If you’re a solo-practitioner or run a small law firm, you’ve probably had the experience of feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks on your plate. No matter how much you enjoy what you’re doing or feel that only you can do the task justice, at some point you’re forced to delegate. But how do you delegate in a way that’s helpful and makes your workday efficient? Let’s take a look at how you can delegate like a pro.

Do only those tasks that matter.

When delegating you want to start with identifying which tasks must be done by you. In general, those tasks you should handle fall into three categories:

• Revenue generating tasks. Tasks that generate revenue for your law firm should be delegated if doing so would generate equal or more money and would make your workday more efficient. But in most cases, it’s the revenue generating tasks that you want to find time for, so you should delegate less important projects.
• Tasks that leverage your best skills. Assigning the right tasks to the right people means understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Your energy should only be used for tasks that exploit your skills and experience to the maximum. Everything else should be delegated if possible.
• Tasks you enjoy. This is one area that some lawyers overlook. Focusing on tasks that are enjoyable is important because productivity increases when you enjoy what you’re doing. Of course you can’t always do what you enjoy but you can delegate tasks that you don’t find appealing. And in some cases you can delegate those unappealing tasks to people who enjoy them.

Delegate responsibility and power.

For many attorneys it’s difficult to delegate responsibility to others, especially if you’re accustomed to working alone. However, it’s even more difficult to delegate power because doing so means that you will need to give up control to some extent. But delegating responsibility and power is important if you want to get the most out of the person to whom you’re delegating a task. Since no two people are alike and each person brings their own unique set of skills and experiences to the table, you must be prepared to hand over ownership of a task to the person you’re delegating to so that they can fully commit to putting the best of what they have into the task at hand. Below are a few tips on how to delegate both responsibility and power without suffering a loss of quality:

• Give clear standards. When delegating tasks to someone else, you must give them a clear idea of what you expect. If you can, provide examples that they can use as a guideline.
• Start with something small. Even if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, don’t jump head first into delegating by handing over the most important tasks on your desk. Start with something small, tasks that won’t create a huge disaster if done wrong. Once the person proves that they can handle the responsibility, you can slowly begin delegating tasks of more importance.
• Give a reasonable deadline. Once you hand over a task to someone else, give them a reasonable amount of time to get it done and listen if they tell you that they can’t complete the task in the time provided.
• Take final responsibility. No matter how big or small a task you’ve delegated, you are still responsible for the outcome. Always take the time to review any work you’ve delegated and give timely and useful feedback. As you and the other person build a working relationship, your need to redirect or correct will lessen.

Learn to delegate like a pro and you’ll soon find yourself with more time to focus on the tasks that matter the most in your law firm.

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Jane Oxley is President of Smokeball, a productivity and case management software provider that increases efficiency and profitability for solo attorneys and small law firms. Jane’s worked in the legal field for her entire career, spending over 20 years engaged with small law firms. She has a strong affinity with small law firms and the crucial role they play in the communities they serve and is passionate about helping them work towards more productive and less stressful practices.