Time is of the essence, especially for lawyers juggling multiple cases, deadlines, and client demands. Mastering time management isn’t just a skill, it’s a necessity, especially when you’re billing clients for it.
But how can you beat the clock and become more time efficient?
In this article, we share how effective time management for lawyers can transform your workday.
You are no doubt already familiar with time blocking and use it to set chunks of time aside to work on specific projects or tasks. It’s incredibly helpful for focusing on your biggest priorities without letting less important jobs get in the way.
However, the danger is that facing a large chunk of time for a single project can be daunting and can lead to our infamous enemy – procrastination – rearing its ugly head.
Instead, get specific with time blocking and break it down into specific tasks:
Time blocking is all very well and good, but how do you control how much you spend on each task?
When you’re focused, it’s easy to spend more time in one area, leaving you without enough time to accomplish the rest of your daily tasks.
The answer is to set a time budget for each task and stick to it no matter what. However, you will need to set an alarm so you can be reminded when your budget is spent.
Alternatively, your time-tracking software may feature the ability to create time budgets and will alert you once a certain percentage has been “spent.”
It’s a popular misconception that humans can multitask. We can’t. Our brains simply cannot focus fully on more than one task at a time.
What people really mean by multitasking is more accurately described as task-switching where we switch rapidly from one task to another. For example, you might be talking on the phone while simultaneously trying to complete a document.
While this might seem like it’s more productive, it actually isn’t because you’re not giving your full attention to either task.
Working in law means you’re constantly having to talk to people. Whether it's clients, colleagues, or the courts, constant communication is a necessary aspect of the job.
Problems arise when you let people talk to you whenever it’s convenient for them, not when it works for you. These continuous interruptions disrupt your workflow and force you to drop concentration on whatever you are working on.
Therefore, it’s crucial to set healthy boundaries around communication. To do this, you can:
Real-time time tracking is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools to help you with better time management. The simple act of doing it saves time because you don’t have to set any aside to fill in your timesheets.
It means you can start and stop tracking time at the click of a button and quickly create a time log for everything, no matter how small or unimportant the task may seem.
What other ways does this help with time management?
Speaking of analysis, this is essential for spotting your biggest timewasters.
For example, perhaps you’re spending too much time on non-essential tasks or are facing constant interruptions. Maybe the amount of traveling you do is taking up too much of your day. Or, are non-billable tasks consuming a big chunk?
The insights from time reports will guide your decisions on what to remove from your routine or how to reduce the time spent on tasks.
Furthermore, historical data will help you plan more effectively by allowing you to set more accurate time estimations for future tasks.
Another aspect of analysis is spotting when you are most productive.
For most of us, our productivity is at its peak in the morning, but it can differ from person to person.
Use these insights to prioritize your most challenging or important tasks for when you are at peak performance, not when you are facing the post-lunch slump.
If you have trouble staying focused for long periods or are easily distracted, try working in timed bursts. The Pomodoro Technique is incredibly useful for achieving this, so that’s what we recommend you use:
Being prepared for important dates and deadlines is crucial for managing your heavy workload. The last thing you want is to be working crazy amounts of overtime as a court date looms.
To make sure your workload is completed in time, you can:
Most lawyers face an ongoing barrage of calls, emails, and phone notifications so it can be extremely difficult not to get distracted when working.
Busy law firm offices don’t help matters, either since it’s hard to stop the hustle and bustle of an office environment from causing you to lose concentration.
We all have them, even busy lawyers! Learn to identify your timewasters by analyzing your timesheet data and reports. You’ll be surprised where they crop up.
There are obvious ones, like grabbing snacks and chatting with colleagues, but there are also many unobvious ones that you may engage in without even realizing, such as:
If you’re not sure where your timewasters lie, the key is to spend a week or two looking at your timesheets. The data can reveal a lot!
Once you know what your timewasters are, you can either stop doing them or change your working habits so you don’t fall victim to them.
Repetitive admin tasks are a necessary pain that can swallow up big chunks of your day, which could be otherwise spent serving your clients.
However, we are lucky enough to be living in an age where a lot of administration can be automated, so you should take advantage of this and take these tasks off your hands.
For example:
Use a time-tracking app that features real-time time-tracking and automatic timesheet generation.
Finally, and perhaps the hardest one of all, learn to say “No.”
Doing so will stop you from overcommitting and overburdening yourself with work or unnecessary tasks.
When clients make unreasonable requests or a colleague asks you for a “quick” favor, saying no will save you a heap of time (and from doing things you don’t really want to do).
Additionally, when you say no to unnecessary or time-consuming requests, you communicate to others that your time is valuable. This builds respect for your time and encourages others to approach you in a more thoughtful and purposeful manner.
Procrastination is one of our biggest enemies when it comes to time management. The excuses we give ourselves about why we can’t start a project are endless and creative.
However, a challenging or unpleasant task isn’t going to get any less so if we put it off. So, it’s better to bite the bullet and just get on with things.
Here are seven effective ways to do just that:
By implementing these 14 tips, you will manage your workload better and be able to focus on delivering top-notch service to your clients. More importantly, you will achieve an improved work/life balance and reduce stress.
Remember, the goal isn't just to work harder, but to work smarter and make the most of every minute.
