BC Law IPTF Blog

The ABA Journal online published a list of “law hacks” this past summer. They group these “hacks” under E-mail, Your PC, Time Management, Phones, the Web, Software, Low Tech, Your Brain, Your Money, Hardware, and more. (If you’re unfamiliar with the world of “hacks” or more properly “life hacks,” then they’re generally tidbits of advice to streamline your productivity. See Lifehacker for your daily dose.)

It’s pretty much a list scarfed from Lifehacker posts over the years. Only a few of them cater specifically to legal work. But nonetheless it’s a decent summary for people who are too busy to read through Lifehacker archives.

Instead of merely criticizing, here’s me putting my money where my mouth is and starting my own list of law hacks, some replicative of the ABA, others not. (You can read a snippet of my criticisms at the end of the list.)

1. Google Desktop Search (”GDS”) (or Spotlight in Mac OS). This is essential. Whenever I use a case, I save the PDF version in a folder for each client/project. And I allow GDS to catalog the contents. Then if I know I ran across a case about something, I don’t have to dig around—all I do is search. It’s that easy.
2. Name your files usefully. So I have a folder for every client/project. But files often float around independently. If I have a motion to dismiss document for client Smith, then it doesn’t help if the filename is “mot dismiss.doc,” especially if I e-mail it to someone or to myself to work on remotely. Name it usefully. I’ll use “Smith.MtD pers juris.111707.doc.” I won’t even explain what my abbreviations are for. It should be that easy.
3. Add short descriptions to case filenames. Even with GDS, sometimes you do find yourself digging around in folders and files looking for cases. When you’re reading cases, you’re usually looking for one main point of law from each one. So when you read through a case, name the file with the point it’s useful for. For example, “Smith v. Kim (1st Cir. 1992) neg op turn signals.pdf.”
4. Use a wiki or blog as a to-do list and notepad. I use a wiki to keep a running to-do list of short- and long-term tasks. I also have a list of “notepads” linked from the home page of long-term projects or just places to jot down important numbers and passwords, etc. Blogs are sometimes better for to-do lists because every day is a new to-do list and you can track your progress (or lack thereof) by replicating your existing to-do list every day. And keep them password-protected for security.
5. Use del.icio.us (or another bookmark manager). Organize and store all your bookmarks remotely so you can access them from any computer. Check out my bookmarks on rules: http://del.icio.us/pham/rules. Enough said.
6. Keep track of your time daily. Each summer, I had a small notebook for my to-do list that I would check off of and re-create at the end of each day—planning the next day’s work. I would have another small notebook where I’d write down the current project name, the time I started, and the time I stopped. Then at the end of the day or first thing the next day, I’d enter my time. I actually “experimented” by trying to account for time at the end of a week—it was impossible. And I didn’t feel right “fudging” the time, and in the end I’m sure I lost minutes which added up to hours, etc.
7. Use paper wisely—print double-sided and purge or re-use paper. It takes a few seconds to set your default printer to print double-sided. It just makes sense to do it. You’ll cut your paper usage approximately in half. I also think it’s easier to read; it’s more natural, like reading a book. Then, when you’re done with a project, purge as much paper as you can. Get it out of your office and into the recycling bin. Also, if you have to print on one-side, re-use it as scrap paper, put a staple into it and use it as a notebook, or take it home and use it in your inkjet. If you hand-write important annotations on cases, consider using something like Skim (Mac OS) to electronically annotate PDFs.
8. Keep your inbox slim. I talk about this below. You don’t need to empty your inbox every day; just keep it slim. It’s satisfying—or at least not overwhelming—to have a slim inbox. It doesn’t take much. When you get an e-mail, read it immediately and then file it away. If something needs to be taken care of, take care of it ASAP. If you can’t, then keep it in your inbox until you can, but make sure you get to it.
9. Practice voice mail etiquette—keep your greeting short, leave informative messages, use e-mail, text, or IM. Voice mail greetings don’t have to say much—hey, know you’re number, that’s why they’re calling you. “You’re reached [name]. Please leave a message.” And then when you’re leaving a message, don’t just say, “Call me back.” Tell me why. Compel me. Otherwise, you’ve wasted everybody’s time. Or just e-mail me or IM me. Voice mails are passive communications (just like e-mail or IM) that I can’t skim, that I have to work to get to.
10. Use IM. I think IM can be so useful in a work environment. It’s a quick, passive, unobtrusive way to get in touch with people. There’s also the fantastically helpful status message—you can, at a glance, tell if the person is available or not, and if they have informative statuses, what they’re up. (For example: “out to lunch until 1:30,” “working on Smith case,” “anyone know anything about suing a cop,” “afk” (away from keyboard), “working from home,” etc.) And if you use IM for work, don’t use your “BCEaglesROXNUMoneShoRTy” screen name from your foolish youth. Create a just-for-work screen name that’s professional and descriptive, like “johnsmithatXYZ.” And don’t give it out to your friends.

I don’t quite agree with the e-mail tips. I tend to think that you should keep your inbox small, but it doesn’t need to be cleared every day. My inbox is more of my mid- to long-term to-do list. Anything short-term I read and then archive or accomplish and then archive. Generally, I think once you file an e-mail away, it disappears unless you search for it. So if it’s not addressed or done, it can’t get filed away. But to keep your inbox slim, you have to address e-mails which gives you a satisfying incentive to get things done quick.

The PC hacks are a bit too technical. Plus, the recommendation of Quicksilver–which I use and love and couldn’t live without–is Mac-specific. (Launchy is the not-up-to-snuff PC variant.) But I’m totally on-board with the Google Desktop Search–or just Spotlight on the Mac OS–to search through documents, especially PDF files of cases.

Take old gift cards and turn them into coasters…

But don’t we have enough coasters in this world? And coasters that essential that we have to keep on making more? Can’t we just think a little harder and figure out other ways of recycling(or upcycling) our used materials than… Coasters?

Here’s a better idea, for saving paper: Reduce the margins in your word processor to save paper.

How Stuff Works: How much coal is required to run a 100-watt light bulb 24 hours a day for a year?

The answer? About 714 lbs. of coal. Let’s say you don’t run that one light bulb non-stop, but only for about 10 hours. That’s still almost 300 lbs. of coal. I can very easily imagine that I at various locations and times run at least 100 watts of electricity through light bulbs at least 10 hours a day every day. That’s a lot of coal.

Also, here’s a link from How Stuff Works about how much energy a transformer pulls, regardless of whether the appliance is on or not.

Oh, and FYI: A Google search on “What the fuck is a what?” doesn’t result in anything informative.

NPR reports on the dangers of mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs):

Wal-Mart wants to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs this year. The Environmental Protection Agency has almost the same goal. The bulbs save energy and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

But there’s a hitch: Each bulb contains about 5 milligrams of mercury, a toxic heavy metal.

The bulbs last a long time, but eventually they burn out. The EPA says that people should recycle them, but most people don’t know they should.

This blog talked about this issue before, and back then I also remarked on my experience in Uganda and the  near ubiquity of CFLs.

If the US doesn’t have the capabilities to safely dispose of mercury in CFLs, and the US population isn’t informed about this or is able to do anything about it, what are the people in Uganda to do? I’m sure people are just throwing these into the trash, sending the mercury straight into the soil and ground water, and back into the people. Bad stuff.

One of the problems with mass recycling is that the bulbs inevitably break and leak, so you can’t just put out bins for people to drop them off or for services to come by and pick them up. Technology may be able to reduce the amount of mercury, but right now there’s no way to avoid it. Maybe in the scheme of things, this isn’t as bad as other solid waste problems–sewage treatment, electronics and circuit boards–and the energy savings are worth it. With rolling black-outs, more people have light more of the time because of the significant reduction in energy consumption. Maybe this is something the world will have to live with for now.

Why do people drink bottled water over tap water? I agree that some bottled waters taste different–even better–than the water out of various taps or fountains. Plus there’s the convenience of having a disposable bottle to carry around. But at what cost? Personally, though, I can’t justify paying money for someone else’s tap water and for creating additional waste through demand for plastic bottles. But there’s even more cost involved:

David Suzuki, quoted in Treehugger, complains:

“I think in Canada it’s absolutely disgusting that people are so uncertain about their water that we buy it, paying more for bottled water than we do for gasoline.”….”It’s nuts to be shipping water all the way across the planet, and us — because we’re so bloody wealthy — we’re willing to pay for that water because it comes from France.”

The cost of a kilogram of Fiji brand (IMO the best tasting water out there) bottled water? According to Pablo Paster:

In summary, the manufacture and transport of that one kilogram bottle of Fiji water consumed 26.88 kilograms of water (7.1 gallons) .849 Kilograms of fossil fuel (one litre or .26 gal) and emitted 562 grams of Greenhouse Gases (1.2 pounds).

Twenty-six times as much water used to make it than you actually drink. As much fuel to make it as there is water in the bottle.

But all this research is not completely unbiased. For example, if you choose to carry around a mug rather than use disposable bottles, that’s OK as long as you stop buying new mugs: the manufacture of ceramic is more environmentally damaging that the manufacture of a number of styrofoam cups. (And styrofoam is better than paper or plastic these days.) See also Ask Pablo’s The Coffee Mug Debacle.

So what’s the best way of getting hydrated? Simple enough. Just tilt your head back when it rains and drink up. Just don’t expect much in places like Australia or Africa where they’ve been going through non-cyclical droughts potentially attributable to global warming.