10 Awesome Time Management Tips For Family Lawyers
We are sure that day to day your family lawyers business keeps you busy. Whether it be appointments with clients, representing your clients in the Family Court, creating the arguments you are going to make in court, or the basic daily tasks that your role demands, there are bound to be days where there does not seem to be enough hours to complete everything.
You are not alone, and it is fair to say that a large number of family lawyers need ways and means to manage their time more efficiently. The irony is that there are so many books, audio programs, and video courses on the subject of time management there is not a family lawyer on the planet who has enough time to study them all.
We are not going to pretend that we have a magic wand that can conjure up an extra 2 hours for you each working day. However, what we will share with you are ten simple and easily implementable tips that family lawyers, including yourself, can use to make the working day more organised and less wasteful of time.
Planning Is Key: For any of the tips that follow to work, you must plan effectively. From the largest case to your daily tasks, you will work far more efficiently and hit fewer hurdles if you plan them properly.
Have An Effective Filing System: Countless hours are lost trying to find documents rather than reading them. The legal world still relies heavily on paperwork, and this is why your family lawyers office must have an effective filing system in place.
Email Discipline: Email is a major culprit when it comes to time being lost. Be disciplined when it comes to email and have specific times when you will check it, rather than randomly throughout the day. Also, only reply to an email that requires you to.
Use Calls Whenever Possible: It is a fact that a phone call can achieve the same objective in a fraction of the time it takes to type out and send an email. As such, whenever it is a valid option, reply to an email via a phone call.
Organise Your Contacts: Another time-waster is trying to find phone numbers or email addresses. Keep your list of contacts well organised and update it whenever necessary. Ideally use a CRM application.
Use A Task List: You probably use a diary for appointments and dates in court, but you should supplement this with a task list. First, it ensures you do not forget any tasks and better still it gives you a sense of completion when every task is crossed off your list.
Delegate: This will depend on your employee numbers, but as each task comes before you ask yourself if it is something that you can delegate to someone else that works within your business.
Make Notes: Having a notebook and pen close by allows you to make notes. This could be when someone pops their head around the door and informs you of something, when the phone rings, or when an idea comes to mind, for example.
No Multitasking: Despite what some management gurus might tell you, multitasking is not your friend. Stick to focusing and completing one task at a time rather than bouncing from one to the other randomly.
Take Breaks: You work less efficiently when you are tired so no matter how busy your schedule might seem, ensure that you take breaks throughout the day.