5 thoughts on Q1 2026.

Can you believe 25% of 2026 is already in the books? Time flies when you’re having fun I guess.

I love taking a few minutes at the end of each quarter to both look back on our progress and look ahead to what we’re working on.

I thought I’d share 5 thoughts related to that with you.

1. Being a team member down is HARD.

If you didn’t know, one of the attorneys here at the firm, Liz, had a healthy baby boy about 6 weeks ago.

While we are excited that she’s a new mommy, here at the office it’s been extra busy for everyone while she takes time with the family.

While we’ve got a lot of systems and processes in place to help in times like these, it’s always interesting to see how everything functions when one of our people is out for a bit.

We’ve been learning a lot!

2. AI is not going anywhere.

Anyone that tries to convince you ChatGPT can create your Will should not be trusted.

We’re not there yet. :)

We are, however, not oblivious to the fact that AI is here to stay, and with an emphasis on learning and implementing, there are a lot of opportunities to improve what we do with the help of AI.

A perfect example – this quarter I built a dashboard using AI that shows everyone, in real time, what everyone else’s workload looks like.

This means work gets scheduled when there is capacity, the team doesn’t get overworked (and over stressed), and things get shipped as quickly as possible.

3. It’s not too late to get started!

No matter whether you have achieved your Q1 goals or not, it’s never too late to get started.

Making changes doesn’t happen all at once. Neither does knocking things off the to-do list.

They both begin with just getting started.

Make a good choice today. Then tomorrow. Then the next. String as many of those in a row as you can.

Don’t get the whole estate plan done today. Just take step 1 (or the next step). Then do the next. Then the next.

4. Q2 continues our systems upgrades.

One of the cool things this new dashboard did was show me how much room we still have to improve our systems.

And it’s not just about getting work shipped faster.

We want it to be PERFECT every single time.

Neither of those things happen without great people and great systems.

Q2 is all about continuing to perfect those systems.

5. Winter is over!

Yes, today it’s still cold and rainy. But Q2 means that weather is short-lived.

It’s time to start getting back outside, start enjoying sunshine after 6pm, and start being generally happier because of those things.

I hope Q1 was great to you, and I hope you have big goals for Q2!

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Christopher Small
Owner
CMS Law Firm LLC

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