Today I’d like to share more tips I learned from the Solo and Small Firm Expo last week. Today’s focus is on better professional productivity.
All that we lawyers have to sell is our time. Therefore, if you can track and manage your time better, you will likely boost your productivity. The tips below may help you do just that.
1. Find your productive hours
You should figure out which hours are your most productive during the day and focus on your heavier work during those hours. Try to spend your less productive hours on less important stuff, such as tidying up your desk.
For more information on finding your productivity hours, please refer to www.productiveflourishing.com.
2. Turn off your productivity-boosting aids
Emails, the internet, and smartphones no doubt boost our productivityy. We can now work virtually anywhere, be it on the train or on a plane.
However, these handy gadgets and technologies can also distract you, particularly when you’re sitting in front of your desk trying to focus.
For example, when the “email bell” rings or when the smartphone vibrates, it interrupts your train of thought. Even if no immediate action is required for the particular message, it will take you a while to get back to the concentration level you were at.
3. Leave work with a “to-do” list.
How many times a week do you start your day with some kind of “crisis”?
My answer is “everyday.” Everyday when I get to work there are emails to reply to, faxes to respond to, and phone calls to return. Apparently that’s not the most efficient way to start the day.
By the time all incoming messages are dealt with, you are only starting to structure your day. It takes a while to recall what needs to be done and get those tasks organized. It’s not an efficient use of time.
Instead, try leaving a to-do list for yourself before you leave work each day. After you deal with your “crisis” in the morning, you’ll know exactly what you really need to do.
4. Keep it simple, sweet, and short.
Complicated, long messages put people off, whether they are to-do lists, instructions to staff members, or online productivity-boosting blogs.
This is precisely why this post ends here.
