For many legal practitioners, the job is very demanding. The expectation of 8–12 hours of work is not out of the ordinary. The legal industry is proliferating, and constant demands from clients and partners can have you working around the clock.
The reality is that good organization and time management skills are crucial elements of a successful and satisfying legal career and are also critical skills needed in life.
Disorganization to a practising lawyer is quite expensive in terms of billable hours. However, the jobs of legal advisors and the likes who might not bill hourly can be time-dependent and demanding.
Disorganization and more are reasons why time management must be emphasized for lawyers
Here are Four Time Management tips for Legal Practitioners
1. De-clutter your space: Clear off the mess on your desk so that you can think straight. It’s is widely known that lots of litter all around us adds to feelings of stress. If you have a lot to look at on your Table, your mind will try to work on them simultaneously, making you lose concentration from your work. A clean workspace is also beneficial for your mental health. When your desk and office area is organized, it makes you feel good.
2. Quit Dismissing Technology: Estimating and capturing time on work done can be tedious. There are applications for everything. There are over two million applications available on both IOS and Android. There are several options that you can use to manage your time better and improve your practice. Time Apps like the Timenext app captures activities in real-time and ensures your time entries are recorded automatically.
3. Stop Multi-tasking: Unfortunately, you cannot really “manage” time. The only thing you can control is what you do with your time — in other words, your behaviours. In the Myth of Multitasking, author Dave Crenshaw believes that you cannot accomplish two things that require you to expend mental energy at once with multitasking. When you multitask, you constantly switch back and forth between activities he calls “switch tasking.” There is a widespread misconception that multitasking is doing two or more tasks simultaneously; this only creates the illusion of being busy rather than productive.
4. Minimize Distractions: Distractions and procrastination are the number one enemies of productivity. No matter how many rules are observed to increase productivity, there would be no positive results if procrastination and distractions aren’t minimized. Critical approaches to lessen disturbances as you work on one task at a time are (1) Disregard notifications, (2) Take breaks before your attention Diminishes
Effective time management is essential for the success of any business. However, running a successful legal practice entails knowing how to manage time. That is why developing and encouraging certain habits, including the aid of tools, can help you best manage the limited time you have to work.