Tag Archives: focus

Digital Distraction: A Thief of Client Relationships?

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Technology has its good points.  Mobile devices and apps give us 24/7 access to information and knowledge.  “As long as we have the Internet, we can be productive,” or so we tell ourselves.  But is it possible that tech is hurting our client relationships and we don’t even know it?

Your smartphone, smartwatch, and tablet are great gadgets – don’t get me wrong.  The 2015 ABA Tech Survey reported that an astonishing 60% of lawyers use iPhones; 40% use iPads.  Used consciously, as a tools, these devices serve us well.  The danger arises when we fail to appreciate that their mere presence may be disturbing to our clients.

Don’t Put Your Phone on the Table During a Client Meeting

In 2012, researchers at Essex University conducted two studies to learn how the presence and use of a mobile phone affected social interactions among strangers.  The participants were paired off and sat in private booths.  In half the cases, a mobile phone was placed nearby.  For the other half, a notebook was left in the same place instead of a mobile phone.  The studies revealed:

  • If a mobile phone is visible during a conversation it causes people to feel less positive towards the person with whom they are chatting.
  • The presence of a mobile phone reduces the level of empathy and understanding in face-to-face conversations.
  • Mobile phones can have negative effects on closeness, connection, and conversation quality.

‘These results demonstrate that the presence of mobile phones can interfere with human relationships, an effect that is most clear when individuals are discussing personally meaningful topics,’ the researchers wrote.  Credit to the Daily Mail.

All Client Meetings are ‘Personally Meaningful’ – Follow These Easy Fixes to Avoid Digital Distraction

The lesson here is obvious and easy: put your devices away!

Keep your phone in your pocket, purse, or briefcase during client meetings.  If you are expecting an important call (from a Judge or hard-to-reach expert) tell the client before the meeting that you may need to take a call.  But don’t use this as an excuse to keep your phone on your desk.

Not expecting a call?  How about setting your iPhone to Airplane Mode, which will automatically silence your Apple watch?

Worried about taking notes without your trusty laptop or tablet?   Don’t.  Turns out note taking is substantially more effective when done by hand, and your legal pad doesn’t need WiFi or an outlet.

Follow the Five Keys to a Successful Client Meeting

  • Avoid distractions (I think we covered this, but there is more to learn)
  • Prepare for your meeting
  • Create an agenda to stay on track
  • Anticipate and prepare for questions
  • Prepare a post-meeting summary and action list for the client

These excellent suggestions come from Tonya Pierce and appear on AgileLaw.  I highly recommend reading the original post.

[All Rights Reserved 2016 Beverly Michaelis]

 

 

 

 

 

Not Wired to go Paperless?

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Is it possible we’re not wired to run a paperless law office?

There is no doubt that digital archiving is the way to go.  Done right, scanning closed client files is both convenient and cost effective.  But does it automatically follow that lawyers should adopt a completely paperless work flow for active files?

Goldy has a longer attention span than you

We already know that the lowly goldfish has a longer attention span than humans thanks to our increasingly digital lifestyle.  What about processing data?  Is our ability to absorb and retain information equivalent in the digital and paper worlds?  What does the science say?

This is your brain on paper [and it works better]

Evidence suggests that absorption, understanding, and retention suffer when we attempt to digest information digitally:

Consider this excerpt from Ferris Jabr, The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens, Scientific American [2013].

Even so, evidence from laboratory experiments, polls and consumer reports indicates that modern screens and e-readers fail to adequately recreate certain tactile experiences of reading on paper that many people miss and, more importantly, prevent people from navigating long texts in an intuitive and satisfying way. In turn, such navigational difficulties may subtly inhibit reading comprehension. Compared with paper, screens may also drain more of our mental resources while we are reading and make it a little harder to remember what we read when we are done. A parallel line of research focuses on people’s attitudes toward different kinds of media. Whether they realize it or not, many people approach computers and tablets with a state of mind less conducive to learning than the one they bring to paper.

If you are still with me: what does this mean for you and your law practice?

If you’ve gone completely paperless – accessing, reading, and digesting information digitally – and feel you are getting good results, why not continue?  You likely made some adaptations along the way that were perfectly natural and work well for you.  Keep up the good work!

For everyone else, the most optimal approach seems to be the following:

  1. Go paperless at the end of a file’s life cycle.  Scan your file.  Return original client documents.  Shred the paper file OR provide it to the client.  Only keep paper if required.  For a refresher on that subject, review our File Retention & Destruction Guidelines, available on the PLF website.
  2. During the course of a case, use paper whenever it works best for you: notes, correspondence, paper-based discovery, materials received from the client.
  3. Strive to keep information that you create or receive digitally in digital form (pleading documents, memos, emails).
  4. Whenever you need to print digital information for review and markup, don’t hesitate to do so.

[All Rights Reserved 2015 Beverly Michaelis]

 

Multi-tasking is a Myth

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Four years ago I was inspired to write Attention Divided: Avoid Multi-Tasking.  multi

In that post, I shared the following:

My name is Beverly and I’m a recovering multi-tasker.  Like others of my ilk, I used to take pride in my juggling skills.  I believed that tackling two or three tasks simultaneously was a sign of efficiency.  Boy, was I wrong!

The truth is we just aren’t wired for multi-tasking.  Research shows that when we attempt to switch our attention back and forth we take 50% longer to finish a task and make up to 50% more errors. In the worst case scenario, multi-tasking can literally cost us our lives or at a minimum, our dignity.

I encouraged lawyers to stop the insanity and suggested 8 specific action steps to resist multi-tasking:

  • Control distractions – like the annoying pop-up: “You’ve Got Mail!” or push notifications on your smartphone or mobile device.  In fact, turn your smartphone OFF occasionally.
  • Give yourself a break from social media and the Internet.
  • Set boundaries for reading and responding to e-mail and texts.
  • Schedule a specific time each day to make and return phone calls.
  • Advise clients of your business practices – office hours, availability by phone, ability to accommodate unscheduled appointments.
  • Embrace “single tasking.”
  • Ditch the guilt.  Much of the reason we feel compelled to multi-task is because we believe it is expected of us.
  • Respect each other’s time whenever possible.  “Do You Have a Minute?” almost always translates into a much longer interruption.

In this month’s issue of the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, I was thrilled to see Elizabeth Ruiz Frost’s article “Mental Shrinkage: The Many Costs of Multitasking.”  I couldn’t agree more with the title and the points made in Frost’s article.  If you haven’t read this month’s issue of the Bulletin, I urge you to do so.  Take a few minutes to read Frost’s article and ask yourself: is this me?  Do I see myself in these scenarios?  If the answer is yes, consider implementing the 8 point plan above.

All Rights Reserved 2015 Beverly Michaelis