Productivity hacks for judges

Speechify is one tool that can be used by judges to help increase productivity and efficiency. Read on to learn more of our top hacks.

Being a judge requires you to review case law regularly. You may spend hours at a time going over the details of a case. You spend time at trial, and then you have to mull over the case and determine what the outcome should really be.

All of this work can become tedious and tiresome, but there are some productivity hacks that can help you if you’re starting to slow down because of being overworked or having a heavy caseload.

Productivity hacks for judges 

The amount of time you spend reviewing documents and cases every day can wear you down. Multitasking can help you get more done, but you also need to make sure you get through the nitty gritty in a reasonable amount of time and come up with the answers you’re looking for.

Fortunately, there are many productivity hacks that can help you spend less time on non-consequential tasks, so you can focus on the work that you need to do. These productivity tips help with time management and getting things done.

Stay organized and track everything  

One of the first productivity hacks for judges that you should consider is staying organized. As you listen to a case, stay organized and track everything of importance. For example, a law firm may have given you dozens of pieces of evidence during the trial. Using sticky notes or a piece of paper to note down which of those items you want to review again helps you stay organized and cut down on the time you’ll spend looking for items at the end of the day.

Pay attention to what you’re spending time on. If you find that you’re wasting a lot of time looking for items that were given to you or trying to find information you need to complete tasks during your workday, then you need to focus on organization. Good organization can save you hours during the day, so your next five-minute break won’t make you think that you should be behind your desk working instead.

Employ the use of technology 

Another great way to do more during your workday is by employing the use of technology. Studying up for a case? Reviewing a new law? Consider using the Pomodoro Technique to get through the task faster. This technique is used by some of the top entrepreneurs, and it’s so popular that you’re likely to find articles about it on LinkedIn and other platforms.

How does the Pomodoro Technique help? The Pomodoro Technique helps you focus on the subject matter you need to get through by blocking websites and phone calls, for example, for a 25-minute period. Until that time passes, you cannot access the blocked sites or information.

After you complete 25 minutes of work, you’ll get either a five- or ten-minute break, depending on how many sessions you’ve done. With this technique, you can knock out the tasks that are your top priorities by making sure you can’t get distracted by things you don’t need to do right at that moment.

Another nice thing about Pomodoro timers is that they can usually be adjusted. So, if you have only 20 minutes to work, you can change the timer to 20 minutes. If you have an hour, you can adjust it to 60 minutes. It’s up to you, but the timer is designed to cut out distractions that would otherwise prevent you from getting work done.

Manage your workflow

Another thing to do to avoid procrastination is focusing on managing your workflow. If you have too much to do, it can actually slow you down and make it hard for you to get everything done. You might feel overwhelmed by the amount of reading you have to do in the first place, and then when an additional task is added, you could feel like completely shutting down.

Managing your workflow may mean putting off lower-priority tasks until next week or sending out notifications that your docket is full until further notice. Don’t be afraid to let others know that you need to catch up before taking more work on.

If you manage your workflow, you can avoid a breakdown in the ability to work effectively.

Proofreading using text-to-speech (TTS) reader  

One of the great ways to get through reading documents you have written and have to review is by employing technology, like a TTS reader like Speechify, to help you get through more work in less time.  Why use a TTS reader as your proofreading tool?

1. The audio will enable you to hear mistakes that you initially missed.
2. You can rest your eyes while the audio plays, so you can relax for a few minutes as you listen for errors.
3. The audio can be sped up faster than you can read, so you can get through the review more quickly than if you were to do it visually.

Proofreading is essential for judges, because your sentencing or written items have to be free from errors. Whether you’re ruling on a case for a small business or you want to make a post on social media about the legal system, it should be free from errors. TTS software helps you be sure it is.

Speechify text-to-speech

Speechify is a text-to-speech reader with natural-sounding voices that can help you get more of your work done. Since the voices sound human, you don’t have to worry about missing errors because the words sound robotic. You’ll enjoy listening to legal podcasts or reviewing documents with this text-to-speech software because you’re in control of how fast you listen to the text. You can review at a speed that is comfortable for you with a voice that you like listening to.

Speechify is helpful for any kind of text that you’d like to turn to audio. It can be used online as a browser extension, on Android, and on iOS. With it, you can power through your documents, whether you have physical files that you’re going to scan in or you want to review a .pdf file sent to you by a local law firm. As the #1 text-to-speech program on the market, any written word can be turned into a spoken word, letting you step away from paper documents and listen to everything you need to know.

Workflow features

How can you use Speechify in your workflow as a judge? Think about what you have to do each day.

Are you reviewing a new letter that is going to be a party’s testimony? Using Speechify, you can have it read to you. Step away from your screen or set down the paper and really listen to what’s being said. You may hear more, since you’re less likely to skim the page, giving you deeper insight into the case itself.

Are you trying to proofread something you’ve written for court or for lawmakers to review? Speechify can do three helpful things for you:

1. It will read your document out to you, so you can hear the grammatical errors and syntax without having to reread it yourself. This helps you prevent errors that could make you look unprofessional.
2. It will read your documents faster than you can read them manually, letting you go over the content more quickly. This saves you time and energy, so you can focus on additional tasks later.
3. It can convert your text to an audio file, so you can review it again and again, even if you’re on the go. If you’re memorizing a speech or learning a specific rule of law, this is an excellent way to review the content without having to continue reading about it.

Then, think about studying law. It is long and hard, and you never really get to stop. A new law from the Supreme Court, for example, could be dozens of pages long with information about why the results are what they are. This could take a long time to read manually, and if you have to review multiple changes, you could be looking at hours behind your desk focused on the task.

Speechify helps by converting those documents to speech. You can listen quickly, taking in the new information audibly. If you learn content better when you hear it, you’ll enjoy being able to retain more information more easily with this kind of process.

No matter what you’re doing, if it involves text, Speechify can help you get more work done and make more time for the tasks you need to do. As a productivity tool, it can save you hours of time a week just by converting your text to speech.