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How a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) Can Help You Find Your Way
If you are
thinking of getting a PDA, but are not yet convinced that it is
worth the money, time, and effort, here are some points to consider:
- Make
sure you know what you want to do with the PDA, at least initially.
Ask yourself what specific goals you want to achieve or what problem
you are trying to solve by using a PDA. Everyone wants to become
more efficient, productive, and profitable, so frame your objective
in more detail. Are you trying to become more organized in terms
of keeping track of to-do lists and miscellaneous bits of information?
Do you want to get your calendar organized? Are you trying to
free up some time for rainmaking? Would you like to be able to
do a quick search for all the expert witnesses you’ve ever
worked with? Or are you simply looking to be able to get your
hands on a phone number quickly when you need it? A PDA is certainly
an extremely valuable tool that can help you achieve these goals.
Even if it’s used just as a glorified Rolodex®, a PDA
can save you enough time and frustration to justify its various
startup costs.
- Consider
a PDA as part of your emergency preparedness system. Realize
that a PDA is not a stand-alone tool, but part of a series of
tools. Now that almost all lawyers have their own computers, using
a PDA just to synchronize your calendar and contacts means you
have an immediately accessible, automatic backup for that information.
As lawyer Lowell Schoenfeld relates, “There was a lightning
strike near my office recently, and all the computers were out
for a while, but I had all my information in my hands.” Another
way to look at it is this: if you lose your Day-Timer or paper
planner and there’s no backup, you’re out of luck, and
have to re-create all of that information somehow. But if you
lose your PDA, you still have that information in your regular
computer.
- How much
is your time worth? The monetary cost of a basic PDA is now
so low (under $100) that you can quite easily justify trying out
a PDA. To do the math: if your out-of-pocket cost is $100, your
billing rate is as low as $100 an hour, and your startup time
is as high as ten hours, that’s $1,100. If your PDA ends
up saving you only ten minutes (or $16.67) a day by making you
more efficient, or allowing you to capture that much more billable
time, it takes only sixty-six working days ($1,100 divided by
$16.67) to recoup that $1,100. If you’re cost-conscious,
you can usually get a better price for a particular model by waiting
until it is no longer at the cutting edge, or by purchasing the
unit on sale or through a Web site such as eBay.
- Do you
spend a lot of time away from the office? Would you like to
have access to your most important business information during
that time? You can accomplish this by adding a PDA to those basic
items you keep with you most of the time (such as your wallet,
keys, and cell phone) in a pocket, purse, or briefcase. If you
never leave your desk you don’t need a PDA, but if you do,
and want to be able to do things elsewhere, you have to think
about the best way of taking information with you.
- Using
a PDA at even a basic level makes you appear more organized and
competent. This can help to impress clients and intimidate
opponents.
From The
Lawyer’s Guide to Palm Powered™ Handhelds
by
Margaret Spencer Dixon
Click
here to learn more or purchase this book
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