The root of productivity is getting and maintaining the right energy levels to get things done. Not enough energy? Then you won’t have what it takes to be productive no matter what you do. Let’s take a look at six productivity hacks that any busy attorney can use to protect their energy levels and improve their productivity.

1. Prioritize tasks of importance. Everyone has an emergency that they want to you to pay attention to, but are you getting the things done that will be important in ten years? The most important tasks are those tasks that will have long-term impacts on your career and your law firm. Those important tasks should be done first even before the so-called urgent ones.
2. Create a routine. There are so many productivity tools out there claiming to be save time, but the truth is that routine is the best productivity tool that won’t cost you a thing. Get an ongoing schedule together and decide what you’re going to do every day and at what time you’re going to do it. Your routine will save you time, energy, and improve performance by helping you get and stay in the flow of things.
3. Delegate and automate. It’s understandable that most attorneys feel that they need to do everything themselves if they want to get it done right. But you should delegate or automate tasks that won’t make you money and that can be competently completed by someone else. For example, you might delegate answering the phones to a secretary or automate social media posts so that you minimize interruptions while working on cases or talking to clients.
4. Learn to say ‘no’ and say it often. If you’re a high value attorney (or just person) there’s always someone asking for a favor, your time, or your attention. Learn to say ‘no’ and ignore most of these requests especially if the person or the task they’re asking you to do won’t get you closer to your goal or build relationships that are important to your life or your career. Remember, nothing is more draining than attempting to maintain relationships with people who don’t add value to your life in some way. Learn to say ‘no’ to them and you’ll find your energy levels soar.
5. Don’t be a machine. If you want to be as productive as possible, you need to sleep, exercise, and eat properly. Some attorneys make the mistake of believing that a 24/7 lifestyle is the only way to get things done, this is a mistake. You must make time to maintain your health or you will find yourself not only getting fewer things done but that you’ll begin doing them badly.
6. Time yourself. Time is somewhat of a vacuum, the more you have the more you’ll use. If you want to get more done in your day, you should allot a specific amount of time to each task and work hard to complete it within that timeframe. Just make sure that you’re giving yourself a fair amount of time to get the job done.

Get more done by hacking your productivity today.

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Lynn Luong is the Digital Marketing Manager for Smokeball, a case management software that increases productivity and efficiency for solo attorneys  and small law firms to become more profitable.  Lynn has over 8 years of experience in marketing with a focus on digital by developing successful strategies and managing many areas of marketing.