Top Five Secrets to Leaving Your Law Office Early
Waging War Against Late Nights and Law Firm Burn Out
“SORRY, I HAVE TO WORK LATE AGAIN TONIGHT.”
This dreaded eight-word phrase is associated with more hard-feelings, regret and health problems than almost any other. How many family events, sports games, recitals and get-togethers have been missed as a result of work creeping over into leisure time?
12 hour days may be the enemy, but let’s be realistic here … You and I know very well that there will always be times, especially in the business of law, when you need to put in the extra time to get things done. In fact, going that extra mile can often yield great returns and is probably the reason you are where you are today.
But generally speaking, leading a life that allows space for more than just work is the key to good relationships, good health and even recharging your professional batteries.
FIVE TIPS TO ACCOMPLISH MORE, WHILE CREATING BALANCE…
1. Don’t Start the Day Until It Is Written In the evening, create a list of tasks you must get done the next day — add additional tasks that you’d want to complete if you had the time. It will keep things organized and allow you to continue moving forward.
2. Eat the Frog Do the most important task (or most dreaded task) first. Stealing from Mark Twain, “If you have to eat a frog, don’t look at it for too long.” The task will seem more difficult the longer it’s left undone.
3. Use Parkinson’s Law According to Parkinson’s Law, work expands to fill the time available for its completion. With this in mind, push yourself with self-assigned deadlines. As an example, you could schedule 45 minutes of uninterrupted focus time where you work to complete a particular task like legal case research, returning phone calls, etc. (Advanced Mind Trick: Set a downward counting timer to help create the illusion of time-pressure/deadline.)
4. Set Leisure in Stone Something magical happens when we put things in writing. If you want to go to the gym, watch your daughter’s soccer game or simply sit down with your spouse for dinner, adding that activity into your calendar instantly makes it more ‘real’, keeps it on your radar and increases your commitment to accomplishing it.
5. Leverage Technology If you need to cut down a tree and all you have is a dull pocket knife, the job might take 4 or 5 days. But with the proper tools, the task will only take 4 or 5 minutes. Legal practice management software is to a law firm what a chainsaw is to a lumberjack. Taking advantage of effective business tools and technologies can easily multiply efforts and assist in creating a better work-life balance.
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