Even though this site is focused on blogging and social media, I thought it would be fun to share online tools that I use in my practice. Hopefully others will want to tell everyone about high-tech tools that are helping them too!

I have been a compulsive list-maker for years. There’s something satisfying about crossing things off a list as you do them. There’s something soothing about seeing everything you have to do in one place, and making a plan for doing it all.

But pen and paper have worn out their welcome. As my practice has grown, I found myself writing and re-writing the same long lists. I was always worried I was forgetting something as I was starting a new list. It became an awful lot of work.

And then I found Remember the Milk, the most glorious task manager I’ve ever met. For starters, it’s free. And the options seem to be endless.

How you use it…

• There is a master list called “All” which contains all the tasks you create.
• You can create as many other lists as you want to, and assign each task to a list.
• Each task has many options, including the ability to assign a deadline or add a bunch of notes about the item.
• Each task can also be assigned a priority numbered one through three. This priority moves the item to the top of the list for the “All” list and whatever other list you have the task assigned to.
• When you’re done with a task, you can mark it as completed (which keeps it in the system if you need to refer back to it) or you can delete it all together.
• You can sync your list with your iPhone, Blackberry, or Googlephone so you can have your list with you wherever you go.

How I use it…

I have lists for each week, and as I do tasks, I delete them. If I decide to do a task in a later week, one click moves it to that week’s list. I also have lists for cases I’m working on that I don’t currently have to attend to. Those lists are called Pending (for cases that I know are coming in but haven’t arrived), Waiting for Docs (for cases that are in, but for which I can’t do work until I receive documents), On Hold (for cases that I’m waiting for something else to happen), Report Done, Waiting (I’ve written my report and I’m waiting for a deposition or trial).

I can now avoid re-writing my lists incessantly. I just move my tasks around as I need to and everything is constantly tracked and updated.