As AILA celebrates its 75th year, we invited members to “Share Your Favorite Success Tip Gleaned from AILA,” and we are delighted to share this blog post featuring those tips:
“My favorite AILA tip was from Reid Trautz, when I was chapter chair, who gave a presentation that included the ‘two-minute rule’ – if something takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately. He suggested doing these types of tasks in the minutes before a scheduled appointment so as not to waste time, and it was SUCH good advice. I use this in both my professional and personal life to make the most of every minute in the day.” – Sandra Feist, MN-DAK Chapter
“An AILA attorney (I cannot remember who) advised early in my career that I should always start my day with my calendar. S/he noted that most attorneys start with their emails, which can lead to distractions.
I first noticed that I was always opening my emails as soon as I got to the office, and, second, I quickly found that I was so wrapped up in answering emails or dealing with issues clients emailed to me that the entire day would be gone without touching the files on my desk. From that day since I have started every single day by checking my office calendar, noting any meetings or upcoming deadlines, and making a list of any work that absolutely needs to be done that day or blocking out time for time consuming tasks later in the week. It has been a significant improvement in balancing my work and in managing my stress levels.
I have also taken to signing out of my emails during the day to eliminate distractions while I am working on files. Unless I absolutely need to have my emails open to complete a task, I log out. I generally set aside the last hour of the day to respond to emails that I didn’t get to otherwise.” – Margaret Wilson, Canada Chapter
“The magic password when calling USCIS: ‘Infopass’” – Terry Yoder, Indiana Chapter