I did a consultation with an attorney yesterday. Like most attorneys, he’s a busy guy. In addition to his practice, he owns a small business which he hopes will allow him to transition out of practicing and into semi-retirement.
The first thing we talked about was his work schedule. To achieve his goals, he needs time each week for:
- Legal work
- Marketing the practice
- The business
- Marketing the business
I couldn’t tell him how much time to allocate to each function, only that he should allocate some time to each function. I told him to pick a number–an hour a day for this, two hours a day for that–but be prepared to change those numbers as experience and income dictate.
As the business grows, for example, he may allocate less time for marketing the practice. Or vice versa.
At least he has a place to start.
But will he? Will he do what he knows he needs to do each day? If experience is any indication, he’ll probably do the work, but let the marketing slide.
Unless. . . he blocks out time on his calendar for each function, in advance, and that’s what I told him to do.
When he looks at his calendar, he’ll see that it’s time to do 30 minutes of marketing for his practice. He’ll pull up his list of marketing activities and write something or make some calls. Since this has been blocked out in advance, he knows not to spend that time doing anything else.
Later in the day, during the legal work block of time, he’ll see that he’s got two client appointments. He also knows that he has to review a document and send some emails.
Now he’s cooking.
These blocks of time are appointments with himself. If a client calls during the “marketing the business” block, he doesn’t talk to them. He calls them back at another time.
You prioritize your work by scheduling blocks of time, in advance, based on what you know needs to get done.
This one concept could change everything for him, and for you if you don’t already do it. By deciding in advance how you will conduct your day, you stay focused on doing what is in keeping with your priorities and goals.
You are in charge. You make the rules. Decide how you want to spend your time and calendar it. Then, do what the calendar tells you to do and don’t do anything else.
Do you know The Formula to earn more and work less?
