IT Service Provider.
But what should you look for?
With the rapid changes in technology, how are you supposed to know which IT company is best for your business needs?
We’ll tell you here…
Have you ever heard the term Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
It’s important that your IT company is and MSP… meaning that they provide what’s called Managed IT Services.
What Are Managed IT Services?
Managed IT Services allow you to offload all of your IT services and solutions to a service provider (an MSP). Your MSP assumes all the responsibility for 24-hour monitoring and maintenance of your IT system.
Why Is Using An MSP So Important?
Using Managed IT Services is critical to the success of small to mid-sized businesses today. Most don’t have the resources to hire a team of tech experts and keep them on-call 24/7.
Your Managed Service Provider will act as your outsourced IT department. It’s a much more affordable way to access the comprehensive IT systems that larger business enjoy.
This also ensures that your technology and data will always be accessible, reliable and secure.
And, with the services your MSP provides, your company will be set up to better compete against other businesses like yours.
Sounds like a dream come true, right?
But… you must find the right IT MSP company for your organization.
Which brings me to the main topic here…
What Should You Look For In A Managed IT Service Provider?
Not all IT companies are the same…
Here are 10 things to look for…
Make sure that your IT Service Provider:
1. Responds quickly to your calls. Every company has different processes, and response times vary. Ask for their guaranteed response times:

How long does it take for them to respond?
How fast are issues typically resolved?
How long will it take if you require onsite support?

Make sure they back up their answers with facts and metrics.
2. Is an IT Advisor and not just a repair service. Look for a subject matter expert in the industry you serve. If you run a healthcare practice, make sure they are versed in EHRs, HIPAA and practice management software.
Look for an MSP who can act as a consultant and craft a customized solution to meet your unique requirements. They should explain everything they do in plain language that you and your employees can understand, and how it will impact your business operations.
3. Offers access to a team of highly trained and experienced technicians who provide on-call service 24/7/365. They should ensure that your IT infrastructure is available when and where you need it…And that you have access to specialists who can ensure you are following IT best practices.
4. Provides a guaranteed Service Level Agreement. They should monitor your network 24 hours a day to act on any issues before they cause IT interruptions or downtime that can disrupt your staff’s productivity.
5. Helps you budget for the IT services you require. A good IT service provider will offer services that you can predictably budget for, and solutions that you can write off as operating expenses rather than capital ones. Your MSP should offer a customized package of services for a fixed monthly fee that you can count on.
6. Ensures that you’ll have a highly secure IT environment so you won’t have to worry about viruses, malware, and hackers stealing your confidential data. They should use best-of-breed technologies that block data intrusions and eliminate them before they enter your network. They should also help you maintain IT security compliance for industry and government regulations.

7. Sets up Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Solutions with both onsite and offsite cloud backups to ensure you can always access your IT even if your office is closed due to a storm or other disaster. Plus they should provide continuous backups and testing to ensure your data is easily recoverable.
8. Ensures that proactive support is ongoing so you can have the peace of mind that your IT network will run as it should. This way you can focus on your core competencies rather than worry about technology issues.
9. Offers many different services and solutions you can choose from. This includes things like hosted cloud services, VoIP business phones, mobile device management, wireless services, virtual CIO services and more. Only with a variety of services can they provide the customized information technology solutions that best fit your needs.
10. Makes your success their priority. They must get to know your business and your goals. How can you tell if they’ll do this? Ask them about their clients and the success rate they experienced by using the services they provide. Any company that’s provided success for their customers will gladly be willing to share their stories and references.
There’s no doubt that finding the right IT Service Provider can be a daunting task. But armed with this information you should be able to find the right fit for your business.

What Are 2018’s Top Eight Legal Apps?

by Felicien | Sep 17, 2018 | Education

As software and digital applications (Apps) continue to be developed, Internet Technology (IT) is embraced by a variety of fields that have hitherto ignored it. In law firms across the country, the old ways have been honored as traditional, respectable, and perhaps even better than modern methods. Increasingly, IT has caught up.

Digital platforms make communication and collaboration easier than ever. Accounting and billing take less time. Calendars and documents are efficiently recorded and filed. They are also easily retrieved. Sometimes, choosing the right system for your law practice is the most difficult part. Presented alphabetically, not in order of rating, here are eight of the top legal apps available in 2018.
Actionstep
In addition to law firms, Actionstep is suitable for use in government and corporate legal teams, as well as investigations and compliance groups. It boasts features that assist firms in running every aspect of the business.
The built-in workflow engine, however, enables firms to automate documents, emails, and other processes. This creates a more efficient business. Although it is reputedly the most complicated element of the software, it is the one that makes the $60 dollar a month fee worthwhile. Fortunately, there is a free trial and a free demo that attorneys can enjoy before committing.
Bill4Time
Offering flexible integration with existing management products, Bill4Time accurately tracks time anywhere from any device. The billing and invoicing features include the following:

Billing portal
Contact database
Contingency billing
Customizable invoices
Hourly billing
Online invoicing and payments
Payment processing
Tax calculations

This app offers a free 14-day trial before committing. It is ideal for companies that prefer the versatility of both cloud and mobile access.
CASEPeer
CASEpeer is case-management software designed primarily for Personal Injury Attorneys. It features campaign tracking, customizable case plans, case organization, and task management. Additionally, it provides superior document management, intake management, an integrated calendar, letter generator, as well as litigation and settlement tools. It also keeps track of data points.
A little more expensive at $55 dollars per month, CASEPeer also offers a free demo and online support.
Clio
This software provides a variety of intuitive functions. Its billing features include account tracking, document management, and expenditure tracking. It offers case and client history and management, as well as conflict resolution. Clio also boasts document indexing, archiving, and retention.
Since it is cloud-based, attorneys are able to work on their cases anywhere. The monthly rate is $39 dollars, and Clio even offers a free seven-day trial or demonstration.
Law Ruler Software
Popular with law firms of all sizes, Law Ruler focuses on the case and client history and management. Some of its unique features include:

Automated phone dialer
Drip marketing
Easy-to-use reporting
One-click “send referral” feature
Order medical records
Send text E-signs
A drag-and-drop editor that helps firms build an unlimited amount of intake and case forms

Taking advantage of the free trial allows attorneys to test Law Ruler to see if it is a fit for their firm.
MyCase
Ideal for small law firms, MyCase offers easy-to-use management software. Among other things, this software features a secure client communication portal. It also provides assistance with billable and non-billable hours, mobile time tracking, case management, document management, task management, and court records searches.
It accounts for multiple billing rates and has a simple calendar management system, complete with programmable reminders. MyCase offers monthly and annually-billed rates.
Practice Panther Legal Software
For a low rate of $39 dollars per month, Practice Panther Legal Software manages the billing and invoicing. It handles the case and client management and history of solo practitioners, as well as small and medium-sized firms.
Other aspects Practice Panther manages include the following:

Calendar
Contacts
Contracts
Documents
Email messages
Records
Tasks
Time tracking

This software also provides a client portal. It offers online support and a free demo, as well.
Zola Suite
With an intuitive and fast interface, Zola integrates with LawPay, Quickbooks, and RPost. It is cloud-based, but is also accessible through native iOS and Android Apps. Although it offers most of the features that other products supply, this software boasts its built-in email and robust business and trust accounting aspects. These include accrual accounting, activity tracking, asset gain and loss reporting, check writing, cross ledger posting, and tax management.
Zola is a bit pricier at $49 dollars per month for attorneys and $58 dollars per month for support staff. It does, however offer a free trial.
In Conclusion
Choosing the right software for your law firm does not have to be complicated. Begin by determining what features would streamline your process the most. Decide on a reasonable budget. Select from the top legal apps that meet your criteria and price point. Then, take advantage of the free trials and demos of each product. This way, you can invest your time and money in the technology that will provide the most benefit for your firm.