Do The Work

6 Quick Tips to Help You Focus and Maximize Time

Our life is nothing but time. Spend it wisely.

From the moment you wake up until your head hits the pillow about 18 hours later, it can feel as if your day is a blur of hearings and meetings – all underscored by the relentless pressure of an accumulating workload. As you continuously drive yourself to move forward, too often it can feel like you’re getting nowhere.

This is an occupational hazard when you’re a lawyer at a small law firm, where – unlike your big-law counterparts – you must run a business and practice law simultaneously. Furthermore, according to Irene Leonard, a business coach to lawyers and a lawyer herself, your desire to give your clients the very best service can exacerbate time management issues. In her article, 7 Lawyer Time Management Issues and How to Avoid Them, she reveals the signs that you may be overly perfectionistic and what to do about it.

After all, it’s frustrating to work so hard, yet, at the end of the day, feel like you haven’t accomplished everything you needed to. That’s why it’s critical, in the midst of nonstop activity, to be mindful of what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and the greater purpose it serves.

That’s because, according to the Harvard Business Review article, “Stop Mindlessly Going Through Your Work Day,” thoughtlessly doing tasks is “a recipe for inefficiency, disengagement and even poor health.” In the article, researcher Leah Weiss points out that going about your workday tuned into your sense of purpose correlates to higher immunity, lower inflammation, and even reduced risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. But here’s a more immediate benefit: Staying mindful serves as an internal project manager that helps you get more done.

Here’s some quick tips to help you stay focused and tuned in so you can end the day satisfied:

  1. Take a few minutes to plan your day. At the end of your workday, think about what you want to accomplish the next day and how each task ties into the purpose of your firm, then prioritize them. If you have a task that feels overwhelming, break it down into smaller pieces. As you complete each piece, it will energize you and amplify your sense of accomplishment.
  2. Affirm your purpose. Write down a sentence that sums up the purpose for your day and place it within eyeshot. Glance at it when you feel your mind wandering or you’re feeling discouraged by a specific task.
  3. Give yourself breaks. It may seem counter-intuitive to take a break during a busy day, but even a couple of minutes every half hour can clear your mind and give you the space you need to bolster creativity and productivity.
  4. Minimize distractions. When you’re working on a particularly intense task that you would prefer to avoid, it’s easy to let your mind wander. Instead, set aside time without any interruptions. Close your office door. Unplug from your phone, email and social media. Then put some headphones on and listen to unobtrusive sounds like a recording of a rainstorm.
  5. Stop procrastinating. Do what you can now, because waiting will not make the task any easier and may very likely make it more difficult. Furthermore, chances are the sooner you tackle it, the better the outcome.
  6. Realize you’re only human. If you consistently find yourself not accomplishing what you need to, you probably have unrealistic expectations of yourself. While you may argue that work needs to get done, keep in mind that there may be ways to leverage technology to get your work done faster.

Our life is nothing but time. Do you want to spend it stressed? Or would you rather be satisfied that you’re making the most of every moment?

Again, for more ideas on how to address the unique challenges faced by lawyers at small law firms, take that two-minute break by looking at what business coach and attorney Irene Leonard has to say in 7 Lawyer Time Management Issues and How to Avoid Them.

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Amy Larson is a Director in Small Law Firm Customer Marketing and Firm Central at Thomson Reuters. She has over 17 years of experience in technology marketing with extensive focus on learning how technology can meet the needs of attorneys. Amy has been involved in numerous product launches throughout her tenure, public relations efforts, interviewing customers and telling their stories, and often writes and distributes information on legal practice management.


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