Five Things Highly Productive People Do Differently Have you spent most of your day on administrative tasks instead of advising clients and practising law?
Have you spent most of your day on administrative tasks instead of advising clients and practising law?With an endless list of admin jobs, client calls and emails on top of what it takes to operate a legal practice, it can feel as if you're wading through an endless sea of unrelated tasks. Due to this many lawyers who are just starting out in their legal practice venture struggle with their, matter management, workload and productivity levels.
Here are some simple productivity tips that can help you find that extra time you’ve been searching for in your legal practice, so you can focus on providing your clients with the service they deserve.
Scrolling through your inbox while discussing your monthly budget will make it difficult for you to complete either task effectively. Studies show focusing on one task at a time is more productive than multitasking, particularly for bigger matters that require a few hours of consistent and productive workflow.
The best way to reduce multitasking and increase productivity is to schedule time for each task. This will help to plan out and set time for all your tasks, making sure everything is completed to the standard and by the time you need. Designating the time you need to each task will prevent you getting side-tracked or procrastinating with other tasks, letting you complete your matters to the highest standard. Try it for a week and see if your work rate improves.
Closing your e-mail inbox and using the do not disturb function on your computer and phone will give you that difficult to find, interruption-free work time.
Delegate time in your schedule, once in the morning and in the afternoon, to read and reply to e-mails and phone calls, reducing distractions so you can optimise your working time. This should only be around an hour. There will be exceptions and urgent matters that you have to respond to right away, but if you use this technique effectively, you will get more done and those e-mails won’t be going anywhere.
Each day is different, some will involve difficult matters for big clients or tasks with an end of day deadline. The most productive people start their day with the most important task - the one (or two) that need to be completed by the end of the day. This reduces stress, allowing you to be more productive for the rest of the day, and ready to tackle the difficult matter you may have been avoiding.
Bonus tip: schedule your most difficult task next, most people are more productivity in the morning, and you might be able to finish that task faster than if you leave it until the afternoon.
It can be tough to find the time for yourself but taking care of your physical and mental health is known to reduce stress, relax the brain and ultimately boost productivity. Eat nutritious meals, exercise daily and spend quality time with friends and family. Implementing at least one of these into your schedule will make a significant impact on your work rate. Maintaining a healthy legal life balance will help you avoid burnout which can heavily impact your work ethic.
You can make a combination of changes to boost your productivity, but it can be as simple as using the right legal software to help you get things done. Matter management software helps to delegate tasks so you can focus on your most important jobs and workflow features can save you hours per week. An intuitive system that seamlessly integrates to your Outlook Inbox and Xero, like mattero, can simplify your matters and increase your productivity.
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