8 Ways To Become A More Productive Lawyer.

It is not surprising that a productive lawyer will eventually become successful. A lawyer’s level of success is hinged on his/her ability to start and conclude matters on time.

In law practice, time is of the essence. To be a productive lawyer, you must deliver your works on time. Most laws and rules of procedure establish the time and period within which to take some specific legal actions.

But unfortunately, that resource, time – seems not to be enough for many lawyers. Many are often overwhelmed and therefore miss the required deadlines with devastating consequences.

For a lot of lawyers, the pressure to deliver on time has affected their personal, social, and family life. High productivity does not just happen. It is the result of conscious and strategic planning.

Unless you follow and master these high productivity steps, you may still find yourself putting in a lot of effort, time, and energy, but with minimal results. The following are eight ways to increase your productivity.

Schedule.

The quantity of work that lawyers carry out daily is so large that it can sometimes become overwhelming. There is a tendency to be working on a particular job, only to realize that there are more important works than the ones you are presently working on.

It is, therefore, crucial for lawyers to prioritize their works. And the best way to do this is to schedule. A productive lawyer must have a list of works to do in their order importance. This will help you focus and be in control as opposed to trying to remember them straight from your head.

Tackle the Difficult Tasks First.

The brain-like other parts of the body get weary after long hours of work. To be more productive lawyer, therefore, it is essential to deal with the difficult tasks first at the beginning of the day when you are at your freshest.

Use Tech-Powered Productivity Tools.

It is indeed the best time to be a lawyer. There are now many productivity tools that help make the lawyer’s work easier and faster.

These tech tools vary according to the task they perform. There are software analytical tools that direct a lawyer to relevant cases and materials for a particular matter.

Time management apps, for instance, help you manage your time and also help you track how much time you and your employees spend at work. These time management productivity tools help you and your employees to avoid distractions by notifying you when you seem to be getting sidetracked by unproductive sites. Toggl, Time Doctor, Paymo, and Rescue Time are some of the best time management apps.

As a principal or partner of a large law firm, the employee monitoring features on these apps will help you track how much time each employee spends on each case file, each task, and each client. And you can do all these from the privacy and comfort of your office or home.

There is so much more these online productivity tools can do for your law practice. They make it easier to generate payment information for clients and employees (especially if the charge is per hour). These tools also help you to schedule and hold meetings online, store and share files in the cloud and much more.

If you are focused on building a successful legal career, then take advantage of these software applications. These tools simplify business processes and maximize work output.

Exercise.

As you know, most of the work that lawyers do is sedentary. You spend a lot of time sitting down in the office researching and writing briefs. The sitting continues at the court, except when you are conducting your matter.

This sedentary lifestyle takes a toll on the lawyer’s body. The dangers of inactivity and the importance of exercise are all too common to warrant serious discussion here.

Any lawyer who neglects his body will sooner or later find out that he can do very little. Exercise, apart from keeping our bodies fit, also helps to pump blood throughout our bodies, especially to the brain, which helps us carry out our works more effectively.

Delegate.

The importance of delegation is all too familiar to successful law firms. There is no productive lawyer who does not delegate some part of his work to others.

Some menial or little tasks in the office, if left undone, can accumulate and become overwhelming, preventing you from focusing on more essential duties. You save energy and accomplish much more when you assign responsibilities to different persons in the office.

However, not everyone understands how to delegate. For all those who are willing to learn, you can read blogs where the topic of the delegation of authority and task allocation are extensively covered.

Get a Second Opinion.

It is true what they say, that ‘two good heads are better than one’.

Lawyers are expected to be accurate and meticulous in their works. The failure to cross a ‘t’ or dot an ‘i’ can cause irreparable damage to a case.

It doesn’t matter how careful you think you were in producing your work, or how many times you went through it; a productive lawyer should always get the opinion of another person.

You will be surprised at the number of mistakes, errors, or suggestions that a person will point out in that work.

Cut out Distractions.

Although our generation is the most informed in the history of humanity, it has also become the most distracted. Few people can concentrate on the task at hand without the strong urge to check out what is happening around them and in other parts of the world.

The smartphone and social media affect our productivity as we continuously use them during our working hours. It is no news that many organizations have banned the use of social media during working hours to boost productivity.

To increase your productivity, let you and your employees keep your social media gadgets away from your work area.

Rest Between Jobs.

Many pieces of research have shown that taking little breaks in between work increases productivity.

When you subject the body to long hours of work, some diminishing returns sets in as mistakes become common. Taking a break from your job, no matter how little, refreshes your mind and keeps you alert all day.

Final Thoughts.

While it is always important to observe and learn from high productive lawyers, remember to find out and stick with what works for you.

We all have our differences, and therefore what works for one lawyer may not work for another. So if you want to be a more productive lawyer, go ahead and try out some of these tips.